If it displays the same behavior as other milkweed, the pod will begin to split down the side when the seed are ready. You might take a piece of old nylons or a tulle bag with pull tie to totally cover it so if it splits before you're there to collect, the seed won't be dispensed to the wind. A nice man in Tennessee who has a large stand of wild Red Ring usually announces around the first two weeks of October when he has mature pods to share. Great find and good luck with collecting the seed. Mary

I didn't think to mention, if you're not familiar with winter sowing, to check out the process on the 'winter sowing' forum here. I use this method a lot and used it last winter with my Red Ring seeds and had great success. This method mimics Mother Nature. Another thing to remember is I had some Red Ring seed wait weeks longer to germinate than majority of the seed so don't give up on them. So surprised to see newly emerging seedlings in same pot with growing seedlings.

Best of luck with your project. The mother plant looks strong and healthy and the pod looks to be in great shape. Please come back and let us know if you're able to capture the seeds.

Mary

Hi jgbell68,

To add a little help to Mary's suggestions when I find wild populations of milkweeds I use the following method. If the pods are fully developed I place a rubber band around the fattest part of the seed capsule. Snug but not too tight. The pod will then continue to ripen at it's normal pace and time and once the pod actually starts to dry out when the seed are fully developed it will remain closed and the seed won't be spilled out of the pod. They will dry normally and you can clean them when you collect them. If the plant you found is a long way away and you don't think you will be by it again you can also collect it by cutting off the plant close to the bottom and placing it immediately in water and it will continue to develop for several weeks until the pods or ripe. You will need to change the water every 5-7 days and make a small fresh cut on the stem each time you change the water as the stem will lose the ability to take up water if the water sours. That is why I cut off the entire plant so I have plenty of stem to work with. I have actually found several species along roadsides that have been cut down by the highway departments and used this procedure and been able to salvage many seeds.

Regards,

Mark (wildflowerman_2000)