Rhododendrons: Rhododendron Seeds

I've been anxiously waiting to pick the seed pods from my Rhododendron. This is the first year I've gotten any. The first question is: Do I wait until they turn brown to pull them? or How do I tell when they are ripe? The second is: I read that the seeds require 100% humidity, when and how? And the third is: What is the best way to germinate them? Any help would be appreciated.

 

You can wait till they turn brown but they should be OK now if spring blooms. So can Pick now and place in a paper envelope or equal (but not plastic) and let dry and split open in on their own. The seeds should be separated from shaft -- discard shaft as you only want the fine seeds.

To germanate, I found the clear plastic salid containers are convenient and work well. Fill the bottom with moist packed peat and a 1/8 inch loose layer on top of that (sprinkle fine peat on top). Close container and wait a day for see that moisture is right - not wet/not dry. Then just sprinkle the seed over the peat, close the container, and put is bright but sun free location (north window) or if you have them, under growlux lights at 20 hours of light a day. They germanate easily, it is growing them after that which may be the hard part.

 

Thank you Fourd for the info. What did you mean by "growing them may be the hard part"? As you can tell I know nothing about them. lol

 

by "hard part" I was refering to the long time it takes to grow from seed and that alot can hapen in that time.