2nd pic

Hi Sarah!!

Congratulations on your Seedpods..

It is a great feeling to see these little guys grow and take off! Everyday, they grow larger and larger. It is truly amazing to watch them grow...

Have fun!!

Laura

Sarah, pretty soon you have plenty of DR babies and you become attach to them like me.
Marie

haha yes! someone will have to give me some tips on growing the little ones :) the only things ive ever grown from seed before are some sunflowers so i will need any tips people can give me...what type of soil to start them off in...when to report from a tray to lil pots...etc etc...its very exciting though :D

Sarah

i bet you'd be surprised how the seed pods will grow in the short span of time to come. don't be fooled by their growth spurt, because you have to have some solitaire to wait for the pods to mature.
the pods have a tendency to explode and when this bad scenario happens, the seeds will be propelled by the moving air out of your clutches due their wing-like strands of hairs located on botth of their terminal sides, which are subsequently removed for storage and ease of planting.
so when the pods grow big enough and turn brown in my case, i wrap them with the malleable bonsai wire i got from our local garden center. you can even use ornamental ribbons and just about anything logical to wrap with the cylindrical pods.
seeds can be dried for storage (but not dehydrated that you lose their viability)
i planted mine vertically, horizontally, top- down, bottom-up...with no problem.
i don't use commercial potting mix and use my own recipe according to the totality of the environment in which they're seeking refugee, and by not barring incremental loss, and because we don't have these ready-made soil mixes. but gnerally, you can use commercial seed starting soil mix and amend it with pumice, perlite, rice hull, pine bark, chicken grit or whatever is available for proper drainage.
with knowledge, you'd find them easier to grow than do sunflowers. at least, i do.
mine are still on their trays and are almost 3 months old. though i'm thinking of transferring them this week.

Looking good! Well done.
Gill from the UK.

oh thanks for that advice coz i was going to ask when its safe to open them but if they open up themselves thats great! i will take more pics as they get bigger...and will def remember to wrap some ribbon around them so i dont loose the seeds :D looking forward to raising them and then keeping some and giving some away/ selling some :)

Sarah, looks like you're a natural! When they get bigger--and I think it's about 5-6 months to maturity--you can put an old nylon stocking over them and secure it with a twist tie. Then you'll catch the seeds when the pod splits open without cutting off the air circulation.

Yes! That's a great idea! So excited to have some babies to grow :D