microwaved pollen

Uli via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Thu, 27 May 2021 16:03:32 PDT

Dear All,

It worked! I now have a few thick seed capsules ( and more look promising) on my one and only Albuca clanwilliamigloria  bulb after pollination with microwaved pollen. I want to thank all of you for your help and advice, especially Robert who gave me insight into the technical  ins and outs of a microwave oven.

I combined the different advice I got from different people and here is my "Recipe"

To collect the pollen I use a cotton swab (Q-tip), I do not remove the anthers from the flowers. The swab with the pollen on it is placed in a drinking glass with about 1cm of water in the bottom, the swab points upwards and has no contact with the water. The glass is placed on the rotating plate of the microwave oven with a mug of water next to it. Microwave at max power, which is 700W in my case, for 10 seconds. Then I collect additional pollen with the same microwaved swab and with this mixture I pollinate. Preferably young flowers before they are fully open. I carefully open the 3 inner petals to get to the stigma. But I also pollinate mature flowers. Afterwards I keep the swab dry in the same glass without water on a sunny windowsill and repeat the process every day with the same cotton swab which contains some old pollen from the previous days. This combines the different advice I got, but I do not know which of the actions taken is the key.  Success rate with this procedure is good, about 75% of the flowers seem to form a seed pod, the others abort. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that these seed pods will contain viable seed at the end, both for myself and to share.

Here is a picture of the developing seed pods, the plant has two scapes.

Thank you again, Uli


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