Stored pollen viable after one year.

[snowdog203]

I just harvested seeds after storing pollen forone year.

Since all sorts of contrary information can be found on the net, I am relieved that this worked. I believe there was a source that mentioned pollen could be stored in this fashion "indefinitely". Many others said it couldn't be done or could be done for a couple months at most.

Here is what I did to store the pollen:
1) I didn't let the pollen sit and dry or anything, I just scooped the pollen off the glass, fresh.
2) I put the pollen in saran wrap then put that in a film canister, and surrounded it with (dry) rice then into the freezer.
3) To use the pollen a year later I put the film canister out to thaw a couple hours, so the moisture in the air (condensation) didn't spoil the pollen, then I opened the canister.
4) I used a very small paint brush to dust the ripe female flowers.

SD203

 

[cmt1984]

good to know it lasts that long. mine is about 4 months old and stored in a similar fashion. thanks for sharing.

 

[GodSlave]

Pollen lasts indefinitely if stored properly, and you did.
GS

 

[snowdog203]

Stored pollen viable after 3 years, second batch of seed from same storage canister after 3 years.

 

[CC Dobbs]

It could be viable for hundreds of years.

 

[growone]

mine went 2 years before becoming inert, did the rice/freezer method too
wasn't quite as thorough as i could have been, better results next time i hope

 

[Huel Perkins]

How long will pollen be good for if stored in a sealed container but just refrigerated, not frozen?

 

[growone]

from what i've seen posted, refrigerated pollen will last months
probably not years, but with pollen it's about dryness, the drier it's kept the longer it lives

 

[Trousers]

You can get little desiccant packs to help dry it out.

 

[Dalek Supreme]

Thks for post.Sounds awesome.

 

[hazey grapes]

i just put my C99 x A11 in individual pieces of paper folded into little envelopes and put them in the freezer. hopefully some of it is still viable, i'd like to back cross that to C99bx x (C99 x A11) to get more apollo trippiness. i made the mistake of collecting from the earliest male, but i did the same with my first C99 crosses and got acceptable crosses from that.

it would be cool if you could order pollen directly from breeder banks, but it's hard to keep viable. a couple days in 120 degree plus jet cargo bays wouldn't be good.

 

[snowdog203]

I originally posted just cause I thought it might help others to know the results of my "experiment", it's been 10 years and I got another female coming in from the cold to grow indoors, still have pollen in the freezer so we'll see if the pollen is still viable, after 10 years. And oh....we are nearly legal in this state, 3 more months. SD203

 

[DarkWeb]

Super cool!! I want to know if it's gonna be good!

 

[Warpedpassage]

Holy cow!
A thread worth resurrecting.
Looking forward to your results snowdog203.

 

[yabun]

I originally posted just cause I thought it might help others to know the results of my "experiment", it's been 10 years and I got another female coming in from the cold to grow indoors, still have pollen in the freezer so we'll see if the pollen is still viable, after 10 years. And oh....we are nearly legal in this state, 3 more months. SD203

Did you already pollinate your plant?