Moon flower vine

[Mike]

I have a moon flower vine with 10 seed pods. Most of the leaves are off the vine. When do I harvest the seed? Do I let them stay on the vine until the dry or do I pick them before? Any hints on preparing the seeds to germinate?

[John]

Good question about seed harvest. My two years at growing this vine never produced pods that matured; they remained green and not harvestable. I'd assume they could be harvested if the pods have turned tan/brown by now, or did they turn to mush instead? Before planting seeds next year, I soak the seeds overnight. For me, excellent germination has occurred within a few days with the "soak then place between moistened paper towel in plastic bag" method. To maximize the chance of seed production in our zone, I'd start the seeds indoors as recommended on the seed packet or in a book on annuals. The Cooperative Extension Service is bound to be a source of info on annuals -- either at their office or online.

[Mike]

I had several pods that turned brown and dry from which I got a dozen seeds. I am looking forward to growing them again next year. Your soaking method was used on last year's seeds and I had very good germination results. This is a great vine for container growing.