Re: HYB: help - freezing pollen
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: Re: HYB: help - freezing pollen
  • From: B* C* <b*@ymail.com>
  • Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:41:34 -0800 (PST)
Hi Linda,

I don't have years of experience with freezing pollen, but I do have a dozen or 
so pods this year from frozen pollen.  I was encouraged in this by Cindy Rust, 
who has been doing it for years.  I suspect that perhaps you pollen is getting 
too dry.  I freeze my anthers directly from the plant if the pollen is "fluffy." 
 Using the light bulb to dry them may also be an issue. I use glassine envelopes 
(like the ones SIGNA uses to ship seeds) that absorb only some of the moisture. 
I like that I can see the anthers thru the envelop and that they do not "suck" 
the moisture out of the anthers.  I also use a freezer that is not frost-free. 
 The frost-free freezers use a cycle of heating to rid themselves of frost that 
my be also letting your pollen get warm in addition to drying it out.  I do not 
use any desiccant with my frozen pollen.   I got pods from pollen that was just 
over a year old this year, and the success rate was about the same as fresh 
pollen.  

Hope this helps,
Bill




________________________________
From: Linda Mann <lmann@lock-net.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Fri, November 19, 2010 6:54:05 AM
Subject: [iris] HYB: help - freezing pollen

I've asked for help on this before, but for some reason, never have had any 
success with frozen pollen, so either there is something I'm missing, the fall 
pollen I've collected just hasn't been any good, or my freezer isn't keeping it 
cold enough.  Or the plants I've tried to use it on just weren't receptive.

So, one more time.

I collect fresh, fertile looking fluffy pollen.

Store it for a day in low humidity room temperature to dry it out some, under a 
light bulb, on the unsticky part of a post-it note.

Is 24 hrs about right or should it dry longer or less?

Fold the post-it into a little envelope, stuck shut, and with a plastic paper 
clip  just to make sure it doesn't unfold, put in a sealed baggie or plastic tub 
full of powdered milk or other desiccant, then store it in the (self-defrosting) 
freezer until needed.

Right?

Thanks in advance for any advice/comments.

Linda Mann east TN USA zone 7

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