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These aquilegia are going over. How long do I wait for the seeds to be viable?

PeterJarvisPeterJarvis Posts: 123
in Wildlife gardening
These plants have done well in my garden - unlike most. The seeds that I scatter every year have taken and I now have lots of great plants.

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    The seeds are ripe when the pods have turned brown and papery.. If you want to save seed or scatter them in places of your choosing, the trick is catching them before they disperse naturally.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    As @JennyJ says - the pods will darken and crisp up, and they'll open, so that's the time to take them. You'll find if you tap them gently, you'll hear the seeds rattling around, but it's a good idea to do that into/over a paper bag or similar, so that any viable ones will drop in. If they're ready, just snip the stems off carefully and drop the whole stem into the bag. You can then shake them all off and remove the spent pods/stems  :)

    Any that do drop and germinate are easy enough to pull out if they're in places you don't want them too.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Sam 37Sam 37 Posts: 1,271
    Ripe aquilegia pods and seed:





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