Liz, there is a photo of a ripe pod with seeds here -

(and in this mild summer area, I have a few things I need to bag - square of nylon stocking and a twist tie - and collect after a couple of light frosts. Some of my plants, like turtlehead, bloom very late here)

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Site Playtycodon/balloon flower

Hi Liz,
They are ready when the pods turn brown and the tops of the pods will start to open. You can't rush the process and try to pick them early. A light frost probably won't stop them from ripening. A really hard freeze might, but I will hope you don't get that for some time yet! If it were a tropical plant like morning glory then the seed ripening process is ruined with a light frost. Also, so you know, leaving(or finding) ripe seeds on hardy perennials and picking them in the winter is fine. They will still germinate.
Remy

I'm glad you asked. I was wondering the same thing. The pods on my balloon flower plant are mostly green, but the ends are beginning to brown, but not all brown and dry like the photo. I guess I need to continue being patient.

mors8 Thanks for the seed site! I had that before in my favorites but changed computers and somehow it didn't make the change with me...LOL! I see the brown pods...and mine aren't brown at all...sigh.

I'm with you Mo girl, patience is what we'll have to be I guess.

Thanks Remy also...for the discription of the pods when ripe..I didn't know they would start opening.

So I'm wondering if what mors8 said pertains to these also, the nylon around the pods to keep from loosing them? Mors8??? Any idea? :)

If I might ask another question...does anyone know about Heuchera seed collecting too?

Thanks all, I so appreciate the info. And nope we shouldn't get a hard freeze soon...heaven fobid! LOL!

...Liz

I have never found the need to bag the pods, they stay upright & don't tend to spill. Each pod will have lots of seeds too. When you are waiting on these things to ripen, it is like watching water boil, just doesn't seem to happen :) \
Heuchera seeds are like dust if I remember right. That might be a candidate for bagging. I've been nervous of collecting seeds because I think a few varieties are sterile & I am not familiar enough to know which ones.

ngraham...thanks for the info about the balloon flower pods, they do seem to be standing right up straight. I won't worry about them now. LOL...like watching water boil...what a great analogy! So right! You know, I got the seeds for my Heuchera here also I believe, but for the life of me can't remember what they looked like. I'm thinking, if I got them here and one grew, they must not be all sterile, right? Actually, I only got the one plant from all the seeds I planted that year of Heuchera. I do have two plants though, so maybe the seeds will be ok, at least a few might grow.

Now....where did I put that bag of panty hose I've been saving for something for sooooo long??? :)

...Liz

It's been a while since Liz asked about this, but since I was gathering these seeds today I thought I'd take this picture of a ripe seed pod. It shows the contrast of the ripe one with the unripe ones around it. The one in the center has opened at the top in a kind of star-shaped "mouth." The entire pod has also turned dark blue. When turned upside down over a cup, the seeds pretty much just pour out. You may have to give the pod a little squeeze to get them started.

{{gwi:435092}}

Hope this helps.

Alison

Great photo, dawiff = thanks - Carrie

Ngraham, I've never needed to bag the pods in the past, but I discovered today that my dwarf platycodon pods - which weren't fully ripe yet - were gone! They were in an area that is not accessible to small humans (or large ones other than myself), and the whole back yard is enclosed in a 6 ft. fence - must be some small animal - I've had a lot of birds this year (yay! :)). I think I may bag my Axminsters; they were so pretty I hate to lose the seeds.

I went to check one of the brown seed pods today, but it was empty, so I may have waited too long. The pods on my plant are much smaller than the ones in Alison's picture though. (The picture is very helpful, by the way.) The pod I checked today was so tiny, it probably did not contain many if any seeds.

My plant is a first-year plant, so maybe that's why my seed pods don't look as full as the ones pictured. I wonder if first-year plant seeds don't mature as well or produce as many seeds. I still have several green pods, so I will continue checking. I have several flowers still blooming as well, so I will just need continued patience. I am also watching a first-year hibiscus plant closely. The seed pods are still very green, so I hope they mature before frost as well.

Hi Alison! Great to see you! Or your hand at least...LOL!I thought I better check back here and see if anyone else replied with other helpfull hints. I checked my balloon flowers today and have some just opening, but not as wide open as yours in the picture. I picked one and even though not wide wide open it had seeds that spilled out. I took it inside and disected it further, and got more out of it. Thanks so much for the great picture by the way. It helps a lot.

I still wonder if anyone knows about the Heuchera's seeds?

...Liz

Hi Liz! Yep, that's my hand! Nice to see you here too. Hope you're doing well.

I harvested some heucheras a few years ago, and I have to warn you they were a bit of a pain. The seeds were tiny little specks of dust that had to be pried out of tiny seed pods that formed on the stalks where the little flowers had been. I haven't bothered harvesting them since then, and I often get little baby heucheras self-sown all over the bed where I have them. Rather than harvesting the seeds, I now basically harvest the self-sown babies. If they aren't growing somewhere I like, I just move them. They're all babies of Palace Purple, I think, but I don't mind. I tried sowing some seeds bought from Gardens North this past winter, but I didn't get anything that differed markedly from my own Palace Purple babies, so I don't think I'll bother gathering my own seed or sowing them again.

Thanks Alison...I went out and checked my Heuchera's and found the dusty little seeds you mentioned. Ugh, I see what you mean about it being a pain. I have a lot of mulch in that bed so do you think they would self sow through the mulch? Is so I may just leave them to it...LOL! I'de love some of the other types of Heuchera's though. Mine is also a Purple Palace type. Were the seeds you bought for the PP one, or were they supposed to be different?

...Liz