Xera I had an experience with datura seeds I was planting seeds it was very hot I was sweating and I guess it didn't occur to me that the seeds were dangerous. Well I went indoors ac felt good but my vision was blurred and I felt slightly nauseas it kind of felt like I was in a fish tank. I thought this is weird what's going on? It then dawned on me that it could have been the seeds I was handling. I showered poured some salt and lemon on my hands and scrubbed them real well had something to eat I felt fine. Kind of reminded me of the 80's LOL! No joking aside caution is a smart idea.

Star, you made a good point there. We all have a tendency when sweating to rub our faces with our hands. That can be dangerous as you described and also vividly described in a previous post with brugmansia. When I work in the greenhouse or outside when it is hot, I alway put a towel around my neck to wipe sweat off and am careful never to touch my face.

Our heads are very vascular for a good reason, it helps to cool our brains. Because of this we have many blood vessels near the surface of the skin so anything that gets on the skin of your face is readily absorbed into your bloodstream. So when you wipe your face with contaminated hands, you are injecting yourself with whatever is on your hands.

An interesting aside to this, I read a long time ago that 90% of all colds & flu were caught because of rubbing your face, especially your eyes with contaminated hands. I taught myself to rub my face or eyes with the back of my hand, especially in public. Believe it or not, I have had 1 cold and no flu in the last 10 years (i dont get flu shots either). The cold was caught because I had to work next to someone sneezing. The very first thing I do when I walk in my house is wash my hands and face.

X

I have always used open paper sacks, like lunch sacks, to put my seeds and/or seed pods in. Plastic wil retain more moisture and these will mold and rot easily.

Wildcat

Wildcat, I use paper too if I am leaving it on the bush. I just cut out a square of newspaper big enough to cover the pod and leave about 1/2 in room around it and secure it loosly with twist ties. Once they start to crack, I rarely leave them on the mother plant. If I cut it off I use unsealed plastic bags to retain moisture so it will open gently and not explode. Besides, once cracked these guys open up and expose the seeds in just a few hours. Not enough time for rot to set in. This guy was put into the bag around 5pm yesterday and when I got up this morning around 8, it was opened like this.

{{gwi:534200}}

Now that this is open, I will take it to the greenhouse, open it up completely and lay it on the bench in the shade and let it dry for a day or so before I start taking the seeds. I use a pair of flat end tweezers for that.

X

Previously used ( and washed) clothes dryer sheets affixed with a twist tie around the seed pods work well also in preventing disemination of the seed and they can be left in it for drying as well.

Thank You for all the great information! I have a double purple datura devils trumpet and it has several large pods on it. I am going to check these first thing in the morning as one is getting very large and I do not want it to bust open on the ground. I just started growing these this spring and it is wonderful! I grew my plant from a gift seed and I love these plants. I would love to have a start of the double yellow Datura if you have extra. Even a couple would be wonderful... Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: My first Datura

You can also use the foot of a nylon pantyhose (cut off) and stretch it out and place over the seed pod and twisty tie or use a cable tie to hold it on. The air can still circulate and it won't remain wet if it rains. The seeds won't spill out and scatter.

How big are the seed pods? And when are they found? We have had several blooms but I have seen no pods. I assumed they were found behind the old bloom but maybe I am wrong?
~Jessi

Jessi, once the flower is finished blooming you can pull the petals off and a sheath will be left. If you leave them for a few days both parts will pull off easily. I pull off the petals because they look ugly then the sheath when it starts to go yellow.

You will then be left with this:

{{gwi:534201}}

1. Petals and sheath just pulled off. Looks like a little button.

2. A few days later. Looks like a gum drop.

3. A week later, starting to fill out.

This is a pix of the pods on my double white:

{{gwi:534202}}

{{gwi:529466}}

As you can see they get pretty big. Some are over 2 inches and not ready to split.

A reminder, all parts of datura are toxic do not touch your face or eat anything after handling leaves, flowers or pods until you have washed your hands.

X

Do these form after every bloom? I have yet to see any on ours and we have had several (blooms).
Oh and the smell! Ours smell awful, is that normal? Do any smell nice?
~Jessi

Lol, every time my neighbor comes over he is fascinated by the double whites and every time he leans over and smells a blossom. I say Arlon, you know you don't want to do that he smells it anyway then looks at me like it's my fault. You can't really blame him though .. they look so beautiful and inviting your brain can't really seem to get around the fact they stink! You know the phenomena, happens most when eating. Your eyes tell you something really looks good and your mouth says it doesn't but you keep eating it until your common sense kicks in and overrules your eyes.

Yes Jessi .. sorry to say the stink is normal .. maybe some eager beaver hybridizer might take on datura's to make them smell better.

I think all datura are self pollinating. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. I pretty much get a pod out of all my flowers .. actually I cut off probably 75% of all immature pods and only let a few mature. If yours aren't making seed pods, next time one is in bloom, shake the whole plant gently throughout the day and see if that helps.

X

X,
thanks so much for all the info, esp. the pictures! I guess the stink is just something we will just have to deal with because there is no way we would ever get rid of our Datura now :)
~Jessi

Xeramatheum, I am confused, the picture you posted looks just like my moonflower bush. It has the same pods and blooms as yours does. I was told Angel Trumpet smells wonderful and the seed pods are not prickly all over.

Seedy, moon flowers are Ipomea, part of the morning glory family. Some are vines and some are bushy and are considered an annual and produce seed pods about the size of big peas. There is a lot of confusion about Angel's Trumpet, Brugmansia and Devil's Trumpet, Datura. Yes they all do kind of look alike. In warmer climates, Brugmansia & Datura can be perennial. Brugmansia flowers hang down and produce long, greenbean like seed pods. Datura flowers on the otherhand point upwards and produce round seed pods that can be bumpy or spikey.

