I've a bud almost ready to open.....and don't know when to look for and collect the pollen....any info would be sincerely appreciated. I have waited for this brugmansia to have buds and it finally has some and one looks like it will bloom soon so if I have to catch it before it blooms and slit it open I need to know when to do it....or, do I have to cover the bud and wait till it blooms?
Helen
Pollen needs to be fluffy, I now an tell from looking at it, but if in doubt just lighty touch the end of the anther, ifit is ready some will stick to you finger. It will look fluffy. Just either make sure to dry it well or refridgerate to keep it fresh.
Helen,
Scroll down ro the Pollen photos in this link. If you view the photos at 200% or higher, you can see the difference between the first photo on the left side (anthers with immature pollen) and the photo on the lower right (anthers with mature pollen). The anthers look very fluffy.
http://www.abads.org/members/anatomy.htm
The flowers open with the anthers looking thin and sleek. This indicates immature pollen. A day or two later, the anthers begin to fluff out. When the pollen is ready, the anthers look very fluffy. Don't be surprised if the anthers in some Brugs never fluff out. Depending on the time of year or the temperature, not much pollen, if any, is produced.
Use a clean pair of tweezers to gently pick off the anthers. Place the anthers in a small container. If you are going to use the pollen within a short period of time, seal the container and refrigerate. If you don't plan on using the pollen until next spring or later in winter, uncap the container and leave it in a dry place until the anther stalks stiffen and dry and the pollen falls off. Cap the container tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer until you need it. Before you use it let the pollen container get back to room temperature.
Use a soft natural bristle paint brush, to transfer the pollen to the stigma. The stigma is most receptive just as the flower has begun to unfurl and open. Generously coat the stigma with the pollen. Tie the flower closed near the bottom of the skirt. This keeps insects from entering the flower after you and doing pollinating of their own. A day or two later, untie the flower and apply more pollem to improve the chances of getting the flower pollinated. If pollination took place, the ovary (tiny seed pod) will remain green and start to swell.
With luck, the seed pod will remain green and continue to grow. Sometimes, if none or not enough eggs are fertilized, the tiny seed pod will yellow and drop off. There is some sort of threshold in the number of embryos needed. If the threshold is met, but there wasn't enough pollen to fertilize all the eggs, the corky covers will develop and mature, but you will find many of the corky covers are empty. (One of the reasons I like to peel the covers off my seeds.)
I hope this helps.
therag lady and bettydee...thank you for your info....hopefully I will find some pollen....Thursday I found a newly opened NOL,,still all white..cut her off and took her inside and slit her open......the anthers were thin and sleek like Betty said...so I figured my flowers didn't make pollen...and then I just now reread both responses ..and maybe they do
I will have to open another . I don't plan on using NOL she's just my guini pig. She is still in the ground outside and has buds galore ...but..it's also COLD out already and was told she won't be dug up....which means death here in N Ohio. (I do plan to take cuttings of her as all my relatives want one an so do some neighbors...IF she survives till morning.
(it's 39 out but no frost..ane she's in an indented position of the apt. so hopefully when the sun comes up she'll still be ok.)
I want to work with Pink Smitty and Elizabeth. E has been such a darling...blooming her tops off..one flush after another. PS is no Yankee in my book...we had hot and Cold off and on all summer. After the first warm spell it had 4 buds.....they got to be about 2 1/2 inches and we had a cold week and they all fell off. PS has buds now and is in out of the cold and fortunately a visiting son got E in for me today and like I said...she just keep going with the buds and flowers.
Incidentally...E..all chopped up is in a glass of water and when we got home after dinner tonight the apt was perfumed by that one cut up flower!
If I don't succeed with E and PS..at least I'll have given it a go....pic is of E's 1st bloom...nothing for a couple of weeks ..then flush after flush;
Thanks again. Helen
Helen,
Wait until the bloom has been open for at least 2 days before you go hunting for pollen. It takes a few days after it has been open for the pollen to ripen. Just in case NOL is a precocious pollen maker, check on the condition of the anther a day after she opens and daily afterward to see how long it takes for her pollen to mature. Once you know what fluffy anthers look it becomes a snap to gather pollen. I did notice that some Brugs don't produce much pollen, if any, once cold weather sets in. Some, such as MEM, are very reluctant pollen producers so you don't see too many crosses made with them.
Veronica
Veronica...thanks bunches...it finally worked waiting to 2nd day after opening. Both pink Smitty and Elizabeth were giving pollen. I was looking in buds and day old flowers before your latest info. Have been very busy the past few days. ..sorry to have waited so long to thank you . You are a real helper.
Now that I've used up all the pollen...I guess the next thing is to keep flowers from falling off.
Way back when some spynx moth must have gotten to Elizabeth...she has a 3 inch pod on her already. All I had blooming then was NOL and Painted Lady x Peanut...so if those seeds make it to fruition...I'll have NOIDS. PL x P has 2 pods...but flowers on both are falling so they may too.
The moths and hummingbirds left this N part of Ohio before E had her 3rd flush and PS it's first..that was the beginning of our 3rd real cold spell this past summer. They both left early last summer also..at the start of a cold spell.
