When to pollinate for seed production? Advice needed

philthegeek

Well-Known Member
Hi all.

Current grow:

White Widow First Grow


Have females in main grow tent, and some males in a separate "spacebox".

Currently have the males with paper bags over some of the branches. I think they will start to shed pollen next few days as some of the older flowers that aren't "bagged" have opened up.

One objective of this grow is to produce a stack of regular seed. Had all kinds of bother getting viable seed to start this grow. Importing a bit dodgy here. We have very strict quarantine regs and inspections in Oz.

So, plan is to collect fresh pollen. Then i intend to pollinate by paintbrush a branch or two on each of the females i have in the main tent, but leave most branches un-pollinated.

That will give me (i hope) a stock of regular 50/50 male female seed as my backup. Next grow will be clones i have just transplanted, as well as a reveg of current plants and will try to get the feminised seed thing happening from them.

Anyhow. Opinions on if this is a viable plan?? Downsides??

And question? Am 20 days into flowering now. White Widow photo plants.

How soon to do the pollination thing??
 
Hey mate, is pollenate around week 3 of flower, no downsides to your plan that I can see, MAYBE a hermie from the reveg but it's unlikely imo.
 
"is pollenate around week 3 of flower"

For me that would be next week. Just checked males again and first flower has just started dumping pollen. :)

Will be interesting to see if pollinating only one or two branches on a female impedes flower development on the un-pollinated branches??

Think i will leave a couple of the females completely un-pollinated for a comparison.
 
Pollen kind of gets everywhere, so have to be careful you not like a Bee and have it transfer on you or your clothes and then pollinate things you don't want pollinated. If you have a separate area with lights already (sounds like it as you have the male(s) in different spot) you could just put one female in there with a Male and let them do their thing, that and you really probably only need one male and cull the rest unless you are trying to save pollen, as more pollen floating around the more likely you could have things get pollinated that you don't want pollinated. I haven't tried doing part of a plant or saving it so no first hand experience on that.

I had a small clone that I had stuck into Flower and another plant that turned out to be male so I just let them go, got over 100 seeds off of one dinky female (she was maybe 12" tall tops).
Her and the taller male:
0013549.JPG

pic of her after I got rid of the male:
0043057.JPG


I didn't count them but well over 100 viable seeds out of it (closer to 150), and I still have probably an 1/8th of the flowers I haven't taken apart yet (smokes just fine, not as potent as the non pollinated clone or the mother plant but not a major noticeable difference to us on the high).
 
"Pollen kind of gets everywhere, so have to be careful "

Ohhh Yeah!! Agree with that. Am going to have to be careful all right.

If my female clones were more advanced then yup, would put them in my small space with a male and let them do their thang. Easy simple and safe. As it is, will have the pollen coming through in the next few days. Will collect and then "harvest" the males, and VERY thoroughly clean out my "spacebox". A water spray out will kill off any pollen left.

I think i will take the punt on trying to pollinate just a few branches on my current flowering females. However, will collect the pollen, shower, change clothes, before even thinking about opening up the grow tent with the females in it. Good to hear you got a load of seeds. Am hoping for sameish result.

If i can get rid of my males (and store some of the pollen for later if things dont work first time) soonish, then i have female clones with noce roots have just potted out that can go in the spacebox. Will then treat 1 or two with GA3 on a vege light cycle for a week, go 12/12 and hope to get some male flowers off the treated females. Those i will just grow on and let pollination happen to get feminised seeds.

My perfect world is to have a stock of recent, viable, regular seed, a stock of feminised seed, and some female clones on the go.
 
Ok, deed is done. Got pollen off the males and have dabbed it onto specific branches on 4 of my 5 female plants in the main tent.

Finished collecting the pollen this arvo. Sprayed the area down with water, wash, changed clothes........

Then carefully did a branch on each plant and tied a rubber band on to label the treated branches.

Hopefully, get seed on those only. If i've fwarked up and seeds throughout well saddish but not a disaster. Need to have fresh seeds to make this sustainable.

Have 8 female clones potted up (rooted, 21 days from cutting) in my spacebox now under 18/6 light. Also 4 male clones as emergency backups. Hopefully will know in 4 weeks or so if seed has set and be able to ditch the male clones completely. Thne grow on the female clones and try the feminised seed thing on them. :)

Fun tinkering. :)
 
Follow up on this one. All fer naught. :(

Turned out that 4 of my 5 female plants are hermaphrodite.

Upside is lots of seeds. Downside is they are all from plants with hermi tendencies.

Lots of swelling caylxes at the moment.

Anyhow, will harvest when the seeds good and ready and do my next grow from cuttings of my one, fully female plant.
 
Hmmmmmm.....have had thoughts about these and decided i am going to learn to love my hermies. :)

As plants, they are actually quite vigorous and bushy.

And i am wondering if i had interfered less in terms of hormones and mucking around with lights earlier on if they would have stayed fully female?? Also, had a few issues getting started with old seeds.

Now in some of the reading i have done people are saying that if "female" hermies fertilize them selves you get female seeds. which would be good. If i can get female seeds for next grow, and treat them carefully no stress, stick to a strict lighting plan....blah..blah,,,,,

Could be a good grow. Will have to keep a close eye out for male flowers. But, will be able to tell if these plants go hermie becasue of stress or simple genetics.

Anyone out there got any real world experience of using seeds from hermie plants they can share??

Currently have one female plant (#1) that never went hermie fully in flower (and pollinated by the other hermie plants).

Also have one cutting from that plant taken just as flipped to flowering. Seems healthy but slowest and smallest of the cuttings. Its currently under 6/2/6/2/6/2 light and will vege that long time to take further cutting from.

Have 6 other cuttings from this plant under 6/2/6/2/6/2 but they are taken recently with plant in flower and developing seeds. If they root will take a long time i think, but have survived week so far in their jiffy pots. Candidates for monster cropping. :)

Anyhow, any advice on hermie seed use and if they actually DO give female seeds appreciated.

Thanks!! :)
 
I used to pollinate as soon as there were pistils showing in the base of the branches, before flowering got going. I would have a very small male plant growing outside, then I'd open the greenhouse door, tap the male twice, close the door and get rid of the male. The only seeds I got were at the branch joints. In a couple months when the flowering began in earnest 99% of the flowers had no seeds and I got enough seeds for planting.
 
They are pretty dam good at picking up any pollen around fer sure. :) Seed development on my grow at the moment seems to be progressing well. Some of the ones in the upper parts of the plants going nicely brown. Am thinking another couple of weeks and the ones lower down will be in the same shape so will harvest and sort seeds for going on with.
 
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