Timing for pollen collection

[greenhouseFrog]

In general, when is the best time to collect pollen from orchids and is there ever a time that it’s too late?

I plan on creating some crosses in the near future and I have been in the process of collecting pollen from different plants as they bloom!

Thanks in advance and happy holidays!

[Waterdog111]

Thats an excellent question!

[greenhouseFrog]

The Catasetums make it easy—they’re only open for like a week so that kinda narrows it down a bit! I have a Pcv. Key Lime Stars that has been blooming for a month and it has started dropping its flowers—I cut a flower that was still on the plant and tried harvesting pollen from it and from one of the fallen flowers: both seemed like their pollinia were “empty” looking and papery…I’ll try again with a fresher flower when it blooms again, but I’ve got my eye on a some other nodosa hybrids that have just bloomed in the meantime!