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Utah, [email protected]

can you keep pollen from a male flower for more than acouple of days in your house if the femal has not blomed and will in 2 days and the male will not apear on the cross you want to make again for 3 days. so you can make the cross
if so how do you do it?

if i havent confused you any suggestions welcome

thanks
Bryson Ensign

6/28/2006 10:34:44 PM

[email protected]

I've never done this but it is a fairly common practice. Some folks have kept pollen for many *YEARS* using liquid Nitrogen. I don't know if the stuff has ever been used though. LOL

You can fold pollen up in wax paper & keep it in the refrigerator for several months with no problems. In the freezer it should last longer.

6/28/2006 11:11:49 PM

Huntsburg,Ohio

Last year i took male's off of all my plants just for the same reason you are asking about and i put them in sandwich bags and froze them in our standup freezer i would have never had to use them,b ut i tried it and it will work you just have to have 3 or 4 males just like any regaler pollination. So i would say yes just freeze the males.Clinton

6/29/2006 8:26:50 AM

Utah ([email protected])

Hey Bryan. How are your plants looking...

I have been successful with frozen pollen. But, I would not recommend freezing the whole male flower because when you thaw it out the pollen is wet and clumpy (that can't be good).

I would suggest scrapping off the pollen and freezing the pollen only.

Last summer I tried to pollinate with pollen from the prior season and it didn't work. But a few days has worked without exception.

6/29/2006 3:55:32 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Ok, I first read this a couple of days ago and if wasn't so darned busy I would have answered it sooner.

The simple answer is yes, you can store flowers for nearly up to three weeks in sealed containers in the frig. I have done this for the past three years. Each of my plants has its own labled container in the frig. Many successfull polinations have resulted from this method.

Cut off the flower you wish to store or keep it closed the night before opening. If you choose to cut it off I would try to mature the pollen indoors for a few hours on a sunny window sill before refrigerating. Once you can see pollen grains the flower is ready for storage. Remove the yellow petals and cut the stem short. A stubb about 1" long is good. Be carefull not to disturb the accumulated grains on the anther. Place in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to three weeks.

The morning of the deed remove the stub and anther from the container to a dry location to warm up a bit and remove any condensation that may occur. Use of this technique has proven good results in the past. My first two pollinations this year have been done this way.

Frozen pollen is a lot trickier. First the miosture is really the enemy as it will prevent viable pollen grains. The trick is to warm the stored pollen up slowly and gradually introduce warm air. Condensation on cold anthers will quickly render the grains useless.

I hope this helps.

Russ

6/30/2006 10:58:02 AM