Question
I have a purple trumpet plant and it is seeding, how do I harvest the seeds and prepare them for planting? Are there any special way they have to be planted?

Answer
Hi Betty,
Thanx for your question.  When you say purple trumpet, are you talking about datura?  If so, after the plant has bloomed a purplish-green ball will form.  Allow the ball to ripen and it will turn brownish and begin to split open.  When this happens, you can remove the ball, split it open and dump out all the seeds.  Be careful of any spines.  Some daturas have spines all over the seed pod which is the reason for another name some of them have called "thornapple".  The seeds will keep for several years and have the same requirements as tomatoes as they are from the same family.  Start them in February about 1/4 inch deep, warm, moist soil.  Germinates in 21 days or so.  They grow well in the South and can become invasive so be careful.  All parts of the plant are poisonous having hallucinogenic properties and even death.  Native Americans and proto-Europeans used the plant in religious/vision quest ceremonies.  I hope this helps.
Tom