G'day Leslie, your plant of Japanese iris looks pretty snazzy! Congratulations on your first seeds, the first of many I hope.
I'm no expert, but have had quite a deal of success in raising JI's from seed to flowering in a short time.Some methods have been more successful than others.If you have followed my journey on the ''Japanese Iris'' thread, most of what follows is there.
This is what I do in my climate.
When the pods begin to split, collect them.Now, I think it is best to open them straight away and put seeds in a paper bag to dry for about a month.If you don't open the pod immediately, you may find a worm has devoured the contents by a later date.In the couple of trials that I have done, soaking the seed, after the initial 4 weeks, in (cold) black tea, changing it three times in as many days and then placing the drained seed into a plastic bag with some moist kitchen hand paper for 4 to 6 weeks, placing them in the fridge and then sowing gives me excellent results.I aim to have a good percentage germinate before winter.The seed trays must be open to the weather and the soil should not be allowed to dry out at any time.Sow all seed, even though some may look crappy.I have not had mould on any seed, but if you do, I would wash that seed in about 10% bleach, rinse and sow.You can skip the tea wash if you prefer and just soak and rinse in clean water as above.
Japanese iris are self fertile.They do cross with Iris pseudacorus, the most widely known clone being ''Kimboshi'', but there are others that are very beautiful which I have not seen.
The above approach may not be suitable for those growing in a very cold climate, so check out the methods used elsewhere.
Best of luck.
