Q: What are the pods on a bearded iris for? Do they have seeds?

A: If you are both adventurous and patient, you’ll get lots of enjoyment from propagating iris from seed. The swollen seed pod below the faded flower contains several seed. When the pod dries and begins to split (which may take several weeks) you can collect the dark seed and plant them in a sunny, evenly moist spot. Like daylily seed, they seem to germinate best when sown in the current year, not kept for next spring. Some seed will sprout almost immediately but some may wait until next spring. Next May, transplant the little sprouts to a sun-filled “nurse bed”, feed them regularly and wait. Vigorous plants will have blooms within two years of germinating.