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Solipsis

Tek for cross-pollinating cacti?

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Hey!

 

Does someone have a tek or references for how to do things with cross-pollination, how to avoid having a flower self-pollinate itself and things like that?

 

I figure it would be the easiest to use a self-sterile variety if possible - but that isnt always possible, right ?

 

So do you have to go in before the pollen ripen (how do you see this, is it the yellowness?)? Do you also have to go into the flower if it doesnt open itself yet?

 

Any special effects of plant growth regulators on flowers that can be applied?

 

Very interested in cool tips, including how mentor pollen could be used!

Edited by Solipsis

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This is a pretty useful primer to get the basics from

 

To prevent unwanted pollination you can use some microfine netting (like the stuff you can use as a headnet to keep midges or other tiny pests from biting you so much), or bags that protect fruit from birds.

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Cool thread! 

 

well preventing unwanted self-pollination shouldnt be too easy , generally,  since you would have have to cut the stamens before they start releasing the pollen , better yet when the pollen in not yet mature. (propably you might need to force your way in before they fully open in some occasions). but this would vary vastly from genus to genus. so its better to talk specifics.. 

 

To be honest I have not yet attempted this. This would be helpful for example in making Fero viridescens hybrids, as most forms seem to be self-fertile. 

 

I use tulle to control the hybrids I want to make (isolation of each plant or flower).  It seems to work pretty well. 

...and I use small little drawing brushes for the pollination. (I wash and rotate them, its better to have a couple around) 

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Thanks! Ah Misplant..., not = you? :)

 

I also got another tip i received, this vid: 

 


Anyway a tek for manipulating flowers is in here even if most of us don't speak the language.

 

I tried once with Loph flower so far (forcing my way in that is), it went procedurally alright but i just need to perfect it - i still think i got some pollen onto the pistil.. or more problematically actually, it seemed that i didnt cover and protect it well enough and it just dried out very fast. i didnt use a proper cover but an Eppendorf tube over the pistil with some tape.. dumb.. Also maybe i was kinda late cause the pollen already seemed mature to me, idk if you can just judge by the yellow powder or if you cannot really see maturity with the naked eye, much less how long it remains viable.


I grow indoors in my apartment which is challenging anyway lol.

Also picked up a little info on mentor pollen and how they can help, wow thats fascinating - I also think it explains various stories where people were supposed to have made a cross but instead apparently just self-fertilized their normally self-sterile plant.

Makes the most sense to me to just try and keep my pollen preserved and alive and can always intentionally kill some of the older pollen i have stored to use as mentor pollen. 


Sagi, maybe that can also help your fero viri for the part where they are not fully self-fertile. Basically foreign pollen can trigger fertilization mechanisms which the own pollen can then hijack, i suspect foreign pollen will always be preferred which is why it can in nature probably be afforded but if all the foreign pollen applied is dead thats different.
 

I have UV-C i wonder if it could cause interesting mutations in pollen or at the very least just kill it but not destroy entirely, to turn into mentor pollen.. anyway getting ahead of myself
 

Ty @nothinghead  i will probably just use a bag or something, but for now the first hurdle to me seems to just remove pollen that are present to avoid self-pollination from the flower and i guess i will get to accidental open pollination after. which may present as a bit different problem growing in apartment.

I find it hard to judge the odds that in this climate where these cacti normally don't grow, you would accidentally open pollinate. of course if you have multiple plants flowering in same space yes, but otherwise i guess not really.

I also experiment with some success with micropropagation and have plans to give a basic tek and support for people on this forum, but i havent done it in a little while and it needs to be a good time to do so. It seems to be done mostly by people who grow mushrooms and have a flowhood anyway, or i guess very serious people but its apparently an uncommon 'hobby' and secretive.

I know some of the plant growth regulators are involved in and used for flowering of plants in general but i guess it would be way too much to ask to use one to suppress formation of pollen while still leaving the ovary functional.

Edited by Solipsis
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cool post. a thread on micro propagation would be interesting to read 

 

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