Need help with harvesting seeds

Hello everyone,

This is my first year with some new plants in our garden and I'm a bit unsure about harvesting the seeds. I have a Cypress vine, which I know pretty much self-sows but I want to collect the seeds to keep for next year or give away. I've noticed the blooms die off late in the day and leave a long string-like piece behind inside of a pod. I've left these alone and notice they are getting bigger but in some cases, they are either being chewed off by an insect or something because the whole pod is gone. How long do the pods need to stay on the vine before they are ready for harvesting and do I just pick them off?
I also have some wild passionflower vines that are blooming beautifully but I am curious about the seeds - are there any? I bought some passionflower seeds on eBay so I know it's possible but these vines we got out of the woods and transplanted to our garden. Again, each bloom dies off in the evening and I've saved a few that fell off but haven't figured out where the seeds are or if there are any at all.
If any of you have experience with harvesting these types of seeds please tell me what to do. I am having rotten luck with my garden this year, and now with the heat being over 100 F every day, its pretty hopeless as far as keeping anything alive out there other than my cockscombs. I just want an abundance of seeds for next year so I can try again.
Thanks a million!

Karen

Hi Karen, Passionflowers will be followed by a Passionfruit. When they are ripe, they will fall off the vine. You can then cut the fruit open to get the seed. Clean the fruit in a metal sieve, scraping the juicy part away. You can plant the seeds after they are clean, or store them.

Aloha, Dave

The passionflower blooms are falling off the vine themselves usually at the end of the day or the next morning and I have yet to see any fruit. Any clue what is going on? I have included a photo of the bloom, usually it just shrivels up and then dries up within 24 hours. Is this normal?

morning glories will start to produce a seed pod green a day or two later after pod falls off. it will be roundish in shape or sorta pointed in some. can be picked when a tanish brown color.

Hi Karen, I believe that your vine is fine. You should see the flower fall away after blooming for a day; the ovary will remain behind and develop into a fruit.
It no fruit develops, you can try brushing the flowers together, rubbing pollen from the stamens of one flower onto the stigma of another. Try doing so soon after the flowers are fully opened in the morning.

I'm noticing that after the bloom falls off the passionflower vine, there is just a stubby piece of the vine left and no sign of any fruit. It's as if the bloom got cut off or something ate it. Is this normal and will the fruit develop later?
This is my first experience with these plants so I'm not sure what is normal and what isn't.
I did however figure out how to get the seeds from the cypress vine and have an abundance coming.
Thanks to those of you who have responded to my questions. Metrosideros, thanks for the unique idea of rubbing the flowers together - I will definitely try that.

If the flowers fall away and nothing is left, the flowers may not be getting fertilized / pollinated, so rubbing the flowers together is a good way to promote fruit production. You can also take a Q-tip, use it to remove pollen from the stamens and transfer it to the stigma.

Aloha, Dave

Could it be that the ants that are crawling all over the passionflower vines are causing the problem? It seems I cannot get rid of them no matter what I try and I don't want to use a pesticide on them in case I do get fruit. Are ants usually attracted to this vine? I've noticed a lot of ants in our yard (found them in my house last night!) and I cannot figure out what is attracting them so strongly since we don't have food laying around outside or anything else that I know of that would attract them, but I've noticed since getting the passionflower vines, we certainly have an abundance of ants and they love the passionflowers. Do they eat parts of the plant?

The ants could possibly help with pollination, so don't worry about them or try to get rid of them. They aren't eating the plant.

We're seeing a whole lot of ants up here, it seems. Maybe because the ground is saturated and they're coming up for air? Don't know what your situation is in GA, though.

Yes, the ants are not a problem, unless they are farming aphids or scales on your plants.