I am wondering if pollen from an earlier blooming daylily can be stored so that a later blooming daylily can be pollinated.
If so, should the pollen be refrigerated? frozen? Rookie here!

I freeze pollen by putting it into tubes with some cotton in the bottom of the tube. Tap the pollen onto the cotton and seal, freeze for use later. I have successfully used the pollen one year later.

I, too have used frozen pollen successfully, and store it as Ina has mentioned. I have also kept pollen at room temperature for a couple of days, and used it successfully. I just take the stamens off, and put them on something paper (like a paper plate, piece of cardboard, or I have also used egg cartons and put the stamens in the little cups, and then used them over the next few days.

Ina, Touch of Sky: Thank you! I will give it a try. I want to use the very late blooming daylily, 'Charleston Autumn Moonlight' which hasn't even set its buds yet -- it typically blooms in late September here in Michigan! It is an "Autumn King" seedling.

At first I was thinking that I'd have CAM be the pod parent (correct term?), but now I'm wondering if I should let the earlier blooming plant be the pod parent to ensure enough time to ripen the seeds. I will plan on saving CAM's pollen for use on earlier bloom (August) plants next year. I would like to see if I can "push" more colors into very late blooming plants.

Thanks again for the info -- off to new adventures!

Hi,
I store pollen in a centrifuge tube, packed with cotton. You can purchase those off of Amazon. Leaving just enough space to dab in the pollen. Mark and freeze. Others use match stick boxes. I found several different threads in the Daylily forums to check out. There are several different methods that might be helpful.


The thread "Pollen-ways to store it" in Daylilies forum

The thread "Storing daylily pollen" in Daylilies forum

The thread "Freezing Pollen" in Daylilies forum

The thread "How I save pollen in the freezer for later use.." in Daylilies forum

The thread "Using stored frozen pollen" in Daylilies forum

The thread "Discussion about freezing pollen" in Daylilies forum

The thread "Pollen - Freezing and Shipping ideas" in Daylilies forum

Mary great investigative work

Mary! Thank you so much for pulling up all of those resources! I appreciate it-- I will read my way through them this week.
I really like how gardening "pulls" us through time -- always looking forward!

Pollen collecting for freezing, pollen will be good for years, needs to be collected fluffy and dry
Tubes are 1.5ML capped centrifuge tubes, cheapest I can find
cotton is crammed in the tubes about a 1/4 inch from the top, if it's loose it will fall out when using.
masking tape is wrapped around tube to write pollen parent ID
I usually use all 6 anthers of ripe pollen brushed off to cotton surface per one tube, there will excess pollen in the grooves that doesn't rub off for using fresh, if it takes more than one bloom so be it. DO NOT ADD ANTHERS!!
Freeze tubes after collection, tubes can be refroze after use but finish off the tube "same plant" before starting with another tube.
I have have success with 5 year old pollen, but I do try to rotate out every 2/3 years
Once the cotton turns hard "pistil fluid" discard or clean tubes for reuse, dry tube is a must.











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Ed this is hands down the best method for saving pollen. I used to write the pollen parent on my tubes also but now I just slide the tubes in a seed bag with the corresponding tags for that pollen. When I'm ready to use that pollen my tags and pollen are already together and I can just pull the bags out the fridge or freezer and go hit the yard

If anyone would like to try some pollen saving tubes shoot me a treemail. You will be surprised at how much your whole program will change for the better once you have control of your pollen parents.
Last year I almost exclusively used saved pollen even if it was harvested the day before. The tubes are reusable if washed so the only thing you have to keep a supply of is cotton balls

I save some in the tubes but I never used them
Daniel and Ed, do you just use it right out of the freezer or do you let it sit awhile before you dab it on ?

Mike,
I am afraid I am like you. I freeze it, and then I do not use it. I think I am going to try using some of it this week.

Mike, I grab the tubes in the morning before I make my rounds, it only needs about 10 minutes to warm up

Mike, I grab the tubes in the morning before I make my rounds, it only needs about 10 minutes to warm up

I freeze my pollen differently. I use the tiny match boxes.
I go to the plant and open the matchbox over all the anthers with pollen and close and pull it back. The tips with pollen break off in the match box. Match boxes are made to keep the matches dry so it works great for pollen. Just write the plant name on the box and put it in the freezer.
During some of our travels to hybridizers gardens in years past, several well known hybridizers showed us their shop or garage freezer with zip loc bags full of matchboxes with pollen. They said it can be stored this way for several years. Ashton was young at the time and in particular, Bill Waldrop, showed him exactly what he did. Taking him to the garden with empty matchboxes and collecting the pollen and taking one pollen tip from the matchbox in the freezer and pollinating blooms.

Some of them were very generous to Ashton and told him to go get some matchboxes and collect any pollen he wanted from their garden. We had pollen in the matchboxes for 3 or 4 days traveling to gardens and home before it went in the freezer. it was used successfully.
Now I have the zip loc bags with match boxes in my freezer. One bag for tet pollen and one bag for dip pollen.

You can buy the mini packs of matches, 12 for about $1.25. Yes, I just buy them for the boxes. Small investment and works great. Very forgiving of some foreign material in the box since it dries so well.

I just get a pair of tweezers and open the matchbox and take one anther with pollen. By the time I walk out to the garden it is ready to use. It has worked very well. I have frozen some pollen this year from some new arrivals to make sure I can use them next bloom season if I want.

It is just me, but I tried the tubes and have more success with the match boxes. Never contact with plastic and no need for cotton or any other material. Just the pollen in the box. You have the anther with the pollen on it and it looks just like the one you pick fresh in the garden.

I have some matchboxes with pollen in them in the freezer. I really have to try to use some of this frozen pollen
I am not sure how old it is, but because I haven't been doing this very long, it shouldn't be too old.

Valerie I throw away pollen every year. Don't feel like you have to use it to not be wasteful.

I guess that it wouldn't hurt to put the year on the tube or the matchbox. I have the tube, so I am going to work with those for now.

On the question of storing/ freezing and using pollen.
Does it hurt your stored pollen, once it has been frozen, and accidentally left our over night to use the next day??
I did this, and I could not see a reason for pollen to go bad in 24 hours. I noted on my crosses that it was Frozen pollen that had not been re-frozen.
Any thoughts or comments about "forgotten" pollen
Thanks!