All parts, roots, stems, leaves, flowers and seeds of Ipomea, Brugmansia and Datura are very toxic if eaten!

X

X,
Just wanted to say thanks so much for the "shaking" advice :)
We now have our very first seed pod!
Yay!!!
~Jessi

Is the moonflower considered a perennial here in N.C. ?
It has a huge thick vine coming from the ground. It has hundreds of flowers.

If anyone cares to have seeds from a yellow moon plant please send me an e-mail. They have a lovely scent (the flowers) and are not real large. The original seeds come from a packet of "wild flower" seeds. I don't know how that happened but they do open as the temperature goes down towards the evening. Can anyone tell me if you take off the seed pod from the white moon flower plant will the seeds be good to plant?

I have a few datura "evening fragrance" plants, and they smell heavenly. I do have some seeds available for trade.
If interested, just send me an e-mail.

Thanks!
Tina

I've been reading through the posts trying to determine if I have the only datura that stinks. I'm glad I found out I don't! I have a double purple and it smells like glass cleaner, the blue kind. But I still like it!

Julie

Gosh Julie, you need to get your hands on D. Missouri Marble. It's smells of peanut butter and has variegated leaves.

Hi everyone! I am in zone 2b and you may be interested to know that I have grown datura: plain, white, single flowers! We now have access to a huge assortment of doubles, beautiful colors, etc. but I still enjoy growing my own plants from seed. I find the germination growth excellent, but for me the difficult part is hardening them off for planting! But it can be done! One year I grew the smooth "velvetty" datura (stems) as well as the prickly variety (seed pods). When the seed pods were ready I threw about a quart of pods of each variety into brown paper bags and stored them in a cupboard for 5 months. Every single pod exploded and I still have a ton of seed. Do not think I will seed this year, though, because of fear of ingestion by my superactive grandchild! I will enjoy all your beautiful pictures and sigh every now and again...

Peanut butter! Oh no, another plant I have to have! I'll make a note of it. Thanks!

I purchased tulle (veil netting) and cut it into squares and tied it around the seed pods, allowing them room to grow and now I don't have to worry about them falling all over the ground. Right now I only have the double purple and white, but a lady I work with just gave me some double yellow seeds.

I have double purples, whites and yellows as well as single purples and whites and none have any scent that I've noticed. I also have had no reaction to handling the seed pods or even if the sap gets on my skin when I pinch off yellowing leaves. No problem handling brugs either. I guess it depends on how sensitive your skin is. I don't get a rash from poison ivy either.

Pumpkin Queen not every datura flower will produce a seed pod but most do, unlike my brugs that I usually have to hand pollinate. I guess I don't have enough Sphinx moths flying around. My moonflowers develop seed pods on every spent bloom.
Karyn

I know this thread is a bit old, but I have a question regarding the seed pods for Datura. I have a single white and double puple that both produced seed pods. The pods are a good inch or more in diameter, but they never cracked open. They are still on the plant, (coverd in cloth) and the plants are now in the garage fo the winter. Will the pods continue to ripen or is t too late in the season now. Can I split them open myself and try?
I would very much like to try and grow them.

I am on Vancouver Island on the West Coast of Canada, so although we have an unusual cold spell right now, the climate is realtively mild here.

Any help would be great thanks

Have a good day

Scott

Hey Scott!!
I would leave them on the plant.. the seed pod (mine anyway) is usually about an inch and a half in dia.when ripe.. If you open it I feel sure you will find undeveloped seed which will be of no use to you..
Chena

Hi Scott. How long have the seed pods been on the plant? I'm inclined to agree with Chena but I have had a number of pods that didn't open. When I finally lost my patience waiting for them and split them myself they were full of mold. It was so bad that I couldn't tell if the mold had set in before they ripened or not. It was so nasty and slimy that I tossed them without looking too carefully. If they've been on the plant as long as it normally takes a pod to develop you might want to chance it. If you end up with unusable seed just send me an email and I'll send you some single white and double purple seed.
Karyn

I have followed this thread with great interest, as I have a seed pod on a datura that I brought inside before the cold weather to allow it to ripen. One part of the shell has split away and the seeds, a light tan, are visible. Does the lack of an explosion indicate they might not be viable?
Also, I am getting that red x in a box rather than a picture. When I right click and then left click on "show picture", nothing happens. Can someone straighten me out, please?
In addition, I thought datura were annuals. The plant referred to above has new green -- and very healthy looking -- sprouts on both the branches and the trunk. Is this just fool's gold, or might the plant resume growth?
Would appreciate whatever answers and advice might be offered.
Jerry

It sounds like your seeds are ripe. If the pod isn't completely dry I'd keep it in a paper bag and let it finish drying. The paper bag will allow air circulation and contain the seeds. If it's dry just split it open and take the seeds out. Lay them on some paper to make sure they dry out completely before you store them.

Daturas might actually be a tender perennial. I grow them as annuals but did send a double purple plant to a friend in FL before the cold set in here and it's still growing and blooming for him. They are just so easy to grow from seed that nobody bothers to try wintering them over in colder zones. If your plant is already dead or dying I doubt that it will come back to life but you can just sow more seeds in early spring. I usually start them inside in late winter because our frost date isn't until early May.
Karyn

PS: I don't think the photo in the first post is available anymore. All I see is the red x too.

They are grown as an annual here as well... The seed is very easy to start. I plan on starting some next week..Our last (average) frost date is March 15..
Karyn you and I being the same Z you would think our dates would be closer...LOL We are having a crazy winter with a BIG artic Blast the weekend..Is it gonna make it far enough North to get ya'll?
Chena