There is a large (8" cal) Wisteria floribunda near where I work and I heard this weird noise like small stones hitting a window and went to check it out and low and behold it was the seed pods "popping". My questions is: is this the normal time for them to be doing this (I didnt read anywhere that it needed Cold stratification). I didnt know if it was almost confused due to all the warm weather we have been having (nearly 70 on Sat) or this was the normal time. Either way it was a very cool thing to witness. Thanks,
Harry, the pods of these legumes usually release their seeds as the pods dry out. Sounds like the warm temperatures helped with that recently. Other species like the scotch broom around here seem to be popping some most of the year as the pods gradually dry out and split open, gradually twisting as they go to eject the seeds. This drawn out process might help with "sowing" seeds at different times to hopefully coincide with good conditions for germination...tho these legumes often have very hard, slow to imbibe moisture seed coats anyway...
