Saving milkweed seed

For ease of seed cleaning and saving, milkweed seed is best harvested just before it "fluffs out" as seen in the third photo.  The fluff helps carry the seed far and wide, but makes storing/saving any quantity of seed tricky.  Milkweed seed is fully mature right before the pods open and fluff out, so the timing for this can be tricky- following these steps can help.

1.  Start to check seed pods in late August or early September, the timing will depend on your climate.  It's hard to miss the seed pods, but just in case they are the oval "fruits" at the top of the plant.
2.  We look for seed pods that are starting to turn from green to yellow/tan.  That tells us the seed inside is ripening.

3.  Peel open the pod at the split down the middle and make sure all the seeds are a uniform brown as seen in the top photo.  Immature seeds will be white, yellow, or tan.
4.  Gather all the seed pods in a bucket to finish processing at home.

5.  Open the seed pods and use a fingernail to pull the seeds away from the fluff and into a container as seen in the third photo.  Don't delay this process and seed pods will open and "fluff out" even off the plant.  You can plant these seeds of course, they are just harder to pack and save.