Do seeds have to ripen on the plant?

Or can the seed pod/flower head be cut off and hung to dry after it is formed? I'm thinking of things like Bread-seed Poppy, Balsam, Echinacea, Sunflower, etc. I can't think straight anymore but I'd like to gather some seeds from my garden before I move.

Heck, I'd like my Moonflower to finally bloom just ONCE before I go.

And, while I think about it, how can I move my Batik Iris? Can I dig them up now, cut back the leaves and... what? Let them dry? Put them in dry peat to move? Move them in clumps of earth in a bucket and keep them damp? I love those things. I'm not leaving them behind to get mowed down.

Reply to
FragileWarrior
Loading thread data ...

FragileWarrior Sunflower, etc. I can't think straight anymore but I'd like to gather some

Depends on the plant. Definitely don't hang those bread-seed poppies, all the seeds will fall out! If the seeds are far enough along then yes, I'd try gathering them and drying them - try small paper bags and elastics, put them in head first, that way you'll lose fewer seeds.

Ipomoea or datura? My daturas are blooming, but that damned vine hasn't shown a bud yet!

Take the iris. Cut it back, keep some earth on the roots and try to keep it slightly damp. This is the ideal time to move them, so go for it!

Good luck with your move and let us know when you're settled in.

Reply to
Ann

Have you checked the Moonflower at 2am? I am not positive, but don't they only open up late at night? Or did a slight humorous statement fly over my head :) Night time cannot see ...... Dan :)

Reply to
Dan L.

"Dan L." expounded:

No, no humor other than the constant wait for moonflowers to bloom. If they did so at night, then there would be a dead blossom in the am. Not happening on the Ipomoea, but the Daturas are blooming away out there.

Reply to
Ann

Moonflowers grow along the shoulder of the road around and the edges of the yard, and while they do open at night, the ones that are heavily shaded are still open as late as 11:30 in the am.

*snip*

agree.....

Reply to
rachael simpson

Back to the question whether seeds have to ripen on the plant -- what about pokeweed -- if the seeds are still green and not full-sized yet? Deadly nightshade -- if the seeds are still green or just starting to turn red? Clover? A patch of land that adjoins my yard has gone untended for over a year now, and I've been wading in there to pull the plants that are making seeds (getting scratched up by rampant raspberries in the process). I'd like to put them in the compost (we're talking a lot of biomass), but I'm already being overrun by those weeds in my own yard because of last summer's neglect, and I don't want more. My compost often gets warm, but seldom warm enough reliably enough or for long enough to sterilize the seeds.

TIA

helco

Reply to
helco

On Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:09:39 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior Sunflower, etc. I can't think straight anymore but I'd like to gather some

The seeds should ripen on the plant for best germination rates. All the plants you mention really do need seeds to ripen on the vine or plant.

You can dig the iris and divide them. Store them in a dry, cool place over the winter and plant them in early spring. Cut the foliage off to about six inches into a fan shape. OR you can move them with a dirt ball on them, but chances are they may not flower next spring. They are very hardy and difficult to kill.

Ipomoea alba (moonvine) is a photosensitive plant and depending on daylight length will determine when it blooms. It will probably start blooming in mid-August along with morning glories.

Reply to
jangchub

You might be able to transplant these. I have more first-hand experience with black-eyed susan, so I'm not sure I've successfully transplanted any of my purple coneflowers, but at least based on the black-eyed susans, they require a lot of water in the first days after the transplant (especially if it is hot), and can get killed off by winter if they are transplanted late. If they make it over the initial shock, they seem to do well. I transplanted some around May or June and they are flowering now.

Probably too much work to worry about in the middle of a move, but in case you were wondering...

Reply to
Jim Kingdon

Don't blame last year's weeds in the neighboring lot for germinating weed seeds in your lawn this year. Chances are, the stuff that's germinating this year has been there for quite a while, waiting for an opening in the lawn canopy to germinate. Easiest way to prevent lawn weeds is to grow thick grass mowed at the proper height for the species.

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Sorry I didn't make the situation clearer. The weeds are in my flower beds, not in the lawn. Aside from limiting the reseeding, I'm attempting to keep some control in the neighbor's area, too. She's been widowed and has never worked in the yard at all, so there's now a bramble that's five feet high in some places, twelve feet across. (Rabbits love it.) The lawn gets mowed, but that's it. I'm pulling out hundreds of baby ginko trees, mulberry trees, wild plums, Virginia creeper ... and I figure as long as I have all this stuff I might as well put what I can into my compost -- but if the seeds are going to continue to ripen after the plant has been cut, I won't include them -- they'll go in a separate pile with the creeping charlie, the bindweed, the grass. The main seeds I'm worried about are pokeweed and nightshade. So -- will pokeweed and nightshade (and clover) seeds continue to ripen if they're still very green when the plant is cut?

helco

Reply to
helco

Oh, I wouldn't take any chances with that pokeweed!! Some how one made it to the berry stage in my yard and the birds love them. They ate them of course, and I have had a zillion little pokies a-pokin' up all summer. Bag up those berries and get them outta there.Compost the stems only.

Emilie

Reply to
mleblanca

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.