03-11-2003, 05:42 AM
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picking flower seeds
In article oway says...
If the flower seeds are "ripe" -- usually tan, brown or black, not
green, and dry -- they are ready to be harvested. Of course, given the
variety of the plant world, there is no single rule for this.
And so it goes for morning glories. As you mentioned, there will be smallish
round pods (often in clusters, as are the blooms that open mostly one at a time
in each cluster). When these are ripe and dry, a slight pinch to the pod will
send the hard black seeds into your palm. Or you can cut them off and sort
the seeds into paper bags for storage. Keep 'em cool and dry and they'll be
fine for next season's vines. (Moonflower pods are much bigger, but the
principle of seed gathering is the same).
Mark: It's an excellent idea to remove most of the pods before they're ripe
(if you haven't been deadheading, which is a job-and-a-half on morning
glories), unless you want beaucoup de seedlings next year. Or just pull the
vines down before the pods have dried and toss 'em.
I had planned on harvesting a lot of seeds to start seedlings indoors
next Spring for my garden and to give away. I have a lot of morning
glory and moonflowers and there are a lot of pods. If I understand
right, I should let them sit out there and ripen on the vine for awhile
and then cut them free. It is very tempting to just snip them all off
right now and place them in a bag but I feared that maybe the seeds
aren't quite ready yet and they wouldn't germinated if harvested too
soon.
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