There's a picture of the actual seeds on the site...

The prickly globe of a dried flower head that is left after blooming isn't a pod with seeds on the interior, there are lots of individual seeds all over the outside. Were you sent the approximately round globe intact, or did someone pull it apart for you, because it's a painful-to-the-fingertips chore :)

Here is a link that might be useful: eryngium

morz8
Yes that is the seed site that I checked and I cant find anything that really looks like that.Here is a pic,the circled one is the nugget thing that is inside the other things.
{{gwi:212055}}

When I've gathered seed and sown them from my own e. bourgatii, I sow just what you were sent - as is scattered across your page uncircled - and I don't try to break them down any futher. It's just too painful.

I've had good luck with them sowing outdoors in late Fall in this mild zone: warm moist, cold moist, germinating in late winter/early Srpring when-still-cool moist.

morz8
Planted they are, just the way they were.I really want to thank you for all your help,I really appreciate it.

I have had tremendous success spring and summer sowing Sea Holly (just as they are uncircled) using the winter sowing method in milk jugs outdoors. I plant them out late summer or fall and they do great. They didn't germinate winter sowing for some reason, but they have very very high germination particularly with summer sowing.

I had about 60 babies and potted up a bunch for our summer swap here in Columbus.

Hello MollyZone5,

I just read your post about Sea Holly and zoomed in on your picture of the seeds. I am quite certain that this is not Eryngium seed but seed from Echinops. Often people confuse the two plants, one is commonly called Sea Holly (Eryngium species) and the other one is called Globe Thistle (Echinops species). I have cleaned alot of Echinops seed and this is how I know. The seed is the light brown or tan kernel that you found inside the seed. I normally remove the seed from the pod to sow it because it germinates a little faster but it also works if you leave the seed in the pod.

I was just about to say the same as maryv, these are echinops & not sea holly. When I first got my seeds of echinops from trade, they looked just like this. I didn't know to clean them, so I just planted as they came & I got several plants from them. Nice plants, I like them better than my sea holly, although my sea holly has more of a steel blue look to it.

Thanks everyone.
I have grown Globe Thistle from seed,but I do not remember the seed looking like these.I have planted these seeds,both W.S. and started some in the house,so I hope I get some plants.I really hope these are Sea Holly,but if they are Globe Thistle,I will still be happy.I can always buy a Sea Holly plant in Spring,right.

Put my glasses back on and, yep, they look like Echinops. Echinops are hairy kimonos with a stick like seed inside. I have never dissected Sea Holly - those are hairy triangles with hairs/spikes on top.

Grow both - they are both great plants. I have several of each and really love them. I don't clean the echinops because I am very allergic to them and their little prickly hairs. Sea holly isn't so hairy, so it's a little better.

It's my understanding that echinops doesn't germinate all that well and many of the kimonos don't germinate. I haven't tried to grow them from seed as they re-seed nicely for me, but others on the winter sowing forum report success, but not that great germination.

If you were to start some seedling now what soil would you use and would you start them in direct sunlight. I am new to this but bought 50 sea holley seeds and would like to try to grow some now. I will put the others away to spring sow