Hello All,
I have several Impatiens balsamina plants with lots of seed pods on them. I tried to take a clearer picture of one of the pods, but this is the best I could get. My question is at what stage should I remove these pods if I want to use the seeds to grow other plants? Or, should I just leave them to dry on the plant?
Thanks for your help
I would carefully put a little bag over the seedpods before you try to do anything with them--impatiens have a tendency when the seeds are ripe for the pod to explode and shoot seeds everywhere if you touch it. Once you've got the baggie on, then touch the seed pod and if it's ripe the seeds should shoot out into the bag. It's hard to say from the picture but your seedpods look pretty green still which means they aren't quite ready yet. The pods need to stay on the plant until they're ripe.
Thank you ecrane3. Do they turn brown when they are ripe?
I don't remember--the last time I grew these was when I was a kid. Most seedpods will turn browner as they get riper so it's likely that they would. But the trick is to catch them in time before they split apart and shoot the seeds out on their own so definitely keep an eye on them.
Water Lily,
The seed pods of your plant will not turn brown.
Your might try giving them a gentle squeeze when they begin to turn from green to slightly yellow. If you cover the pod with your hand you should be able to catch some of the seed as they pop open.
This photo has nothing to do with the topic, begonia imperailis>
