Seeds – How to Save Iris and Hosta

Q: In years past I have waited to harvest hosta and Siberian iris seed until after the pods have opened. How do you recommend saving them?

A: There are lots of easy-to-collect seeds now. I have pods on my iris, blackberry lily, hosta, Siberian iris and daylily plants. You can cut off the seed stems when the pods show the first signs of brown skin. Put the seed heads of each species in brown paper bags and wait for the pods to release the seeds. Collect them, label and store in a paper envelope. Plant seeds in a sunny spot in spring and watch for seedlings to emerge in late May.