White Datura Seeding Question

GardenGeisha

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I had some very pretty common white datura plants in the garden last summer, and in the past I have had some luck with daturas reseeding. So I left the pods on the plants. However, when I uncovered my garden, I noticed the pods had remained intact and the seeds had not fallen out of them. So I cut them open and sprinkled the seeds on the ground recently.

Do you think the seeds would have frozen too much in the pods over the winter, destroying their viability? They would not have been as warm and protected as they would have been had the pods opened and the seeds fallen on the ground for the winter, covered with insulating snow.

What do you think my chances of getting reseeded datura plants is? Maybe some seeds did fall out in the fall. I don't know?
 

897tgigvib

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If they are close to the same variety that grows wild a good number will grow.
 

897tgigvib

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Remember, Datura are a nightshade and are particularly toxic.
 

GardenGeisha

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I must be a witch? I poked myself real good with the sharp, spiky pods, and they didn't cause any problem with toxicity.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

They are the type that grow wild, but I have trouble getting them going here. Must be bad soil.
 

Ridgerunner

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There is a dosage that goes with that toxicity too. Poking yourself with a seed pod may not be quite as bad as eating a leaf. Just wash your hands after you play with them and keep your hands out of your mouth and eyes until you wash them.

I have no experience with Datura but did a quick web search, just out of curiosity. I didnt find anything I considered that reliable but it seems some varieties of Datura may need the seeds to freeze before they break dormancy. Thats called stratification. And some people said it took up to 6 weeks for some varieties to germinate. It looked like they might require light to so just spread them on top of the soil.

Dont take any of this as true and proven. The stuff I read was all over the place. To me that implies there might be differences in the varieties or that some people were confusing Datura with something else. Remember this came from the internet, not personal experience.
 

GardenGeisha

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Thanks for the info. I've grown a lot of poisonous plants-- datura, Jerusalem cherry, etc., and I've never washed my hands after working in them, and I've never had a problem. Luckily, I'm not sensitive to plants. Never had a problem with touching wild parsnip and never gotten poison ivy nor poison oak, so I'm pretty tolerant to most plants, I believe. My mother was sensitive to plants, though. Walking through weeds would make her itch and redden her skin. I'm lucky, I guess.

Last year a friend sent me datura seeds and I started them in pots. I didn't cold stratify them, and I about gave up on them. I did bury them under the soil in the pots. They finally sprouted, as if overnight, all at once, weeks after I planted them. They did pretty well. Several died after transplanting but enough survived to provide me with beautiful late-summer blossom.

I had to cover my datura beds. The cat was digging in the beds. I have fir branches over them.
 

GardenGeisha

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That is great news! I hope you are right!
 

journey11

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Yep, just don't eat them. :) They pose more of a risk for young children and pets really.

Now that I think about it, mine never sprout until the following year (those that have sown themselves.) So cold-stratification is probably necessary.
 

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