I had some seedlings in cups- It may have been me-
It seems to me that a few of my dats were mis-identified- Is your flower all white or is it creamy white inside and shiny deep purple outside? Either way- the trick is to let the seed ripen on the vine- the pod will either rupture- or become quite dry and spikey before the seed is ripe.
Remove from the pod and keep cool, dry and out of direct sun till Feb. I soak the seeds 24 hrs then lightly cover with seed starting mix. You will need to use lights and bottom heat to germinate. They will take a while to germinate and are quite sporatic- one seed may sprout 2-3 weeks earlier than another in the same pot- At least that is what I have found when starting Dats-
So glad you enjoy!
Julie

My white datura reseed themselves without me having to do anything. I have them growing on the south side of my house and some even come back from the roots, if they are growing close enough to the foundation of the house.

I'll post a picture later tonight, after I get home from work, so you can see if we are growing the same variety of datura.
Mike

Thank you both for the excellent information. Mine is pure snowy white and, although the plant isn't particularly tall, the flower is very large.

I am going to print out the starting information and follow your directions. I am heartened to hear that it will come up again from the root if it is protected from the worst of winter. I have long suspected that I could push my zone by at least one by my little garden pond. I keep a heater in it over winter and the water never gets below 40 degrees. That is where my first hostas start appearing, as well as iris, daylilies, and astilbe. Maybe if I plant a datura there next year, close to the pond edge, I will get one coming up from the root.

I hope you get a chance to put those pictures on the forum. I'd love to see them - particularly how tall your plants get. Mine is probably about 16 to 18 inches tall. I had always thought of datura as being a taller plant than that. Could our hot, dry spell make a difference maybe? Carmellia

My white dats also self-seed freely but are usually a bit slow in sprouting so tend to 'surprise me' after I've made plans for an area in the spring. I'm anxiously awaiting my first blooms on what is supposed to be a dbl yellow. The purple I received are somewhat lavender w darker thoat and small flowers...disappointing but you never can tell what you're going to get with seeds. Julie, I'd be interested in trading something for some of the dat seeds you mention above this fall. I have a number of brugs which are going great guns and will have a lot of cuttings of those also this fall. Ironic....this time of year I wish I had more time to surf & during our 'main' season lament being stuck inside.
Enjoy it folks even when its beastly. Now back outside to work on the new bed I'm digging.

Well sure you can have some of the double black current swirl dat seeds- provided I get ripe pods- it is a stunnng plant- remind me later- maybe we can swap!
I too have been hoping to see a double yellow and a triple yellow but- something went haywire some where- (imagine that!) and I have lots of shiny black purple dats and no yellow colored blooms-
I am hoping the soft fuzzy leaved plant labled white moon flower- but is growing like a dat instead of an Ipomea- is the white dat Carmellia is speaking of-
I fear I have weeded the Jimson weed like, more holly shaped leaf dats right out of existance in my beds- Dumb-
Better luck next time- right?
I found you can keep a dat over winter in a non heated basement with minimal light- I brought one in last fall that was planted in a large pot- to protect from freezing till the pods ripened- and well- it's outside blooming right now!

I hope my seed is going to have time to ripen. The pods on the little lavender one formed about a month ago. The large whites maybe a week or two ago. I have my fingers crossed.

5 - count 'em - FIVE large white blooms opened last night!
Carmellia

Datura meteloides is actually quite hardy from what ive heard, JL hudson seedsman says some lots are root hardy in Wisconsin. Plants of the southwest.com sells the seeds and labels the plants hardy to at least zone 5. Hardy or not Datura meteloides can and will self seed, so you can depend on the seeds to germinate by June when the soil warms up, otherwise they need warm stratification if u mimic it indoors. I hope that helps

did you guys smell them after dusk , the white ones of mine smell like citronella, and yes they are all volunteers.
Lone