Pollen Collection and Storage

[abby]

Pollen Collection and Storage
1. Collecting Pollen



Remove one end of a cotton wool bud and tease the other end

Collect the pollen onto the cotton wool bud

Fertilize the stigma

2. Protecting the Stigma



To prevent contamination the pollinated stigma is covered with either foil or straw cap as seen above.

The straw cap is made from a drinking straw cut into pieces and heated at one end with a lighter and pressed together.

3. Drying of Pollen



Allow the collected pollen to dry by standing the cotton wool buds

upside down until dry.

4. Storage of Pollen



Place dry pollen into a small marked clip lock bag.

Information on the bag should include variety, ploidy, habit, colour and date.

The clip lock bags are placed into a bubble bag which goes into a larger clip lock bag and then placed into a freezer.

This procedure should extend the viability of pollen to be used next season.

Happy Gardening !!!

[Pam]

Empty gelatine capsules are supposedly very good for storing pollen in too, Abby. When I priced them though, they were terribly expensive.

[abwal]

Thank you, Abby. Some great tips here.

[abby]

Empty gelatine capsules are supposedly very good for storing pollen in too, Abby. When I priced them though, they were terribly expensive.

Pam
I've tried various other methods, but find this compact and simple to use - the buds are ready to go as required - just pull them out of the freezer. There is enough room for labelling too which is important to me and only take a small amount of freezer space.

[Pam]

Your idea seems far less fidgety and straightforward than messing around with loose pollen too Abby. You have used daylilies as 'models' for your pics. Given that they can flower at vastly different times, your idea would also be great for cross pollinating those that don't flower at the same time.

[markgrogan]

Before this I have not seen any storage ideas on pollen. I am keen in gardening but I know generally I do not have the green thumb which often makes me shy away from agricultural activities. However, with forums such as this, I get to know of useful tips and suggestions that can me with the said processes and help me to improve my skills at the same time. I guess it is time to hit the garden again sometime soon.