I have 2 male plants growing outdoors. I was wondering if anyone has a strategy to collect the pollen? I dont particularly need the pollen for anything but i figured itd be cool to have some to play around with.
Pick a branch with lots of pollen sacks. When it’s real close to opening, cut branch and stick in a glass of water indoors in an area with little to none air movement, with paper underneath. When the sacks open and drop pollen it’ll be easy to put into a jar.
That sounds like a splendid idea. Thanks jelly
Much easier than trying to contend with unpredictable mother nature, and I read it somewhere on here
Pollen is only good for a few days and then it dies. If you want to keep it longer, you need to dry it and freeze it. That way it will last about a year. If it is kept dry. Once it gets wet, it is toast. Also there are no psychoactive elements in pollen, so it is not what you want to smoke or eat to get high. It is also very messy to deal with. And it will get your gals pregnant! If you want seeds, great.
Haha thanks. Are there any indications to look out for to tell if the sacks are ready?
Yeah my intention was to maybe pollinate a branch or 2 of my next grow. Nothing too serious.
If ya look at my pic in this Post This was just days away from opening on it’s own.
They look swollen, shape is similar to the lines in a mini roasted coffee bean.
Hope that helps. Read a few posts up or down to get some context. @99PerCent is the one that gave me the indoor water branch trick.
Edit: Actually it was @Viva_Mexico who gave me the tip. 99 is always helpful too though
Then you need to freeze it for long storage. An easy way to collect pollen is take a piece of paper, fold it in half to make a crease, open up, and put it under a male flowering branch. Then tap on the branch. It will dump pollen onto your paper. Then let it dry for a few hours in a warm dry place. Dry is key. I set my oven to 100 degrees and leave it in there. Then I fold the paper over, and tap the pollen to the crease and tap it into a gram vial (or vials). Then I cap, label and freeze the vials at 0 F in a small cardboard box.
Hey thanks man. Did not know you have to dry it out first. Key info for sure!
Some good info here… I have done it for years…
No big deal…Just chop off a branch>>>Put in paper bag…Let dry…Shake bag…
Plenty of pollen…I take Q-tip to apply pollen where needed…Can put in lil plastic container and freeze if the pollen is that important to you to save…However,I use it within a week…Good for simple outdoor “spot” breeding…
Good luck…Peace!!
Here is my method suggested from a fellow OG with a small improvement!
I collect twice a day just do a little shake over the glass scape razor blade style and drop in a small plastic bag holding a disicant
…er…
we can improve on that setup, and only because i did essentially that.
a screen separating the pollen “drop”/collection area will catch the flowers themselves, saving you the hassle of picking them out as well as keeping their moisture potential out of the “goody”.
outdoors or in a container, i’d make a screen “collar” and a collection ring below that. easy peasy, no funk, my neasy.
easy peasy, no funk, my neasy.
I just tease the flowers and any bugs or debris that drop with the pollen off the folded paper with a pencil before I dry or apply the pollen. Nothing complicated needed. A piece of paper and a pencil. The pencil also works to tap the male branches, and to tap the paper to let the pollen fly if I decide to pollinate a female branch.
How long would you all think the pollen would be good for if i put it in a small mason jar in the freezer?
i think the only issue is when it comes out it will have atmospheric humidity starting to condense on it? (i’m just started on pollen)
Pollen will last frozen for up to about a year from what I have read. I keep pollen in small dram vials with converted white rice as a desiccant in an old style (non frost free) freezer. I have some 9 months old and some about two years old. I will test both this year to see if they are still viable.