I received some centrifuge tubes with caps and the box to store them in today.

I read this article:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/C...

How would I go about saving the pollen? Do I use cotton balls cut up and stuffed down into the tubes or what?

Do I let the pollen dry out first before adding to the tubes?

Then put them in the freezer and forget about them until I want to use them?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciate! Thank you in advance.

Also interested!

I remove the pollen sacs from the stamens and air dry for about 12 hours on a post-it-note with name of the flower. I then put it in the tube with nothing added, make sure the tube is closed tight, put it in the freezer and forget about it until you want to use it.

Ok, I got desperate because I have 2 blooms on Marilyn Morss Johnson today and want to save that pollen. So I found this article: http://www.hostalibrary.org/mi...

Does sound like it would work!

Anyone care to comment or explain how you store and freeze pollen?

Thank you, Fred!

You just have to love post-it notes! I couldn't live without them. I do the same as Fred, then put one or two anthers in a gel cap. The caps are then placed in a ziploc snack size baggie with the name written on the top edge. An empty baggie box is kept in the freezer for storing and the baggies are placed in the box like file folders with the name at the top making it easy to flip through and find the bag of pollen I want to use.

I harvest the pollen sacs (usually early in the morning) and if they are not already open, they go under a light in the kitchen as they are allowed to dry. I haven't used post-it notes but I typically have a piece of paper with the name written on it and a small pile of pollen sacs drying. I can fit about 12 different flowers worth onto a single page.

When I come home from work I will write the name on the top of a centrifuge tube, place the sacs into the tube, then flick it a few times to liberate the pollen. I remove the sacs (this is easier than you would think) and place the tube in the freezer. Eventually I will print a batch of labels for the top of the tubes (green for tet and orange for dip) because I have had my fair share of writing disappear on me.

When I go to pollinate I will use a small toothpick with a flat end to collect some pollen and place it on the stigma.

Becky: Hi girl. I use a small centrifuge box filled with centrifuge tubes that has a top affixed to the tube. Basically, I collect the pollen. Place it on a paper plate that I label to let it dry for 7 hrs. I place the pollen in the tube that I stuff with cotton for ease of using the pollen down the road. I then, place the tube back in the pollen box after I label it with a piece of masking tape, and pop the pollen box with the tubes back into the freezer. It's easy, quick, and very efficient.

Th centrifuge boxes can be purchased on the LA. They are very compact and hold approx. 100 tubes.

I will say as someone who uses microfuge tubes and freezer boxes on a daily basis for work (not just for daylilies) the 9x9 dividers are easier with the 1.5 mL tubes. The others don't leave enough room for the caps and end up being too crowded.

If you're really pressed for space there are smaller 0.5 mL tubes but I'm not sure if there are different dividers that will let you store more in a box.

I have never done this, and so haven't been paying enough attention to the info regarding it yet , but I read in another post that there are some important do's and don't when thawing the pollen..

If you do it the wrong way you would destroy the pollen because you would get condensation on the inside of the tube (I think??)
I'm not sure whether it was about thawing inside the fridge instead of outside the fridge, or remembering to take the cap of the tube...?



Mayo

Mayo - You must have been reading my mind!!! I was just about to post to ask this question.

How do you thaw and dry the pollen once you remove it from the freezer?

I put the tubes containing pollen I will use in a microfuge rack like this:




Mine is dark green because that is what I found on the 'free' shelf in the department one day.

I take that and my note pad with the crosses I intend to make, out into the yard and go to work. It takes very little time for the pollen to 'thaw' and in reality I don't think it needs to be a certain temp before you use it, but it will need to thaw before it is activated. I've not had any trouble doing it this way. I am careful to keep the rack in the shade.

When I'm done I close the tubes and put them back in the freezer.

Mayo62 said:I have never done this, and so haven't been paying enough attention to the info regarding it yet , but I read in another post that there are some important do's and don't when thawing the pollen..

If you do it the wrong way you would destroy the pollen because you would get condensation on the inside of the tube (I think??)
I'm not sure whether it was about thawing inside the fridge instead of outside the fridge, or remembering to take the cap of the tube...?



Mayo

As long as I dry the pollen before it goes in the tube I have had no trouble with frozen pollen. Granted it is not nearly as humid here. If I remember the post correctly they problem is that if you take a cold tube into the humidity and open it up immediately, condensation can form when the humid air hits the cold inside of the tube. The solution is to let the tube come to temp before opening.

Ah, yes that was it