Has anyone tested how long their frozen pollen is viable for? I have been freezing pollen for use the next season, so I will be able to make the crosses I wish to make. This has worked really well.
Right now I have pollen from last season, awaiting a new pollination season. I still, however, have found some pollen from the previous year that didn’t get all used up. Some of this is from plants that were left behind in the move and I was wondering if it would still be usable. It would be nice to have a wider selection to use this season. But I don’t want to attempt (and waste) a cross on a good bud with pollen that is not viable. I am too limited on good seed parents at this time to waste blooms.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Duane
Hi Duane!
I have used 2 year old pollen successfully that has been frozen. I don’t know how much viability goes down for sure, but I was able to get successful seed set this past year from pollen collected 2018.
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If someone wants to do the experiment I can pony up pollen that’s been frozen for five years, or maybe more.
I suspect properly dried, frozen pollen would last decades. In a lot of ways germination of pollen resembles seed germination. I once successfully germinated rose seeds that had been in a USDA freezer for 25 years.
Thanks for the replies! I will try to use some this season, at least perhaps some that will provide options that seem useful. I’ll try to keep track what the results are, although I will perhaps use a little extra of this pollens I have plenty left. Perhaps those I need to use more sparingly would give a more accurate result. I will try to look at some under the microscope also.
Duane
In terms of frozen pollen, do you find that the colour changes for some of the pollen? No longer as bright yellow/orange? If so, is it as viable?
I found that,sometimes it changes color in a relatively short time, they change to pale yellow or even grey. To my observation some samples are at least partly viable.
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