pondering pollen

[topshelf12]

  I need help understanding pollen sacks. How long should I wait to put the flower in a jar to open the pollen sacks? Do some flowers take a couple of days to open their pollen sacks while others open at the same time the flower does? Can you tell just by looking at the flower if the sacks are open or do you take a swab to see if the pollen adheres to it?
thanks
Norm

[Charlie]

Norm. pollen sacs open according to temperature and variety. Each variety has its own timing but all are affected by temperature. The warmer it is, the sooner they open. On very cool days they may not open at all and on very hot days the pollen can dry out and become useless within minutes. With practice you can tell the difference in appearance between open and closed pollen sacs. You can also use a Q-tip or brush the sacs against your shirt and look to see if pollen clings to either. I recommend you take a magnifying glass out to the flowers some day and study the pollen sacs and pollen. What you see can be amazing and enlightening!

On a normal, mild fall day a typical variety will open the flower first and the pollen sacs several hours later. This makes it hard to get fresh pollen on a newly opened flower since the flower will open hours earlier. What you can do is turn the plant or position the flower so it is not in direct sun and will remain fresh and receptive to the pollen longer. Or, as you are wanting to do, you can store the staminal column of pollen (or whole flower) from one day to the next and then apply the pollen as soon as the flower you want to put it on opens.

Remember, not all varieties set seed so if you put pollen on one of those you can do everything right and it still will not give you seeds. Trial and error will teach you which do set seed and which don't. This is also complicated by the fact that some set seed just fine in cool and cloudy conditions but will not do so at all in warmer and brighter conditions.

Good luck,

Charlie