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Post by BarryRice on Apr 16, 2008 18:33:04 GMT
Hey Folks,
OK, so yesterday I tried something that I had heard about, but never gotten around to attempting....
I was pollinating a bunch of S. oreophila flowers of different clones, and I didn't care about the details of the crosses I was making---all that I cared about was that I was making S. oreophila x S. oreophila crosses.
Since I was being casual about the details of my crosses, I decided that instead of using a separate toothpick for each cross, I would use my little finger.
Man, what a dream this is! It is a piece of cake to get pollen on your finger, and the pollen comes off on the stigmatic surface really well.
How long have I been doing this, and I finally tried this? Live and learn!
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Post by Alexis on Apr 16, 2008 19:30:08 GMT
I think you must be half man half bee!
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Post by brokken on Apr 16, 2008 21:27:51 GMT
Flower molester!  My oreo flower has not opened, but my oreoxminor has. When I went to gather pollen for crossing with a psittacinaxminor, I found this HUGE spider living inside the flower. Not sticking MY finger in there. |
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Post by rsivertsen on Apr 16, 2008 21:31:24 GMT
I prefer to use stainless steel tweezers myself to grab those anthers, styles and all, just in case of such an encounter, and it's also more efficient. - Rich
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fredg
Full Member
Posts: 367
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Post by fredg on Apr 16, 2008 22:25:44 GMT
Doesn't anyone use an artists brush (watercolour)? At least it reduces the risk of your finger getting pregnant  |
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Post by Michael Catalani on Apr 16, 2008 22:35:39 GMT
How long have I been doing this, and I finally tried this? Live and learn! It works so well you may be able to get all stigmas on 2 or 3 flowers with one finger dip. If you rake your finger across the stigma, you will sometimes see the "puff" of pollen balloon up into the air. Be careful of bumble bees though. |
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Post by mred23 on Apr 17, 2008 8:30:41 GMT
I use a fine sable Artist brush and wet the bristles in my mouth and flatten the now moist bristles with my lips. The pollen sticks real good and doesn't get affected by saliva. I have pollinated hundreds of flowers this way and I have found it the easiest and most accurate way. I then have a modified cellotape dispenser and I write on the sticky side, the cross/self, then cut it off and wrap it around the base of the flower pushing the sticky surfaces together. I'll often remove the petals also as it makes the job easier and lets you know which flowers have been pollinated. Then come time to harvest the seed at the end of the year simply cut the pods off and you don't have to worry about mixing them up ... as long as the felt pen is UV stable and hasn't faded!
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Post by mred23 on Apr 17, 2008 8:33:47 GMT
Incidentally my oreos don't produce pollen at all! Is that uncommon with them as I wondered if it was a true oreo but then again I thought if it is rare this could be why???
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Post by Brian Barnes on Apr 17, 2008 9:42:10 GMT
I've been using my finger for years to pollinate my Sarrs. BUT make sure you don't mistakenly point at the plant and laugh while doing so....They don't like it! ;D
Brian.
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Post by Alexis on Apr 17, 2008 13:01:15 GMT
It can take some flowers 5 or 6 days to start producing decent amounts of pollen.
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Post by sunbelle on Apr 17, 2008 14:06:57 GMT
We used the watercolor brush with a little vegetable oil, but the last two seasons Michelle has used her deft little fingers with great success. We repeat the same pollination a few days later again. Result: big fat seed pods!
PS. When making horticultural hybrids, be sure to clean one's fingers between crosses!
And she always checks for bees behind the curtains.
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Post by Michael Catalani on Apr 17, 2008 14:30:07 GMT
BUT make sure you don't mistakenly point at the plant and laugh while doing so....They don't like it! ;D Brian. Save the finger pointing and laughing for a friend who is caught in a mire of Smilax testiculosus. Too bad you all couldnt post a video on youtube of that.  |
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Post by BarryRice on Apr 17, 2008 15:01:12 GMT
We used the watercolor brush with a little vegetable oil, but the last two seasons Michelle has used her deft little fingers with great success. We repeat the same pollination a few days later again. Result: big fat seed pods! PS. When making horticultural hybrids, be sure to clean one's fingers between crosses! And she always checks for bees behind the curtains. To the folks who use paintbrushes to pollinate your plants.... What do you do between crosses? I could see using little brushes if I were doing a series of crosses, such as I described in the post that started this thread, but do you use the same paintbrush if you are doing a variety of crosses that you want to be kept separate? How do you ensure your brushes don't carry undesired pollen from previous crosses? |
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Post by Aidan on Apr 17, 2008 16:26:03 GMT
I wander around doing my bumblebee act with a pocket full of fine paintbrushes. Loaded with pollen from the inner surface of the umbrella pistil, one brush will pollinate many plants. Brushes are washed at the end of each pollination session.
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Post by Not a Number on Apr 17, 2008 16:31:27 GMT
I use the same method as Aidan.
I prefer a #0 or smaller water color spotting brush. Bristle material doesn't matter but for painting I prefer red sable.
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