trillium and geranium

Stupid question day mabe? I live in a rural area where trilliums and wild geraniums abbound on the roadsides. They are finishing flowering now. How long to seeds are ripened and ready to pick and what do they look like? Also [plenty of kalmia and rhodos around The seeds of last years bloom are all over the mt. laurel are they still good to plant-I read they are easy from seed. The rhodo seed also is still on many of them-are they viable / certainly been thru the cold needed if any.azaleas are just now finishing bloming also. Seeds? or cuttings and how?

There's information about collecting Geranium seed in the Plants DB - you can try out Dave's new Search function to find them, and see what there is about Trillium.

I should think the seeds of your shrubs should be viable, but it would be quicker to take cuttings. I know there was a thread about Azalea cuttings a while ago.

Thanks Mary

I have a book called "A garden of Wildflowers". It says for trillium erectum to collect the seeds when the berries turn a dark red - but don't let them dry out. Separate them from the fruit and plant them 1/4 inch deep in humus rich loam. Keep the seeds moist and give them a thin mulch of deciduous tree leaves. Alternatively seeds can be planted in flats containing a mixture of loam & compost and left outdoors over winter. If they don't germinate in spring leave them out over a second winter. Stratification is required for germination & even then germination is slow. Directions for trillium grandiflorum are the same.

I think it's crucial here not to let the seeds dry out after they are picked. If you're planning to gather them for trades - pick the berries when they are ripe and store them in your fridge. To ship them I'd send the whole berry to your trader wrapped in foil with a bit of damp paper towel and packed well in a padded envelope. Maybe stuffing them inside an empty pill bottle or something similar would help keep them from getting crushed.

Thanks Sue

geranium seed heads look like crane's bills hence the other common name Cranesbill. you need to check everyday to see when the seeds capsules are turning brown and the seeds are turning black. once they are ripe the plants catapults the seeds several yards away by means of a very clever mechanism

Mark