Magic Pods: When to gather Pacifica Iris seeds

October 2018, Kathleen Sayce

When I first started growing Pacifica Iris from seed, I collected several pods too early. The seeds were not fully developed, and resulting germination rates were low. There were also the usual vole, jay and squirrel problems—these animals being all too willing to eat germinating seeds. 

Ripe PCI pod, tips just starting to spread. It's time to gather fresh iris seeds. Photo by Bob Sussman

Come forward a few years; this year I was late gathering seeds, due to trips, work, and other commitments. What seeds I did collect were heavily colonized by fungi, despite a dry long summer along the Pacific Northwest coast. About half the seeds were composted due to fungal coatings. In many pods the seeds were completely felted together with fungal filaments. 

All of this left me with a complex about the right time to gather ripe Iris seeds. I asked for advice among a number of SPCNI members, thinking I must not be the only person who has struggled with ripening, predation, and fungi, and several people responded with comments and photos, including Debby Cole and Bob Sussman. I thank both of them for their helpful notes, and Bob for taking time to send photos. 

Label wrapping a pod that is close to being ready. Photo by Bob Sussman.

Timing of seed ripening is based on tracking pod appearance. Pods go from skinny green to plump yellow and then brown. Six to seven weeks is the usual incubation period after flowering. Species often ripen quickly, including Iris tenax, I. innominata and I. thompsonii, which all may have yellowing and opening pods in five to six weeks in warm climates. 

A slight opening of the pod tips may appear when seeds are ripe. This varies from ‘never opens the slightest’ to ‘splits wide open and tosses seeds out’. The latter usually happens when I’ve been inundated with visitors, trips or work and do not have time to gather pods. Organza bags can help contain the seeds, but don’t leave them for weeks, or the bags will be chewed through and the seeds removed. 

Open pods, some seeds have already shed. Note the withered flower, still attached, lower left. Photo by Bob Sussman.

The corollary to ‘never opens in the slightest’ is that those pods may need to be cut open to free the seeds inside. Some Iris douglasiana pods have this character. They go from green to yellow, often with a ‘shrink-wrapped over the seeds’ look, and then to plump brown, by which time the pods are woody, hard, and require tools to open without shedding blood. The worst of this lot are also the last to flower and thus to ripen seeds each summer. 

When ripe seeds are left too long, they will be discovered by voles, crows, jays, and various molluscan and insect seed-eaters. The only solution is to get to those pods ahead of the seed-eaters. 

Fungi appear to grow in the pod tissue and seed coats, and not in the seeds. I’ve had healthy seedlings grow from seeds heavily covered in fungi. But we can't seen around seeds that have visible mold. Biosecurity is getting tighter all the time. If we gather seeds at the right time, and reduce/eliminate fungi thereby, this helps reduce the chances that seeds will be rejected by inspectors. 

Viable fresh seeds, just released from the pod, which is still green. These seeds will dry to dark brown. Photo by Bob Sussman. Note the absence of fungi on these seeds. 

As for color, that is a feature of the moisture content of the seed. Fresh, viable seeds are very light brown, and dry seeds are dark brown. 

Drying Pacifica Iris Seeds

Kathleen Sayce

When I first collected Pacifica iris seeds, I learned the hard way to let them dry thoroughly before packing seeds into envelopes.  Several packages of fresh seeds developed mold! 

Seeds need ten days to two weeks of patient drying time from pod to package. Gardening is not only a creative physical and visual practice, it's a constant practice of patience––and a lesson I keep returning to again and again, apparently I'm a slow learner when it comes to patience. 

Ripe Pacifica Iris pod with moldy seeds, right from the garden. This whitish mold is in the seed coat, not the seed. The seeds will germinate despite the mold. 

I quickly learned that no matter how dry the pod, the seeds needed their own drying time once they were decanted. The following images show the transition from fresh, damp seeds to dry seeds that can be packaged safely. 

Fresh seeds, right out of the pod:  Smooth and light colored, these seeds need to dry for a couple of weeks. 

Seeds are usually light brown as they come from the pod; they can be greenish, yellow, gold, or even pink.  These seeds will feel damp in your hand. If you are planting Pacifica Iris seeds right away, skip drying and plant them out. Pacifica Iris seeds can live when stored cool for several years, so if you plan to store them, then take the time to dry them first. Seeds ripen as they dry down, are more resistant to cold, and last longer in storage. 

Partially dry, these seeds are starting to darken. 

As the seeds dry, they darken and develop patterned seed coats. The partially dry seeds, shown above, will still feel slightly damp in your hand. They are still too damp to store. Be patient. Let them dry a few more days to a week. 

Finally dry enough to package and send off in the mail to a seed exchange.

Thoroughly dry seeds are light, feel dry to the touch, and are medium brown to dark brown to black in color. The seeds in the photo above are dry enough to put in envelopes and store, or mail to a seed exchange. 

These are extra pods. Note the brown pod at top with loose ripe seeds above it. 

Another hard lesson was that not all seeds are needed by seed exchanges.  One year, I hand cleaned a leaf bag (one of those large black yard trash bags) full of pods of Iris douglasiana seeds––there must have been eight to ten ounces of seed by the time I was done. The seed chairman that year cheerfully used the seeds as extras where those ordering wanted vigorous species-type seeds. 

Nowadays I count pods and rarely collect more than 10 pods of any one variety, which will give more than 120 seeds. On the low end, I aim for at least 2 pods, or 20-30 seeds, as a minimum donation of one variety, unless it's something I know only a few people will want. I have one pod coming on a rare iris and will share seeds directly with those who want it, if I get more than 10 seeds from that single pod. 

If you save seeds for seed exchanges, think about how many seeds to send in. Seed chairs typically want to send out at least 5 seeds of each variety, and if they get only 10 seeds of anything, then only two orders can be filled. 

These days, I clip off extra seed pods and compost them, or toss the seeds out in a rough meadow. Someday I may have a mixed meadow of grasses and irises in that part of my garden. I also toss them on the lawn by the iris beds, the seeds in the photo above may germinate where they fell. 

Seeds are a promise of plants to come. Every time I collect seeds, plant them, and grow new plants, it feels like a blessing from nature. When those new plants bloom and set seed in turn, it's the great wheel of life turning in my own garden, year after year.