Applying pollen @ nite

General Discussion
1

Has anyone ever applied pollen @ 1am in the morning by cap lite?

2

Larry,

I’ve never owned a cap light, but I have applied pollen at various times of the day. There may be some advantage to applying in the early day or at least before noon, but I have not found that it makes a lot of difference. It seems that if pollen is applied before the stigmas are ready, it just sits there and is ready to go into action when the stigmas get ready. Perhaps others have read studies on this subject, but I don’t know of any and simply pass along my experience. My thought is to pollinate when pollination is most convenient to you.

Peter

3

I apply pollen at night frequently.

But out of necessity… During this time, San Jose gets breezy during the day it frustrates me. A lot.

So I wait until night.

I’ve done it mostly on Pacific Serenade and Livin Easy-- I work most easily with them because of their locations.

But this is a two person job. One to hold the lamps. And the other to emasculate and pollinate.

4

I would worry that the early morning dew would be bad for the fresh pollen.

5

Enrique… I also pollenate out of necessity. I work 12hr. shift… and thats the way it falls sometimes… I use a lite that clips on to the bib if my cap. It has three led lights in it and is run off 2 small flat batteries.I got it @ Wal-Mart… does a great job … leaves both of my hands completly free…

6

I pollinate mainly in two greenhouses, so I can string lights from the rafters. I have often pollinated as late as 3:00 AM, and it does work. I don’t think time of pollination matters at all, since the pollen is good for a while.

7

I used to use a “Black and Decker snake light” flexible flashlight for nighttime pollinating. I could hang it around my neck and bend it to shine wherever I needed light. Then both hands would be free for working.

Lack of daylight hours (due to work and other considerations) was the main reason why I did nighttime pollinations. Although I’ve done some work with nocturnal daylilies (ex: Hemerocallis citrina) that give you no choice but to work at night.