Harvest and Store Seeds - Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa)

Orange Honeysuckle as a Plant

Orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) is a native deciduous vine that grows in moist shady forests on the West Coast of North America. The honeysuckle can be identified by its opposite leaves that are fused together on the stem at the end of shoots. The flowers are tube shaped and can attract many birds and pollinators. Learn more from the Native Plant Spotlight post here.

Harvesting the Seeds

Harvesting of the seeds begins with the collection of the berries. Collect the berries once the fruits ripen from green to red. These berries are highly sought after by birds. Make sure you only take what you need and leave some for our forest friends.

Once the berries have been collected it is time to macerate fruits them in water. I like to simply place them in a home blender and pulse them a few times until the berries are broken apart and you can see seeds floating around in the mix. You can also just squeeze the seeds out of the fruit if only processing a few. After macerating allow some time for the pulp and empty seeds to rise to the surface of the water. Once separation has occurred remove the floating bits and compost. Drain the water and lay the seeds out to dry.

The seeds require a period of cold and moist stratification of 90 days at 36 to 41 °F. You will need to either plant seeds in the fall or store them in the refrigerator in a wet paper towel or a container of soil.

Storage

Once the seeds have been harvested, cleaned and stratified they can now be stored. They can be stored in a dry cool area for up to 5 years. For best results continue to store seeds in the refrigerator or other region that does not get warmer than 41 °f.