First of all, the plant you are asking about is datura. This is not to be confused with Moonflower Vine which is an ipomoea. That causes great confusion sometimes on the Moon Garden Forum.

Your dats will grow those prickly pods. When the pods are ripe, they will break open on their own. There is about a jillion seeds in each pod. You might want to consider wearing gloves for seed harvesting.

Also be aware that datura is a posionous plant, so be careful when handling. Good luck!

Save some seeds for a backup, but these things self seed for me like crazy. Easy enough to pull out the ones I don't want. I found one in the mulch pile last week. In the fall I tend to just put the pods in areas where I would like them and always have flowers the next spring. Same zone as you so it should work.

CAN I TAKE PODS OFF BEFOR THEY DROP THIER SEEDS TO DRY ? THEY OVER TOOK PART OF MY GARDEN THIS YEAR!! I NEED TO MOVE THEM. MY PATIO SMELLED LIKE HEAVEN ALL SUMMER!! TONS OF SEEDS!! VERY
POISONOUS, WEAR GLOVES. SOMEBODY GET BACK, HELP!!!

Hi,

I have the Moonflower VINE...and want to collect seed. Will they produce seed and when can I collect them? They just started blooming, isn't that late? Will they have time to set seed?

Adam

I read that moon flowers are poisonous!!! Are they then not safe around pets? I just found this out!!! Help!!!
I wanted to get some yellow seeds as mine are all white, and not a vine, but more of a bush!!! I need to know more about this plant, as I have already a 1 qt. zip lock bag 1/2 full!

Here is a link to the CDC site they list two types of moonflowers Datura and ipomoea. From what I see the Datura is a bush and a ipomoea is a vine and has heart shaped leaves. a search on google should help also, here is the link were I read about it at.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a2.htm

Sorry to butt in here but I have a question

So the flowers that bloom at night but are not a VINE is a datura.

I have been saving both seeds from my white datura and white moon flower they both have the same type of seeds. So are they basically the same flower?

Thanks

Paula

There seems to be a lot of confusion about two plants in question with similar characteristics. They come from different families and genuses and have different leaves. What they have in common is both bloom white flowers at night. I've found no information to suggest the ipomea white moonflower is toxic.

My moonflower vine didn't flower until Sept either this year and I wondered too if this was late. This is the first year I have been successful getting my seed to germinate. I haven't seen any seed pods yet and I am crossing my fingers also to find some. Those moonvine growers, is Sept. late to flower? I haven't seen that question answered yet.

Sunnytop, I don't know where you garden, but Ipomoea alba takes a long time to flower in my zone 6 garden. They don't grow until it is consistently warm and take a long time to begin flower production. It is normally late August to early September before I see blooms, even though I get a couple of weeks head start by germinating them inside before temps are warm enough to plant out.

The above confusion about disparate plant genera illustrates the fact that common names for plants are not very useful.

Poisondartfrog, Thanks for the info. This is the first year I was able to get the Ipomoea alba to even germinate so I didn't know when to expect it to flower. I'm glad to know this is normal. Evidently AdamM321 was equally as surprised as I to find it took so long. I hope to get some seeds too.

Shrubby moonflower is datura.
Viney moonflower is ipomoea.

Think of it this way - viney moonflower is in the same family as morning glory, also ipomoea.

This was my first year with ipomoea alba. I planted them right next to where my morning glories planted themselves and it made for really neat contrast between the two related plants, especially when you get a moonie open early enough in the evening that there are still some glories open.

I'm guessing by the general discuss here that it's ok to allow moonflowers to self-propagate this far north. I definitely more vines than i had this year, though i was not at all unhappy with the growth.

Ipomoea alba is one of the exciting plants i've ever grown. It is there to impress and does nothing in small measures. I highly recommend it.

I have what I presume to be seeds pods as shown below. My question: how long does it usually take for them to 'ripen'? I have had some ther for more than a month, as it hasn't seemed to change. This is the first time I have grown Moonflowers and I planted 2 seeds by a small trellis by our patio. They have performed 'famously' with 5-8 blooms per afternoon/night.

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I let the pods dry out on the vine. They turned brown and cracked very easily to reveal the pea sized white seed.
Check the vine and maybe there are some there waiting for you. Good luck!

Just some (useful?) information regarding Ipomoea alba L. It is also known by the following most cited synonyms: Calonyction aculeatum and Ipomoea bona-nox.

A couple of questions,

1. I alba has the reputation of a pronounced and pleasant scent during the evening/night, has anyone ever noticed this?

2. Looking at this forum in the main garden forum list, I note by the absence of the camera icon that it supposedly does not support images, however see two excellent pic's kindly provided by costaricafinca via photobucket.
How can I obtain the knowledge to do this, as I may in the future, have my own images to share.

Poison of Datura:

From what I've read it's only poisonous when injested but the oils from the plant can cause irritation especally if you have cuts or if you touch a mucous membrane. Your eyes are very susceptible as it will cause dialation of the pupils. I've grabbed the seeds before w/out any issues but washed my hands after packaging. Just be careful and don't eat it. As for with animals, I think it depends because toxins affect different creatures differently.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on Datura

I live in the Yukon moonflowers grow right in my art studio..I have gotten some beautiful blossoms and later when the blossom dies I let the seed pod dry and collect the seeds,,white ,,large..this is my third year doing this,,,they sit in a pot on the window sill facing south east,,and have by now formed a heavy trunk or root system they keep producing,,I notice new leaves comming out of the vine shoot no problems..I have seeds.. richard...

One of my friends at work brought me a white moon flower seed pod, do I have to wait until spring to plant the seeds or can I plant them now? It is August 1, and I don't want to kill them with the cold, what is the best to do? Wait or plant now?