As long as you are sure that these dried out brown clusters were at or near the branch-ends of an actual really-truly lilac bush..... then I known what you were collecting. These were truly the old flowers from when the lilac bloomed earlier, probably late May into June, in your area. They will have been doing their best to set seed, and so you probably gathered some seeds in there.

Lilacs will not bloom again til next year. They will set the new flower buds later this year, but those flower buds will not rebloom until next spring, and those new baby flower buds will be on new growth.... None of them should have been in the brown dried flower cluster you collected.

On the other hand, lilacs can be difficult to grow from seed, even if you collected some good filled seed. Oh, certainly, give them a chance. Plant them. It's worth a shot. Just don't count on them to sprout up and grow. They're tricksy.

Thanks Linda!
lol Yes it was truly a lilac bush. We had just never bother to notice the green buds on it at this time of the year before, but it's been flowering now for about 15 years...
I may just give it a shot and see if anything happens.
Thanks again!
Cathy

I posted the same question on the Gardening in Texas Forum.
Did it look like a bunch of bananas pointing outward on the end of the stem? Thats what I collected. Very hard, surfboard shaped seed looking things that overlapped like a bunch of bananas would. Hope thats it. Lea

My memory is too short... I don't remember what it looked like on the plant, but what I got was probably a bunch of dried up bits of old flower, but there looks to be like some very small seeds mixed in. The new 'buds' though, did indeed look much like a bunch of bananas pointing upwards.
I'll throw some in a pot this weekend and see if anything comes up! And make a trip to Mom's soon to see what I can see. lol
Good luck with your lilac's, Lea!

Cathy,
These are my Lilac seed:
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They will turn brown and start to crack open when they are ready to harvest. I wintersowed lilacs with 100% germination last year. Give it a try...good luck! : )

Kywildcat,
That does look just like what I came across!
So it isn't the dried up bits that I collected, it is those green pod looking things that I need to wait on?
(Lol I didn't do anything with what I got, since they say they need cold stratification).
Thanks for the picture! Helps a lot! (But any other advice? :) )
Cathy

When the pod dries and starts to split, you will find 4 chambers (two on each side). In each chamber you will find one papery seed which, just so you know, doesn't always want to fall right out and may need to be coaxed out with a toothpick or something.

I started a dozen of them in the fall four years ago (BTW, without cold stratification) and they have been growing nicely every since. The largest is about 5 feet and the smallest (family runt I guess) is only 2 feet tall. I have not gotten blooms yet but I think by next spring they will be mature enough. Mine are old fashion lilacs that have been in my yard since the 60s so I'm fairly certain of what I will get when they bloom.

I didn't find them difficult to grow from seed at all and I'm quite proud of them. I can hardly wait until they are big enough to block my view of the neighbor! LOL

Lol
Thanks for the info Nurmey!
I'm kind of surprised that so many other people have the 'not wanting to view the neighbors' problem! I have a privacy fence on the one side and need to do something with the other now!
Thanks again and hope they grow big and strong for you!
Cathy

KyWildcat,

I'm looking at the picture you posted. I cut off some stem ends that have those green pods as well as some dark mahagony colored pods that are hard as a rock. Otherwise, there is chaff that's empty. What do the actual seeds look like?

I got excited when I saw the green seed pods on my lilac bush, and picked them before they were ready to be harvested. Is it possible to dry them out for use/planting?

Thanks in advance for any input/advice you can offer!

rosierazor,
I asked the same question

Here

and here

I am going to try this myself. My wife collected some seeds from my mamas Lilac Bush yesterday. I am wondering has anyone ever tried rooting a slip off of a Lilac Bush, like you would a slip from a houseplant?

Hi. I just noticed the green pods on my Lilac bushes! I transplanted them 2 yrs ago from my sister in laws yard. Lots of flowers this yr! I was so excited that they are seeds! I will plant them when the pods split. I read to soak the seeds overnight then plant. I’m going to do both. I have lots of shoots too. Good luck!

The quickest way to propagate your lilacs, and to be sure of getting the same variety, is to dig up the suckers which form at the base. Seed is much slower (several years to blooming) and there is no guarantee that if, for example, you take seed from a white lilac, you will get white lilac offspring.