Pollen storage.

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:46 am

couple questions about pollen storage in cacti. i have a couple cacti that are not easily found around here and don't always flower at the same time...which means no seeds

2 questions....

is pollen still viable if:
dried?
kept in fridge (dry)?

any other at least semi long term(2month+) storage techniques around for cacti pollen?

lordarutha · Post by **lordarutha** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:43 am

After doing a bit of reading it says the best time to collect the pollen is as soon as it is available on the plant, some pollens become useless after just a couple of hours, then it has to be stored at the right temperature and humidity and even then it might only be viable for a few days

All I would say is try it, you have nothing to lose but one thing I can tell you is there aint a great deal of info on the subject.

Loph · Post by **Loph** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:31 pm

ya there is not a whole lot on *cacti* pollen storage.

i use these little womens make up brushes that slip into a hard cased sleeve, almost air tight. so i have one per specie/cv. i will just load them up with the last flower just in case....usually i try hybrids with lone flowers, but they are often failures as well lol.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:08 pm

Here's what I know about saving pollen
I havent had the oportunity to try it yet...

sticklypear · Post by **sticklypear** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:37 am

ok dumb question if you have two plants both with flower buds but one that is obviously going to bloom sooner than the other can you slow down the bloom by cutting off its light ?

Post by **daiv** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:44 pm

Not a dumb question to me. I would think that you might be on to something there. Although, I would suspect that lowering the temperature would slow it mroe than lowering the light.

The only thing you want to be careful of is that the change in conditions doesn't cause the plant to abort the bud and then not flower at all.

sticklypear · Post by **sticklypear** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:47 am

I never put any thought in the temp change but i have brought a cacti indoors that was close to blooming i wanted it to bloom on my desk so the aroma would fill my workroom but instead the bloom just stopped and waited left alone it should have bloomed within a few days two weeks later it still didnt open so i moved it back out side 4 days later it opened always thought it was the light but the temp makes sense

Post by **daiv** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:00 am

No doubt the entire change of environment would have more of an effect than just adjusting one of the factors. I imagine a plant that is out in full sun might think it is night time when inside on a desk.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:54 am

I brought an astrophytum myrio quad in to the airconditioned house (78f +/-)and put in a shaded window to try and slow it down a week ago. It opened the flower up normaly the next day and that was it for it.

I cut the wilting flower off the plant and put it in the freezer and then just this afternoon I took some of the pollen out of it and attempted to pollinate another plant, fingers are crossed.

Post by **daiv** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:41 pm

I think there is a "point of no return" on a bud where it is going to open up no matter what happens - even removing it from the plant. Your astrophytum may have been passed that point. If it was earlier in development, I think it might slow it down. Of course, you'll run the risk of the flower never opening.

sticklypear · Post by **sticklypear** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:41 am

my fingers are crossed for you to tony. i have some pollen on a brush in my fridge (sealed container silica pack) still have plenty of buds on that plant but the one i want to cross with is just starting to show a bud hope it works

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:42 pm

sticklypear wrote:my fingers are crossed for you to tony. i have some pollen on a brush in my fridge (sealed container silica pack) still have plenty of buds on that plant but the one i want to cross with is just starting to show a bud hope it works

It did not work this time, I guess leaving it in the flower and freezing the whole thing isnt the best approach. Next time I will try storing it on a brush.