In the past I have encountered several problems when it comes to saving seed. This year I was able to solve all of these problems with the use of organza bags.
Here is a list of the problems that organza bags have solved.
1. Having blooms damaged by insects.
Sometimes flowers can be damaged by insects before they can set seed. But my most common problem is having my Hibiscus parasitized by hibiscus beetles.
2. Preventing cross pollination of different species
I have several species of closely related species of Hibiscus. They will easily cross if not protected
3. Timing collection of seeds from flowers that eject their seed.
Some plants like my Ruellia nudiflora eject their seed when mature, so timing is critical or you miss the seed.
4. Drying seeds.
In the past I have used a variety of open containers to allow my seed to dry, but occasionally knocked over the container, spilling and mixing the seed.
I can protect my hibiscus from hibiscus beetles and cross pollination by bagging as soon as the buds start to form. When they bloom, I hand pollinate then and then recover them until the seeds are ready to collect.
For my Ruellias, I allow them to pollinate naturally and then cover them after the seed pods start to form. After all the pods have matured and have been ejected, I remove the bags with the seed inside.
After the seeds have been collected, I clean them and then place them back in the bag with a piece of paper with the name and date harvested. I close the bag and hang them by the drawstring or toss them in a box. No more worry about spilled or mixed seeds. Even with a box full of bags, there's plenty of air space between them to allow drying. If you put a lid on the box, be sure to add silica packets or some other drying agent to absorb the moisture from the seeds.