Timing for pollen collection
 

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!

Thats an excellent question!

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!

I recommend collecting pollinia shortly after the flower opens.

In nature, reproduction relies on being the first to be visited by the pollinator, and since the blossom is the attracting organ, it seems logical that they would be primed and ready right from the “git go”.

Thanks for weighing in, Ray! I figured early on would always be preferable to later in the game—you think there’s such a thing as “too early”?

For example, I have a small Bc. Hamlyn’s Magic that has two flowers: one that bloomed a week ago and another that has just opened—could I let the newest flower open up a bit more or do you think I could just have at it now that it is open?

howdy! from what we can tell (based on limited experience, mind you), there are different windows of time depending on genera. as mentioned, some flowers are so short lived it is probly best to harvest when the flowers first fully opens. with phals, we have had some luck with pollen that was sitting on the flowers for weeks. with paphs, it seems that the best time is within a week or so of the flower opening. but, no teacher like experience, so maybe try harvesting pollen at various stages and track pollination results...

Thank you for sharing your experience Travis! Before investing too much time into experimentation, I need to reach out to breeders of the different genera I have in mind and grow out plants that won’t struggle supporting a capsule! In the mean time, I’ll sacrifice flowers for pollen on the early side to be safe—I can always scavenge from dry flowers for the sake of experimentation!

Basedupon my earlier supposition, no.

With Cattleya types, the flower needs to be fully open, ideally 2-3 days. If you try to pollinate sooner, the pollen might be ready, but the stigma is not.

With Paphiopedilum hybrids, I have pollinated anywhere from 1-2 days after opening, and up to 6-7 weeks later.

can i ask which genera you want to propagate? always good to hear what others are thinking!