Re: Saving Pollen

 

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I've had good luck drying the anthers, as you do, out of direct sunlight for 1-2 days depending on the weather and the size of the anthers.
 
I use the old black film canisters with tight fitting lids to store the dried anthers but just toss in a desiccant capsule and pop the labeled canister into the freezer. One added benefit of using film canisters is that there's a small amount of static that builds up inside. Shaking the canister (with capsule left in) loosens the pollen from the anthers which tends to adhere to the inside of the canister. The black background makes virtually every grain of pollen easy to see and easier to pick up with a small brush. I save my old #0 to #6/0 paint brushes just for pollinating.
 
The trick, as Jamie says, is to keep the pollen dry. When using frozen pollen, it's a fast trip from freezer to garden and back to freezer. The quicker, the better!
 
Most pollen stored this way will keep at least 2 years if stored in a chest freezer and I've had some pollen that proved viable after 3 years.
 
Christy
 
Newport, WA
z 4b
----- Original Message -----
From: j*@freenet.de
 
One can freeze pollen for use in the next season, although I have found iris pollen not very long lived.  The real trick is to keep the pollen dry!  At room temperature it has a life of maybe 48 hours, from my experience.

When I dab pollen, I use a cotton swab or lift the anther with a pair of fine tweezers and dust the stigmatic lamella.  This is best with smaller species/cultivars, but one often drops or breaks the anther, thus loosing the pollen.  Can get tricky.

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