Page 1 of 1

How Long does it take for Devil’s Claw pods to mature?

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:39 am
by bananaman
So, a devil’s claw (probably Proboscidea louisianica) popped up at a home under construction in my neighborhood. I’d like to snag some seeds to try my hand at growing them — they’re neat looking plants, have cool flowers, have potentially edible fruit, have cool looking seed pods, catch a bunch of bugs, and grow great here (I mean, it’s growing in a completely untended area, which gets no water, has terrible, rocky, shallow soil, and has no shade whatsoever from the heat). I was, frankly, shocked at how sticky the plant was. There are lots of little bugs stuck all over it. The flowers kind of remind me of desert willow (Chilopsis).

The plant has flowers, but it also has some pods that are a good 5-6” but solid green and plump. How long should it take for those big pods to mature? A couple weeks?

If you’ve got experience with this plant, feel free to chime in.

Re: How Long does it take for Devil’s Claw pods to mature?

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:27 am
by bananaman
Well, I guess I answered my own question. When I walked by yesterday, the green skin was beginning to split one one pod.

So I guess the answer is about 3 weeks to a month for pods that big to mature.

Re: How Long does it take for Devil’s Claw pods to mature?

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:48 pm
by Nightbreed
Good luck growing it. I thought there seeds are really cool looking.

Re: How Long does it take for Devil’s Claw pods to mature?

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:22 pm
by bananaman
I snagged the first ripe pod today. It’s most definitely the wild kind with 2 claws and black seeds — not the cultivated one with 4 claws and white seeds.

Pod:
85D6E7F0-C48E-44D8-AF8E-14B9EA3506A4.jpeg
85D6E7F0-C48E-44D8-AF8E-14B9EA3506A4.jpeg (1.4 MiB) Viewed 2551 times
Seeds:
9B287845-32E8-4352-AEB4-DA451E8C840D.jpeg
9B287845-32E8-4352-AEB4-DA451E8C840D.jpeg (1.49 MiB) Viewed 2551 times