I try to use the youngest and freshest flowers that are fully opened. A few days after opening is what I shoot for, but I've used flowers that have been open for weeks and got good results.
I don't know if there is any scientific basis for this, but I was taught that prime harvesting time for pollen is slightly later than prime receptiveness (new word) of the stigmatic surface. It makes sense to me that if pollen can be stored for long periods of time then it'd be ok to use pollen from a more mature flower. Similarly, I can see how a shallow "pool of jelly" of a stigma can have a short life. Long story short - I use pollen from a more mature flower, but put it on the stigma of the freshest fully opened flower I have.
I try to use the youngest and freshest flowers that are fully opened. A few days after opening is what I shoot for, but I've used flowers that have been open for weeks and got good results.
I don't know if there is any scientific basis for this, but I was taught that prime harvesting time for pollen is slightly later than prime receptiveness (new word) of the stigmatic surface. It makes sense to me that if pollen can be stored for long periods of time then it'd be ok to use pollen from a more mature flower. Similarly, I can see how a shallow "pool of jelly" of a stigma can have a short life. Long story short - I use pollen from a more mature flower, but put it on the stigma of the freshest fully opened flower I have.
Sounds perfectly logical to me Royal. I'll have a go at it and see what takes place. I need another experiment going on.