thanks, ladies!!
tammy, that's not a bad idea! would some kind of heavy cloth (like a blanket or comforter) do? and what about other color plastic?
i'm asking because i'm thinking of doing what rosie says for some and then covering the rest that are still on the plant...just to see which works out better!
i'd googled earlier and saw some articles about using the vine and/or pods in flower arrangements...nothing was mentioned about doing that to continue ripening the pods, tho. rosie, what kind of sunlight level do you put the vase with the cuttings in?
lynne, thanks!! i'll let you know if i need some...hopefully it won't actually freeze and/or whatever i take inside will ripen properly and i won't need any of your seeds.
since you're familiar with them and are in basically the same zone as me, do the flowers always appear in september?
i bought the plants in late june and put them in the ground...got flowers in september. i'm wondering if i start them early enough inside and get them out in the ground earlier, will the flowers start sooner? how long does it take for the seeds to sprout? i know they need to be scarified first...do you soak them too?
also, just how long DOES it take for the pods to ripen?? i was surprised at how quickly the pods formed in the first place (the flowers were only there for a few days) and thought they'd ripen just as quickly. some of the pods have been growing for over a month - even the first group that formed haven't started to change color yet.
i'm not complaining about it - they're absolutely gorgeous!!! i just thought the pods would ripen within a month - that seems to be the norm for most plants...