Re: [aroid-l] help with pollination


Pollen can be collected by carefully turning the bulb/flower upside down over a piece of newspaper and gently tapping on the base of the flower. The pollen can be stored in refrigerated sealed containers for over a month, if not longer. Perhaps the pollen can be stored until next year. The stigmas are most receptive to pollen during the peak of the flower's characteristic aroma. My experience has been that by the time the flower's signature fragrance has passed and pollen dehiscence has begun, the chances of successful pollination have greatly diminished. Self-pollination would be successful within the same clone but, with only one flower, the pollen won't be produced until after the receptiveness of the stigmas has passed. As soon as you have two flowers that don't open on the same day, you should be able to pollinate the second flower with pollen from the first.

Alternatively, in theory you can pollinate within the same flower. The people at Huntington did just that with A. titanum. They have a description of their procedures at http://www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/TitanPollen.htm.

Good luck,
Nathan


At 04:41 PM 2/9/2004 -0500, Michael Marcotrigiano wrote:
Hi aroiders:

My variegated A. konjac 'Shattered Glass' is flowering for the first
time. Even the spathe is variegated rosy red and purple.

I wanted to get seed from it by crossing it with other cultivars (using
it as the female) but it is about a week ahead of my other clones.

Can I self-pollinate it?

Can I save pollen just in case I want to cross it as a male?

Any instructions on pollination are helpful.

To see its image go to

http://www.exoticfinches.com/plants/amorphstory.htm

Michael Marcotrigiano
Director, Smith College Botanic Garden

_______________________________

Michael Marcotrigiano, Ph.D
Director of the Botanic Garden and Professor of Biological Sciences
Smith College
Lyman Conservatory, 15 College Lane
Northampton, MA 01063
email: mmarcotr@smith.edu
voice: 413-585-2741; fax: 413-585-2744
www.smith.edu/garden
www.science.smith.edu/~mmarcotr
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"Art is the unceasing effort to compete with
     the beauty of flowers and never succeeding."
          Marc Chagall


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