Two days ago I saw that my grandifloras were in full bloom while my vallisneriifolias are just now coming out of dormancy. I really wanted to cross these two this year because the valls are probably old enough to bloom now. So, I needed a way to save the pollen. Hard to do with a flower that requires a toothpick to pollinate though!
Here's what I tried. I took about five flowers from the grandifloras, pulled off the petals and used sewing scissors to remove all the sepals. Then cut the stem off as much as possible to make a little ball. Pretty much trying to get rid of everything extraneous while still keeping the pollen in place. I put them inside a small wax paper envelope with some silica packets for 24 hours in the fridge. Moved them to the freezer and am praying it works!
I'm curious if anyone else has tried to save pollen from pinguicula? What was your method?
Here's what I tried. I took about five flowers from the grandifloras, pulled off the petals and used sewing scissors to remove all the sepals. Then cut the stem off as much as possible to make a little ball. Pretty much trying to get rid of everything extraneous while still keeping the pollen in place. I put them inside a small wax paper envelope with some silica packets for 24 hours in the fridge. Moved them to the freezer and am praying it works!
I'm curious if anyone else has tried to save pollen from pinguicula? What was your method?
