Why is my hand pollination not working? I'm using a small paintbrush to pollinate, I take pollen from a newer flower to pollinate older flowers, but I'm not getting seed pods. Streptocarpus, sinningia, episcia...none of them are doing well. Any advice??
Hand Pollination Help?
Timing is essential when hand pollinating. In Gesneriads, the pollen is ripe and ready to go before the stigma is receptive.
So, in practical terms, this means that you should repeat the process on the same flower a few times to make sure that it took.
Normally, when pollination was successful, the ovary starts swelling and pushes the flower off. However, this is not always the case.
I pollinate every day, so I *should* be hitting the right days?
You should. Absolutely. However, some hybrids are male and/or female sterile and others are just barely fertile. Sometimes it takes several attempts with different flowers before one takes.
I actually use a bamboo skewer or a toothpick to pollinate but that's really a matter of personal preference.
I'll give that a try instead. Thank you for your help!!
Let me know if you were successful! :)
You will probably hear the cheering if I am ;)
I can't wait! :)