Male pollen collection,

[doughboy79]

I have just harvested a male plant. I know there is alot of faqs on the subject but i have some specific questions, 1: Do you have to dry the plant?, i have been using cervantes bible and it shows pictures of putting male branches in a glass of water to let the flowers finish opening, but when i put the plastic bag over the top to collect the pollen it was getting wet from the green lush fresh cut plant material and the water from the glass i set it in. do you dry it like bud and then collect the pollen? I know if this shit was easy everyone would be doing it, i have some more questions but i totaly brainfarted and forgot what they were *medicated* anyways, any feedback on this issue would begreatly apretiated, thank you guys

 

[Ms.Fox]

I've never heard of anyone drying the plant before collection. That doesn't mean it can't be done. I would try the method you are using right now in the glass of water. Let the water evaporate from the top of the plant, and try putting the baggy over it again.

 

[Harry Red]

I have just harvested a male plant. I know there is alot of faqs on the subject but i have some specific questions, 1: Do you have to dry the plant?

Letting the male plant dry is not necessary. It's best to harvest the pollen right away.

i have been using cervantes bible and it shows pictures of putting male branches in a glass of water to let the flowers finish opening, but when i put the plastic bag over the top to collect the pollen it was getting wet from the green lush fresh cut plant material and the water from the glass i set it in.

Yes, this method works well. Place the cut branch in a glass of water, leaving enough stem to allow you to angle the top over a collection tray. A mirror works well..

Just lightly tap the branch each day as the pollen sacs begin to open. After a week or so, you can simply scrape up the pollen. Pollen will degrade over time so it's best to use it as soon as possible.

I has such a large male, I ended up just dusting many of the tops directly into a Tupperware container. That works too!!

Cherma, a member of the support team here, suggested that for long term pollen storage, you should let the pollen fully dry. So, I removed any plant material that had fallen into my Tupperware container and placed it into a dark, dry area for 2-3 weeks, with no cover. After I was confident the pollen was dry, I placed it into a baggie and then into a sealed container surrounded by rice. I'm hoping that after a few months, possibly a couple of years down the line, I can bring out that pollen and it will still be viable. I've read where some people suggest keeping it in the fridge but I chose to keep it in another cool, dry and dark spot.

For pollinating, I suggest using a qtip or model car paint brush to apply the pollen directly to the budding site. Remove the plant from the flower room beforehand and spray the surround areas with H2O to create a pollen catch. A little goes a long way. I tried covering the pollinated budding site with a plastic bag but condensation quickly developed so I abandoned the plastic bag. There are bags specifically designed for this but I found that I didn't really need a bag.

If you're careful, you can minimize cross pollination of other branches and plants. In other words, don't shake off a bunch of pollen onto a bud site and immediately place that in front of a fan in your flower room.

My approach was to remove the plant just before lights out, pollinate and put the plant back in the flower room during the next lights on cycle. I also avoided blowing a fan on the freshly pollinated budding sites until I was confident no stray pollen would be blown around.



Harry

 

[doughboy79]

Thank you sir, you and Ms. fox were a complete help, you are a gentleman and a scholar