Collecting Mexican Feather Grass seeds

koasters

I'm relatively new to gardening but having seen Monty Don plant many Mexican Feather Grass plants that he grew from seed I'd like to harvest my own seeds from the three plants that I have bought.  I cannot find any videos or images anywhere to give me an idea of what the seeds look like and also no information as to when is the best time to harvest them.  I am a complete amateur but any help and guidance will be most welcome.

David

punkdoc

This is it flowering, the seeds just look like bits of fluff.

Achtung

Mine is just starting to get growing again after division. The seeds will come later in summer. 

koasters

Oh, can they be divided after they die back during the winter?  I haven't read anywhere that it says they can be divided.

Achtung

Yea I have about a dozen now from what was one plant 3 years ago. If you don't divide them they will develop "dead centres". As the plant grows it grows out horizontally from the centre so it eventually becomes a ring with nothing growing in the centre. Dividing them avoids this. If you do have a ring, so to speak, you can just divide it up into new plants. 

koasters

Thank you.  Good to know, I shall gather some seeds and try those in the spring and also divide them when they die back or develop central rings.

Thanks to you both, Achtung and Punkdoc.

Pete.8

They self seed very easily and the seedlings pop up in the spring and soon develop into useful size plants.
I guess like all grasses they're best divided once they start growing actively in the spring.

Either way, you'll soon have more than you know what to do with

Achtung

As Pete. 8 says it's better to divide them during the growing season. Now would be a good time so they have a chance to grow on. Are they large enough to divide? If they're 3 new young plants you've acquired then probably best just to plant them as they are and divide next year. You'd still be able to collect your seed this year and plant the seeds next spring.