I came across my notes from a Theo Sanders presentation on pollination. I had forgotten about this, not sure when it was, but it must have been one of ADS’ virtual Zoom programs:
- Pollen can last in the fridge for 3 weeks, in the freezer 3 years.
- Jonquils and large cups are pollinated more by insects.
- He used heated seed beds for the first 3 years.
- The chromosome set must be able to be halved to be fertile.
- Check pollen from the freezer or fridge with a microscope for sprouting grains. Use a 10% sugar solution, store for 2 hours, then look with 100X magnification to see if pollen grains.
- Doubling chromosomes gives a bigger plant with more substance — Twin scales (?) after cutting and 4 days treated with oryzalin. Some will be transformed. Pollen tfrom Tetra have twice as much volume and sprouts are larger. Stomata are larger, too.
- ‘Hawera’ and ‘Fairy Chimes Tetra’ are fertile with species and jonquils.