Hello,
So the previous 2 seasons were very different… the first one was very wet and very unsuccessful. The latter was very dry which was very successful. There are times I kid myself believing the success is because I learnt something… mostly I think it’s the weather. Which brings me to this season…. It’s looking much wetter again. Does anyone have any tips in keeping the flower dry for the pollination stage to increase uptake of hips? I don’t want to have most of my viable pollen flowing away!
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I had many failed pollinations due to thunderstorms last year. Yesterday I saw that a storm was rolling in and quickly covered the buds in aluminum foil, which I removed this morning. My hybridizing season only began in earnest two days ago, so I can’t speak to it personally but I got the idea for it by reading old forum posts. It did succeed in keeping the stigmas dry and covered in pollen.
I plan on only doing it if there’s significant rain within the first 24 hours, because I’m lazy and worry about the heat and humidity inside the foil.
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I shall get some foil, thanks for the idea!
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James, I’ve had good results with the sandwich size zip lock bags. The ones with the double seal have enough friction to hold it in place on the stem when you press them. They do occasionally develop condensation inside, but I rarely leave them in place longer than 24 hours.
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Thank you kindly, so it’s only for temporary measures…
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