"STORING FROZEN AND FRESH POLLEN"
By Lori-Ann Jones
This article was inspired by Clare Bewsher from Australia
This is what I do with frozen and fresh pollen.
I bring an open daylily flower into the house early in the morning and cut off the Anthers with scissors. The Anthers holding the pollen is allowed to dropped into a shallow container.
By Lori-Ann Jones
This article was inspired by Clare Bewsher from Australia
This is what I do with frozen and fresh pollen.
I bring an open daylily flower into the house early in the morning and cut off the Anthers with scissors. The Anthers holding the pollen is allowed to dropped into a shallow container.
Knoll Cottage Nipping at My Nickers (Jones-L 2019)
I then allow the pollen to dry until the next morning when I take a Q-Tip and cut it in half. The Q-Tip is then dabbed into the dried pollen until I can get no more onto a Q-Tip. I have used more than one Q-Tip to get all the pollen.
The next step is to take one of the small zip lock plastic bag that I save my seeds in, label the bag with what the pollen is and date the bag. I then place the bag in a container and place in the freezer. Frozen pollen can be stored in the freezer, I have been told, for about 10 years and still be viable.
In order to use the pollen, remove the bag from freezer and allow a few minutes for the pollen to thaw and just dab it onto the stigma at the top of the pistil. When I am finished using the pollen (if there is some left on the Q-Tip) place the Q-Tip back into its bag and put it back into the freezer for later use. I like this method for mostly early and late season pollinating when there are not many choices of flowers open. In 2020, I found it worked very well with all the humidity that we had during bloom season. I went out at 6 am and dabbed pollen while it was still relatively cool.
What surprised me was the amount of pods I set using this method. You can pollinate early in the morning using fresh pollen, if you so choose, buy taken the pollen early from the day before and drying it in the house as if you were going to freeze the pollen.
What surprised me was the amount of pods I set using this method. You can pollinate early in the morning using fresh pollen, if you so choose, buy taken the pollen early from the day before and drying it in the house as if you were going to freeze the pollen.
Seedling # 17-629
My friend and fellow hybridizer, Richard Blanchard, brings his frozen pollen with him in the garden in a small cooler to keep it frozen so that he does not have to spend time running in and out of the garden into the house to get his frozen pollen from the freezer.
Brian Culver from Canada spoke at our (NEDS) club a few years back and said that he stored his fresh pollen in small match boxes. Please remove the matches. The boxes have a chemical in them to help keep the matches dry so the pollen stays dry.
Brian Culver from Canada spoke at our (NEDS) club a few years back and said that he stored his fresh pollen in small match boxes. Please remove the matches. The boxes have a chemical in them to help keep the matches dry so the pollen stays dry.
Dave Mussar from Canada spoke at our (NEDS) club a few weeks ago and told us that the fresh pollen stored in the match boxes can last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. New information to me and he also said he also freezes pollen for future use. When storing pollen in a match box, remember to keep them laying flat. If you don't, your pollen can escape where the box slides into the cover.
I cannot wait until this summer in 2016 when I try this new method for me of storing fresh pollen in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. I hopefully will not forget to mark the date on the match box just so that I can keep things straight in my mind.
Good luck in your hybridizing.