I received two of these lovely plants from one of our members last fall. They have grown as tall as me, and by george, I didn't know they would make flowers. So, since they make flowers, they must make seeds.
Could someone please give me an elementary lesson, using the photo below to explain the stages of maturity and what the seed is going to look like? When they are ready to be gathered? or are they already there?
Thanks so much,
Molly
:^)))
You did good! The top ones are the flowers while the lower ones are the buds, which will soon look like the top ones. See all the fuzzy little red points on the flowers? Soon those will fade to brown and swell. Each capsule will be three sided with a seed in each, if I remember correctly. Wait until they are brown and if they do not pop open on their own, you can give them a little pinch. My kids love to help with this and I remind them how terribly dangerous each and every seed is. :)
Molly, here's a pic of the seedpods. The brown, dried out ones are ready. They get rather prickly at this stage.
Jean
'Chele, Thanks so much for a very good description of the process, just what I wanted.
JJ: An excellent idea posting a picture at the next stage.
With yall's help, I can't go wrong on getting these seeds.
Thanks so much!!!!
Molly
:^)))
Make sure you wash your hands after handling them and don't let pets near them. They are dangerous. The poisnous ricin is made from the seeds. One seed ingested can kill an adult. However, many people grow them so as long as you are careful....
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/ricin/ricin.html
