Seedfork said: I am thinking that maybe the fall tended to be very dry like it is here most years. Any late seed pods found would probably be very dry along with the seeds inside them.
This has been one of those years here when any seed pods found in the late summer early fall would have been bone dry.
I agree. I'm about 50 miles from Oakes and that's my experience in this area. What fully ripens in the late summer and fall is DRY. And I think the last few months have been the second dryest I've seen in the last 27 years. It rained once in three months and not terribly much! The couple of times it drizzled doesn't count.
Also, I suspect that the modern habit of storing seed in plastic baggies wasn't always a thing. Envelopes and paper baggies may have been preferred some decades ago, and that would add to seed dessication.
When I read the journal article, I made a mental note not to freeze my seeds. I prefer the fridge anyway- it's easier to sort and select seeds without condensation from warming or yo-yo temps. If done on a cool day, the baggies barely notice they left the fridge for a while.
