HYB: pollen strikes

Lots of interesting discussion about success rates from pollen daubing &
daubing techniques on the space age forum last week.  I'm not
subscribed, so will post my two cents here.

I've noticed that pollen production shuts down for several days after a
heavy rain or several days of rain.  The anthers just quit making
pollen.

Have others seen this happen and found some way to get them producing
pollen again more quickly?  Cut stalks and bring them indoors?

I'll post my success rate later - pods are still deciding whether or out
they are successful this year...right now, it's around 150 out of 333
attempts.  wow.  Sure beats 20 out of 600 or whatever it was a few years
ago.  A lot of these are duplicate crosses.  About 30 are crosses I'm
really interested in.  Mostly involving rebloomers or bicolors.

Learning which cultivars will cooperate here makes a big difference.
I've quit trying to set pods on most of the stubborn, weather/disease
sensitive ones, so my success rate has gone up a lot.

From the space age forum:
<I get about 45% on SDB and about 25-35% on TBs (depends on season). I
like making crosses early in am or just at dusk. Avoid heat of day. Poor
takes when has been 7+ days without rain, less at end of season. Use
freshest flower possible, opening some. Use oldest pollen possible.
Chuck Chapman>

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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