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.
