I took this picture to try to show when its okay to pollinate. In reality, I pollinate much earlier than this most times though. As you can see, I pulled the flower apart a bit and exposed the pistal. The anthers had not developed any pollen yet and still haven't. You can actually pollinate long before the flower emerges from the calyx. Just tear it open and add your pollen. Hope this picture helps. I do realize its not clear. The above flower is an aurea seedling. Pollen used was Butterfly.
Brugman, early pollinaten does bring results. I think, that what you name pistal means Narbe in german. I have never been sure, as we have another name for the whole thing, the stalk is called Griffel and the end of it is the Narbe, which will be pollinated.
The sucsess of pollination depends in the ripening stadium of the pistal. If it is on its peak, you will get seed pods as large as a cucumber, for instance on candida and the size of a small ball on aurea. Pollen can be used, even when it is already clumsy, but fresh ripened pollen on complete ripe pistals bring best results. To have sucsess in breeding, you need a large number of seedlings as most of them can be culled right after flowering.
Griffel=style and Narbe =stigma. Hope that helps your confusion a bit and thanks for the added tip Monika as it is greatly appreciated. Pistal refers to the stigma and style. Edited to correct self.
This message was edited Friday, Apr 19th 11:28 AM
Thanks you to for the correct translation. I use a Translation book for Universities (40 years old). Maybe I missed the word!
But I should have known it. Its part latin.
This message was edited Friday, Apr 19th 8:41 AM
Monika,
I actually pollinate the same flower 2-3 times during the course of a day or two. Are you saying this is a good practice or not really needed? I try pollinate in the early morning hours or in the evening if only putting the pollen on the narbe/stigma twice.
It is not really needed. The stigma reaches its peak in the first 24 hours after opening of the flower, so does the pollen, but it depends much on temperatures and time of the year. I watch the selected flowers. Before opening, they stretch the corolla tips and the throat begins to look like its getting a belly. In July - August, these flowers are fully open next day and I pollinate only once, unless there is not enough pollen available. After sucsessful pollination, the stigma starts slowly loosing its ability to be pollinated again, but not at once. The pollen germinates on the stigma and ja what? itgrows in the pistal down to the fruit knot.Oh, I must have missed the english lessons, while I was up there in heaven!
Okay, so if I understand you correctly....What your saying is that the size of the seedpod is determined by how fertile the stigma/narbe is. If one pollinates before it is fully ripe you will get a seedpod, but perhaps not as many seeds as this ripens the narbe/stigma rapidly and hence the stigma is not receptive to pollen as much as it was earlier on? What I am thinking is this. Perhaps I will get a small thimble full of pollen and strap this around the flower so the narbe is completly submerged in fresh pollen. Leaving the narbe in the pond of pollen so to speak for 24 hours and then remove. This should allow the narbe/stigma to accept as much pollen as it could possibly want to accept. Perhaps stirring the stigma/narbe in the pollen container every few hours as well? Then perhaps when I open the next seedpod I will have the maximum allowable amount of seeds in a pod?
This should work, Eric and in times, when many bees are around, as it happens here from August to October, it protects the stigma from a not wanted insect pollinator.
I prefer to pollinate early in the year, as it takes a long time for the seed pods to ripe out because of the long and cold winter. The other problem is the short daylight. We have in December - end of January only 6 1/2 - 7hrs daylight.
Brugman,
How will you keep the thimble on the flower?
Glory, in all actuality...I will most likely use plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Sorry, for the thimble analogy. Just trying to get the general idea out and I should have been clearer. Aluminum foil is probably the better bet as one can fill up a tiny corner of aluminum foil with pollen...guess its back outside to experiment. Arborea x Butterfly, Butterfly x Frosty pink, Butterfly x Candida pink, Citronella x Ecuador pink so far...here's hoping they all take. For sure, Citronella x Ecuador pink has taken...seedpod is about the size and thickness of the tip of my thumb....Ahh, almost forgot...Candida species double x Ecuador pink has taken as well.
Brugman,
I will give this a try.
bump
thank you for that bump! :-)
