I believe that any seeds produced will be sterile, however you can buy seeds that will germinate and grow. The plant is not supposed to produce viable seeds based on what I have read. If anyone has germinated collected seeds, I would love to know.

I have germinated salvia black and blue seeds. The seeds from the plant are very far and few. You have to be there at the right time before birds get them. A very small percentage of the seeds turn black and the conditions have to be just so. I look for them constantly and probably only get 5- 10 per year if I'm lucky. Last year was the first year I got any to germinate. They appeared to come true but I didn't get very many flowers. They are borderline hardy here where I live. I brought mine into my unheated garage this year, for an experiment, to see if I can overwinter them here in Oregon

I can't help you with seeds, but in response to Duane, I have found them to be hardy here in Oklahoma which is zone 7. I leave them in the ground and they have come back (and multiplied) for a number of years.

Lisa

The problem I have here in Oregon is that they get too wet in the winter. It may not be because of the cold. Zones usually are based on how cold it gets in your region. If I amended my soil and made it more drainable, they probably would be fine.
Duane

gardenlady- You'll want to wait until April 1 in Zone 5 for the Zinnias. They'll need a little bit of 'babying' once they sprout- make sure they don't freeze or fry in their containers. Zs are easy, but finicky about the weather.

Out of 10 seeds I had one germinated last year. It never developed into anything and slowly died.
When one talking about hybrids, many of them are sterile. I also have read recent reference to hardy geraniums hybrids which suppose to be sterile as well, but noticed by Plant World Seed company that some actually produced seed by possibility of being close with some other geraniums and favorable condition happening- again those seeds are far and between but it does happen.

I grew some B&Bs from seed a couple of years ago. As previously mentioned, the seeds are difficult to collect, partly because bumble bees pierce the calyx, and that is where the seeds would grow. My seedlings did come true. I also harvested some seeds from Salvia guaranitica "Argentine Skies" and had one of those come true. I have a few seeds from "Argentine Skies" to plant this year, but I didn't harvest any from the B&Bs. I already have several of those around the yard, and they have been perennial for me.

If you want more details on growing this plant, I recommend you go over to the salvia forum and do a search. You will find tons of information.

Becky