My daffodil are producing seed pods. When the pods ripen and dry, do I sow the seeds outside right away or wait till next spring? Do they germinate right away or need cold stratification?

You really should take off the seed pods so that your existing bulbs will grow the foliage, re-generate the bulb, and put their energy into making flowers for next year. Daffodils will usually make baby bulblets and create nice clumps where you planted each bulb so you really don't need to mess with the seeds to get more.

They won't be the same as the parent. 5 years from seed to flower.
Here's how to do it -
http://www.gardeningknowhow.co...

jmorth said:They won't be the same as the parent. 5 years from seed to flower.
Here's how to do it -
http://www.gardeningknowhow.co...

That says indoors, but other opinions say outdoors. Which is it?

I'd say take your pick or , even better, do both.

The article says indoors the first year. I have never tried to grow a daffodil from seed but I can't see why you would want to keep them indoors for a year. I also suspect they need cold stratification to germinate.

As you are growing from seed, your daffodils will not look like their parents. And some hybrids don't produce viable seed.

If this is an adventure/experiment, go for it. If you are trying to increase your daffodil population, let them set bulblets. The maturing seed pods are stealing nutrients from a bulb that needs every ounce of energy to feed itself for its long fall/winter nap.

Daisy

Keith, I think it's great that you want to grow your own daffodils from seeds. It should give you bulbs that are perfectly adapted to your local conditions and they will also be free of diseases and viruses that can easily build up in a clonal population over the years .

If I wanted to grow daffodils(Narcissus) from seed I'd personally look at how Ian Young does it as I respect his knowledge: http://www.srgc.org.uk/journal...
So store the seeds in almost dry sand at a constant cool temperature until around September and use the methods he recommends, but adapt them for your local conditions and climate.
You could also look at his bulb blog for more info, there is a lot of valuable info about starting bulbs from seed there if you dig around: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/

I had a friend who just waited til the pod was brown and begin to split. She harvested the seeds and put them in a pot. She set the pot aside in her potting area and left it there. She just checked recently and said she had a couple something that looked like green strands. This process took a year but of course the "strands" are no where blooming size. She only did this for fun and really didn't know what would happen. Got a way to go before blooms.

sallysmom said:I had a friend who just waited til the pod was brown and begin to split. She harvested the seeds and put them in a pot. She set the pot aside in her potting area and left it there. She just checked recently and said she had a couple something that looked like green strands. This process took a year but of course the "strands" are no where blooming size. She only did this for fun and really didn't know what would happen. Got a way to go before blooms.

That's the info I was looking for! They probably only sprout after the cold turns to spring. I don't care how long it takes its for fun. 🙂