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Re: Lespedeza

Janet, the seeds of Lespedeza are, if I remember correctly, born in small
papery pods, somewhat like a snow pea pod, but much smaller, and of course
they shouldn't be collected until they are dried out. The seeds, prior to
soaking up water aren't all that large. About 1/16" or less in diameter
(about the size of a tomato seed, but inflated - not flat. They should be
readily identifiable as seed and have a tough, hard seed coat. If you're not
sure you collected any you probably didn't. Here there are no ripened seeds
yet. Did  you collect them last year? One note, these are members of the pea
family. The seeds will be good for several years if you can get good ones.

About the bees. The answer is a nationwide plague of a predatory mite. More
prevalent in the northern states than the south. The mites invade the hives
and kill off the bees. It is becoming a national problem, but you see very
little about it in the media. According to one article I read, the "experts"
theorize that this is a cyclic problem that has come and gone many times
before we humans started paying any attention and that it will go away on
it's own. Don't ask me who these "experts are, but I certainly hope they are
right. Without bees we could be in major trouble. Two years ago we had
honey-bees by the hundreds of thousands and our own wild hive that had taken
over a huge outbuilding. (we didn't use it anyway.) Last year, the entire
hive died. THE WHOLE HIVE!!! I counted the honey bees in my garden last
year. (and my garden is 1/2 an acre) There were exactly six that I saw the
entire year - and I was looking! Honey producing bee farms have taken to
using some sort of insect strips taped across the hive entrances to trap and
kill the mites before they reach the interior of the hive. I can't remember
right now what ingrediants were used in the strips, but they weren't
chemicals. I believe it might have been a mint derivative. Maybe menthol? I
think it may be helping a little around here. It's only May and I've already
seen 4 honey bees this spring. Pollination around here was lousy last year too.

Grow well,
Amber

>Amber,
>    I don't know if what I collected was seed! How big are seeds of 
>Lespedeza?
>    BTW, I had to do all the pollinating myself--what happened to all 
>the bees?
>
>Janet
>
>
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Amber & Wayman Hearn                    jadare@accessus.net
Whippoorwill Creek Nursery              USDA Z-5
943 Foxville Road                       mintemp = -15F/maxtemp = 102F
Kell, IL 62853
618-822-6000
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