How to prevent open pollination of Sarracenia?

[bloks1995]

Hi,

I tried looking around and couldn't find too much on the topic. Basically I have 50+ Sarracenia flowers many of which are starting to open. While I plan on letting a few open-polinate, I would like to prevent this on several flowers so I can try and get pure species seed. I've read about bagging the flowers until they are mature and then hand pollinating, but I can't find too much on how to bag the flowers properly. Any tips?

Thanks!

 

[Clue]

Here's a link to a pretty thorough guide with pictures. I'm surprised that the mesh used was so wide -- I'd think that something finer, like nylon stockings, would exclude more pollen from being blown into the stigmata from nearby flowers, but I've never attempted crosses myself.

 

[bloks1995]

Thanks Clue, perhaps I just wasn't using the right terms while searching.

 

[Not a Number]

You can use mesh gift bags which have drawstrings on them. They are much easier to use then then the pieces of mesh as illustrated. You can sometimes find these bags on sale in Dollar type stores which is much cheaper than buying them at Michael's or the like.

In a study I read on Sarracenia pollination no mention was made of incidences of bagged flowers being pollinated. I believe they also tented off an area to exclude flying insects. I don't recall if mesh sizes were reported for the tenting or bagging materials.

 

[bloks1995]

I followed the guide Clue posted and (my girlfriend) made these little bags that go over the flowers. They should work well to keep pollinators out, and they open and close easily enough for me to pollinate the flowers when they mature.