Sweet Autumn Clematis Seeds

Can any of you tell me how to know when the seeds are ready to be taken from the plant? I know it is important to let them mature on the vine, but how do I know when they are mature?
Thanks
Sandra

I have a sweet autumn and the seeds ripen very late, since it is a fall bloomer. i do not harvest any of my seeds until they are brown, I am crazy and running out in the middle of the night to cover my flowers with a tarp or newspaper until they are ready. They will be a dark blondish ball of yarn-like that is the best way i can desribe it.The seeds themself will turn from greenish to a medium brown, then they are ready.

Thank you , so I should leave them on the vine until they turn brown, right?
Will they fall off if I miss seeing them turn brown?
Sandra

Oh yes don't take them off till there brown. What zone are you? They shouldn't fall off if your keeping an eye on them. Ofcourse they will often ripen at different weeks, just like other flowers, so grab a paper sack and fill it as the days go. I am still collecting sometimes even when there is snow. They have a sturdy seed and snow will not hurt the viability of the seed.
(Now this is a weird year for mine unlike no other.)
Even though I had a wonderful flowering this year like every year, this year I see seeds but there is not as many and the seed head is not the ball of yarn appearence and I don't know why.
So now I know they don't always exhibit the ball of yarn appearence. There are just about two seeds here and there. Very odd.

Maybe the fluff stuff just blew away when you were't looking--lol. It flies really easy. I had lots of blooms and lots of fluffy stuff and lots of seeds too, but I was not sure how long to leave them on the vine. I have never had any luck raising clematis from seeds.
Sandra

Maybe the clematis seeds are sterile. I know when I had clematis, I never ever saw a bee on the flowers. I don't know why, guess they didn't like the flowers. I don't know about moths during the night time however.

Edited for spelling. LOL

This message was edited Oct 18, 2004 12:32 PM

This message was edited Oct 18, 2004 12:32 PM

I have seen posts of other people who have raised clematis from seeds, but I have never had any luck with them.
Sandra

Just let an end of this Clematis touch the ground
and it will root!

Taramark

..Mine is a monster and alot of it is laying on the ground and still the roots come from were I initially planted it....no babies from seed,no extras for me I guess.No attempt ever that it's rooted/tried anywhere else. I tried alot of things.
However, Taramark yours could do that because my MILS clematis Nellie Moser gives about 5-6 babies a year from seed/hers had rooted other places and hers is smaller than my sweet Aut.
For some reason I think you have a nice cooperative plant and so does my MIL. I do think that it depends very much if they like the soil. My MIL dosen't even try ,the seeds just fall from the plant and there are babies.
I have tried layering and root stimulator and nothing.
Someone told me that only 1 seed out of 40-50 germinates?