Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Sucha Deal!, 0 by debnes_dfw_tx

debnes_dfw_tx wrote:
Yes I hear ya about the aphids, I scraped a few off with my fingernail from a couple of my plants, no sign of them again yet, but I'm watching them. If it continues I am going to buy a lil tub of ladybugs..that oughta fix em! See if you can buy some too, but if it is windy wait until the wind settles down or they will fly off before they find their dinner.
About seeds....when a flower's petals fall off a seed pod forms underneath the blooms. On your Mexican Hat and Coneflower the seeds are in the center attached to each spike is a seed. When they start looking ragged cut them back at the base and stick them in a vase out of the way where it is dry. When the cones turn all brown you can pluck the seeds out by the tips of the spikes. If they are ready they should come out pretty easy. About 2-3 weeks from cutting should be good. Here (pic below) is a Purple coneflower pod I cut off Wednesday. See how the center is still green underneath? These are NOT ready, they need more time on the cone drying to be ripe and viable. There in the green lumps is the rest of the DNA needed for the seed to be whole. When this kind of seed is ready the whole pod will be brown and fall apart with little effort.
I am learning about these things right along with you actually, learning more from hands on experience and then reading to confirm or correct myself. It helps me really understand what I am reading about if I have already held it in my hand..:o)
I have some other different types of flowers out there making seeds. I will share those as I come to them.