Collecting, Storing, and Mailing Pollen

Nexus7 said:

So should I thaw the frozen pollen prior to use or just use it straight out of the freezer?

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Blazeee said:

I have also been curious about this.

Ive got some pollen stored that is nearly 2 years old now. When I harvested it, I made sure to dry it out for a day, cut it with flower, added some grains of rice, then separated it in to 5 individual plastic seed vials, I have 4 in the freezer and 1 left in the fridge.

I sent a vial from the freezer to a friend last year, however he waited a few days before using it, and sprayed his plants down less than 24 hours after pollination, from what he said he didnt get any seeds from it. I suspect this is due to him waiting a few days before using it.

Im just wondering what are the chances it is still viable, and would I be ok to use it immediately out of the freezer? Also what about the vial in the fridge, what are the chances that its still viable after 2 years?

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DenverJim said:

What I’ve learned about pollin storage

What I’ve learned about pollin storage

1 I don’t pollinate with pure pollin
2 store with 1 part pollin 9 flower
3 bake flower for 30 min to remove moisture. Then store in store in air tight jar
4 I collect pollin by pulling unopened male calyx off and put in small glass dish. This can take 1 to two weeks.
5 sift with 110 micron screen. Add flower and mix. Store in 8 dram medicine bottles. Then deep freeze @ -17 F.
6 I have also used the paper packet method. Keeps pollin viable longer.
7 I have pollin that was stored in a regular freezer since ‘14 that is semi viable.
8 do not thaw and freeze. Learned this from Verdant Green.
9 Take container from freezer and put some in a different container. Apply with paint brush
10 I’ve had problems with the paint brush method. I noticed this year that the bristles would stick together. I washed with iso. Then I noticed that sometimes I would get a lot of seeds on the bottom of the branch. Since I start at the bottom of the branch I figured that the resin was sticking to the brush rather than the plant. I will try using air to disperse next year
11 this is just like cloning. Do it and eventually it will work. Took me over a year of continuous cloning to get it. I learned one thing from the grodan rep. Use thick stems with a short cutting and few leaves.
I didn’t edit. Final thought pay attention to everything your brain will then guide your actions. Works for me.

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