If they are properly stored - cool and dry - then they are good for several years just like most vegetable seeds. You can always do the standard germination test on them to determine how viable they are before wasting your time trying to grow them. As to trying to grow them this year, 6 weeks to be ready to transplant puts you well into July before you could get them planted - in containers outside I assume? Depending on variety the average DTM is 80 days. That would put you well into October before getting fruit. And that's IF the weather stayed warm enough for them. All and all the odds aren't very good IMO but if you have enough seeds give it a try. If nothing else it will help with them next year. Dave

pots in z5 can be tricky ... if you dont want them.. maybe i shouldnt tell you how to do it... lol .. well.. lol ... the problem is the great white north.. is that a frozen pot.. can NOT drain ... and it doesnt help.. that you put mother earth in a pot ... media goes in a pot .. you ought to know that.. did you ever buy any of your potted plants in dirt.. anyway.. i digress ... if your frozen pot.. get rained on.. especially late in the winter ....you have the potential to turn the dirt into a mudsickle ... and roots dont grow nor live long inside an ice cube .... so many peeps.. simply lay the pot on its side.. come january ... and the rest of what hair said ... and it will not matter if this spent all winter .. on its side.. under 4 feet of snow ... also .. if that is any kind of fancy pot.. the expanding ice.. can crack the pot.. regardless.. its a maple... dont fret too much about it.. you can barely kill them havent you seen a house in the hood.. with a couple million growing in the gutters ... lol you are a worrier .. simply dont worry about this .. just knock the pot over ... out of the sun ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Hi Leslie, "Are seeds only viable when they've been pollinated?" It is not a ridiculous question! The answer is it depends on the plant. Some plants have flowers with all the parts need to make their own seeds. These are called perfect flowers. An example of a plant with perfect flowers is tomatoes. You could grow tomatoes indoors with out insects and get fruit. You do need vibration as wind would cause to make the pollen move inside the flower, but that's all you need. Some plants do need to have insect pollinators to set seed. Most often it is just a flower to flower cross and one plant full of flowers will do. Often times on plants like this, early blooms, blooms during inclement weather and possibly late blooms will have few good seeds because of the absence of pollinators. There are even a few plants that need a second similar plant nearby to set seed though these are not the usual things we save seeds from. A good example of this is apples. An apple needs a different cultivar nearby to set fruit to make seed. It is its way of creating genetic diversity. So that is why apple seedlings never come true to the parent. Seeds can develop in cool weather just fine. There's a few big ones like beans that have trouble. It is not because of pollination(beans also have perfect flowers), it is because of the seed trying to loose moisture and harden. Good seed will always be hard. So if you say save seed from Purple Coneflower, you will find lots of seeds in a seed head. There will be good ones and bad ones. Ones that are not plump and hard are no good. Bad ones will be smaller possibly thinner and will collapse under pressure of you fingers. If seed is bending, squishing, turning to dust, etc. when pressure is applied between your fingers, they are definitely no good, and not worth a germination test. Most annuals and some perennials germinate easily at room temp with a paper towel test and you can check your seed, but if your seed is hard, you should be fine. Some perennials need a cold period to germinate so doing a quick germination test isn't feasibly, but again if the seed is hard, you should have good seed. Usually hard seed that doesn't germinate is old, has been exposed to high temps and humidity in storage for too long, has unusual germination needs(very rarely,) or is one of the few seeds that need to be stored moist(some woodland perennials.) That's more of an answer that I think you asked for,lol, but you can see your question wasn't very stupid or basic : ) Remy

They are not yet ripe until they turn dry and brown. Unripe seeds are unable to support germination - they have not yet developed everything they need to be able to sprout and grow into a tree.