Re: Male blossoms
"dave perkins" writes:
>If i see a female that will open the next morning, is
>it best to grab any males that look like they will open the next morning
too
>and put them in water or should i just cut them from the vine right when i
>need them in the morning?
Either technique will work, but if you leave them on the vine you need to
protect them from the bees- they will steal ALL the pollen as soon as they
can. By 9:00AM you will not have *any* pollen left! Also, if you're trying
for a specific cross, bees may contaminate your male flowers' pollen. You
can protect them by putting a bag over them or by tying the petals shut.
Similarly, if you get out there really early before the male flower petals
open for the day, the pollen won't be
exposed yet. There's a window of time where the pollen is "ripe" and before
the bees steal it.
-Rick I.
http://home.rochester.rr.com/srinz/pumpkins2006.html
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