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Scarecrow

leonotis leonurus (lion's tail) - harvesting seeds?

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so after reading about the interesting effects of this plant I realized I've been passing one growing casually/carelessly in someone's front yard on the way to the train station nearly every for the past... very long time.

i grabbed some pictures today on my way to uni:

post-12703-0-08726500-1364375005_thumb.j

post-12703-0-94347400-1364375037_thumb.j

then i grabbed (what looks to me like) a pod of seeds on the way home so I could try and grow some of my own:

post-12703-0-82645700-1364375078_thumb.j

however, I soon realized i may have done this a bit prematurely, because I don't really have any idea when these seeds are meant to be harvested.

i looked around and couldn't find much information on the subject at all; the only information regarding collecting seeds i was able to dig up kept mentioning spiky flower pods (which makes me think that they were actually talking about leonotis nepetifolia), or calling it "motherwort" (which is a name for some other variety of leonitus)...

so: can anybody tell me if these seeds i have will be viable? if not, when should i actually collect seeds? do i need to treat them in any way after harvesting?

post-12703-0-08726500-1364375005_thumb.jpg

post-12703-0-94347400-1364375037_thumb.jpg

post-12703-0-82645700-1364375078_thumb.jpg

post-12703-0-08726500-1364375005_thumb.jpg

post-12703-0-94347400-1364375037_thumb.jpg

post-12703-0-82645700-1364375078_thumb.jpg

Edited by Scarecrow

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Dry them out for a day or two, plant them and find out - they should germinate within a week or so if they're ok.

In general though, observe the plant over time and watch the development of the pods to get a better idea of when to harvest the seed.

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This has puzzled me for some time.

I have looked on a regular basis when my plant is flowering and have never been able to find seeds. Has anyone collected their seeds?

When the flowers have dropped off is that two late?

Then again I don't even know what the seeds look like so I suppose I should find a pic first so I know what I am looking for. :unsure:

Cheers

Got

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If the seeds are a dark grey/black they are ready as far as I know. Never harvested seed, I usually harvet the leaf and flower at the same time and discard of the plant. i then source seed off friends for the next season... This season will be different cos of this thread ;)

Some general seed saving advice is the pod will tell you when it's ready. They generally dry up, loose 70-90% water, and let the seeds fall free when shaked vigorously over a bowl/plate. I'm in no way qualified but this is all I base my proven seed saving skills on :)

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Dry them out for a day or two, plant them and find out - they should germinate within a week or so if they're ok.

In general though, observe the plant over time and watch the development of the pods to get a better idea of when to harvest the seed.

all right, i'll give it a try. for science!

 

This has puzzled me for some time.

I have looked on a regular basis when my plant is flowering and have never been able to find seeds. Has anyone collected their seeds?

When the flowers have dropped off is that two late?

Then again I don't even know what the seeds look like so I suppose I should find a pic first so I know what I am looking for. :unsure:

Cheers

Got

the pod i saw (and the one i took) were at the top of one of the "flower towers". having looked more closely at a flower pod also i saw a few bits that looked like my 'seeds' also... so it's also possible that what i have is actually a premature flower or something.

 

If the seeds are a dark grey/black they are ready as far as I know. Never harvested seed, I usually harvet the leaf and flower at the same time and discard of the plant. i then source seed off friends for the next season... This season will be different cos of this thread ;)

Some general seed saving advice is the pod will tell you when it's ready. They generally dry up, loose 70-90% water, and let the seeds fall free when shaked vigorously over a bowl/plate. I'm in no way qualified but this is all I base my proven seed saving skills on :)

hmm... what i have is more of a tan/light brown colour. i'll try endorfinder's suggestion and see if anything happens; if it doesn't, i'll keep an eye on the plant and try and grab some when the flowers start drying up as you described.

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I've been doing the shake to get them out.

Cut them off and make sure you leave about 2-3cm of stem on atleast one side, let them dry until they're 100% dry (no sign of green at all) and then hold them over a large bowl and shake like crazy.

Fair warning: They're rather spikey...

Hope you asked before picking their flowers...

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what you have picked scarecrow is a young emerging flower .

Go to your pic #1, in the middle of the pic is the fully flowering orange flower, to the left of

that are the green ball like structures that are the remains of when the orange petals discard. This is made up of multiple

tubes.

Further to the left of that is a stalk of these balls that have dried and are brown. This is where the mature seeds are.

Pick and shake in a bag or bucket.

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what you have picked scarecrow is a young emerging flower .

Go to your pic #1, in the middle of the pic is the fully flowering orange flower, to the left of

that are the green ball like structures that are the remains of when the orange petals discard. This is made up of multiple

tubes.

Further to the left of that is a stalk of these balls that have dried and are brown. This is where the mature seeds are.

Pick and shake in a bag or bucket.

ahhh i thought that might be the case. keen eye though, i had totally forgot there were already dry pods there. thanks for the info! i will take a look tomorrow!

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Don't take too much! The owners might be planning in using this plant themselves! The seeds are readily available to experiment with online

i won't, i won't... but i really doubt the owners have any clue what it is. it's been there for years and never once been harvested.

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Knock on their door and ask if you can take some. Its looking pretty prolific and if you think they've never harvested it then they may not mind.

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This is a very common weed. Grows all over the place.

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whats wrong with picking sum flowers from yas neighbours garden?? i pick flowers for my kids and wife all the time lol :innocent_n:

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