Haemanthus 2008

[BULBISSIME]

Ok Gerdk,
I'll freeze it 

[Gerdk]

Sorry if my contribution here looks like I had  much experience with storing pollen.
I only repeated what I have read for Galanthus and Narcissus.
So please be careful with freezing pollen of other genera.

Of course the pollen has to be dry before and after storage.

Hans, how long do you keep the cacti pollen in the fridge before you use it?

I would be glad if some forumists with more experience will add their know-how here!

Gerd

[Hans J]

Gerd ,

I have stored the pollen of cacti only for weeks ( for one flowering season ).

Maybe you should start a own topic with of pollen .....maybe other members looks not under Haemanthus

Hans

[Paul T]

Fred,

Why not store your pollen from the Haemanthus coccineus and then put it onto the albiflos in the same season, as well as storing some of the albiflos pollen from this year for the coccineus when it flowers next year.  I have stored pollen dry from coccineus in March (southern hemisphere) and used it on albiflos in April the same year.  I didn't even refridgerate it, just left it in a plastic bag with the paintbrush I was using to collect it.  Doing it this way care must be taken that the pollen is dry of course.  I had seed set, but unfortunately lost the seedhead to a bird of something at one point, so I know the pollen was still viable.

I'd still be collecting albiflos pollen this season if you've got it, but also consider trying the cross the opposite way around next year as well.  It can't hurt, and you definitely wouldn't need to "long term" store the pollen if you were just taking it from one month to the next.

[BULBISSIME]

You're right Paul !
I'll try both ways 
Anyway, I'll have to wait some months to start 

[Tony Willis]

I stored the pollen of dysosma for a couple of months in the fridge ,like Hans, in a film container. I pulled of the complete anthers and stored those. When I finally used it it produced very good seeds. Germination is awaited.

My only thought on the haemanthus is that they are not hardy and I would be concerned as to whether freezing would kill the pollen. The two genus that Gerd mentions are hardy and often subject to frost when in flower.

[BULBISSIME]

I don't think that frost could kill the pollen...
but I'm not sure too 

[Maggi Young]

Friends, as was suggested earlier in this thread, I have  opened a new page to discuss pollen storage, in the  Seed growing section, where more people may read it. Of you  ahve any mre comments to make about the method of storing pollen( and preparing pollen for use over a period of time) please make those comments in the NEW thread... it is here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2726.msg63056#new
"Storing Pollen"

Thank you,
M

[Maggi Young]

I have moved some posts about Scadoxus from here to the appropriate page :
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2008.15

[BULBISSIME]

Here is Haemanthus pauculifolius, similar to H. albiflos but smaller in all parts, and less vigourous.

[Paul T]

Nice, Fred.  Very nice.