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docmom_mn_zone_5

Question Re saving milkweed seed.

docmom_gw
10 years ago

I've been watching a field of Common Milkweed plants all summer, waiting for the seed pods to ripen. The entire field has an infestation of the seed-eating beetles. Interestingly, once a beetle has invaded a pod, the seeds ripen very quickly. Or, maybe the beetles go for pods that are more ripe? So, if I open the dry, twisted, grayish pods, the seeds look healthy and brown, while the nearby healthy pods still have white seeds. Are these brown seeds ripe? Will they germinate? Some of the pods that the beetles have been inside have had their seeds completely devoured and turned to dust. Some pods are partly turned to dust, but still have healthy appearing seeds as well. I just hate to toss what might be good quality seeds when we need large quantities of seeds to re-establish Monarch habitat.

Alternatively, if I wait for healthy pods, do they need to have split open to be ripe? I have some healthy pods that are finally brown inside. Can I harvest these seeds now, even though they still aren't dried on the outside? Thanks for any thoughts.

Martha

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