Has anyone here done enough of their own research to be able to sugget how long after pollinating rose flowers in the open air can a heavy rain be expected to not stuff up the job??
We get piddly rain here randomly, pretty much all year round, in dribs and drabs, and of course it always seems to hit a few hours just after my pollinations 
)
I have messed with various covers over the flowers in the past, and this option is not for me.
I know I read somewhere that if the pollen has been on for at least a few hours before it rains it should be OK. But donāt ask me to remember where I read that!
Hi Seil,
I hope you are right.
Normally I would not be so fussy about this whole issue, but I got some very precious pollen which I had to use immediately. I used it on some outdoor roses, and it rained very lightly about 2 hours post pollination, then about 6 hours later it dumped rain for a good half hour.
I also purchased a potted rose which makes some hips, and which had a mass of flower buds on it and pollinated it with that same pollen, and kept that rose indoors (I figure keeping it 3 days indoors would definitely be ok, very likely it is overkillā¦).
Sometimes it is fun revisiting oneās own threads, it is amazing how one can change their practices, so soonā¦
First of all, all the pollinations mentioned above failed, it turns out the reason was that the pollen was not sufficient in dose (I had crushed anthers from a rose that does not release much pollen, and so most of what I thought was pollen was just crushed anthers).
DUGH!!!
I have also necessarily had to change my one-tracked view of not using covers after pollination.
It rains too often here all year round to have any faith in the weather.
I donāt have a greenhouse, either.
Since a few months back, I have been using little triangular āhatsā I make out of Ć¢ā¬Åpre-waxedĆ¢ā¬Ā baking-type paper from the kitchen, and plonk them on the just-pollinated receptacle (which has been stripped of all petals, stamens/anthers, as well as all five sepals which gives a more secure final fit to these hats).
I make the triangle once out of a square, then fold it again on itself to make a second (smaller) triangle.
Before inserting the receptacle, I first create a āpouchā by slipping one finger between the first two layers at the base end of the paper triangle. I then look inside the pouch to its tip end, to double confirm that at the ātip of the hatā there is complete coverage and no holes (yes, it can be a bit obsessive!!!). The just-pollinated receptacle is then inserted into the pouch. The hats are secured onto the receptacle with a vertical paper clip on one side, which is angled against the receptacle, to hold it all in place, firmly. I have never yet lost a single one of these hats to the various elements the weather has thrown at them (have prolly done several hundred).
I leave the hat in position for 3 days.
Since doing this, I have had dramatic increase in hip takes.
I have not been able to use this trick for multiple small-flowers like in polyanthas, (e.g.The Fairy), but who caresā¦it works great for me for floribundas, HTs and such!
I hope this description makes sense!!
Ohhhhh, yeahā¦I forgot to add:
I write the day the hat is due for removal (e.g. FRI for Friday) on the outside of the hat with a āheavy pencilā (e.g. eyebrow makeup pencil), so I know what day to remove any particular hat.
:O)
George,
I use parchment paper (baking paper impregnated with silicone). I roll up a little tube from a 3 or 4 inch square and slip it over the emasculated and pollinated blossom. I keep the sepals on and try and fold them over the tender parts as Iām slipping on the tube. I position the blossom halfway up the tube and fold it over and tie it with a twist tie down below the blossom. Things get crinkled up down by the twist tie, and I think thatās a good thing to get a little air circulation to avoid molding. I leave them on until fall when I harvest the hips, except if I happen to take some off to check on the hip color.
I might have to try the paper clip idea, as the twist ties are a bit of a pain and time consuming.
With the weird weather this year, those may help, but there is CONSTANT wind on this hill. Even if the Santa Anaās arenāt whipping through, every afternoon, the ocean breeze picks up. Our natural air conditioning, which has always made the area preferable to live in, blows everything away. I find amazing things in the back yard which can only get there by being blown over the house.
Hi guys,
My BIG problem is RAIN, period. It nearly caused me to actually give up the ghost on this hobby this season, so I gave in to the idea of covering 'em with something that works for me, or give up totally and find some new hobby.
That is the truthā¦LOLā¦ it was that piddly and annoying rain which mucked up toooo many pollinations. I think this spring/summer just past had been close to one of our wettest and coolest spring/summers on record. It became a PAIN to be attempting pollinations without any cover only to have rain dumped soon afterā¦so much time WASTEDā¦gggrrrrrrrrrrā¦
I had tried covering pollinated receptacles with aluminium foils but got bad results in previous seasons (rotting, I think because of limited ventilation + high(ish) humiditiesā¦I DUNNO it must be partly to do with my local climatic conditions).
Iāll try and take a pic of a finished āhatā to help visualisation. I might be able to sneak one pollination today or tomorrow when this single flower is ready to be stripped.
Kim, wind is something I really donāt like for the garden, what can we do!? Have to grin and bear it I guess, and the odd stake here and there. We did get some winds here too, especially the last few days as a matter of fact. Actually a scaffolding was blown down 2-3 days ago near to me due to a strong blast of wind, and that evening I took off a couple of the last hats which had stayed onā¦ I am sure after a certain wind factor they will blow off :O)
We donāt get constant wind like you.
I imagine some of these hats would blow off with constant wind conditionsā¦ but they are pretty secure once you get the idea of how to fix them on, in that regard they have somewhat surprised me. You can expect most hats will definitely blow off if you did not remove the sepals, or if you had not yet figured how to angle and place the clip for best securityā¦or maybe if the triangle was the wrong size. Some did blow off for me when I first got the idea but had not yet figured to remove all the sepals. Once I got removing the sepals, and optimized the triangle size (not too accurate, just a rough guestimate-you get used to the right sorta size after you do a few practice runs), the fit became great!!
We donāt get hurricanes or twisters in my locationā¦that is a whole different matter, not even going thereā¦
I had never even heard of parchment paper until you mentioned it here, jbergeson!!
The paper I use would certainly deteriorate if left on after a longer number of days to 3 days, depending on the weather (rain, sun, wind exposure etc). It is waxy to the feel on one side of it, but its other side feels a bit rough (I guess the waxy side is the side you place the cake mix on to minimize sticking during cooking??..not much into cooking myself).
From what Iāve read above, if it only takes a few hours for effective pollination, Iām not sure whay rot would be a problem. I would think that placing the āhatsā and then removing them in a day or so would work pretty well.
Hi Jeff,
I left the aluminium foils on for several daysā¦that period of time + rain + high relative humidity might explain why my hips rotted with the foil attempts a few years back.
I prefer to cover for a few days because of this speculation I hold:
Covering for say 3 days (or similar), might also lessen the local fairly intense sun from frying the bared stigmas and bared receptacles, which might lead to failure of fertilization and hip set. Just speculation.
I would love it if someone could present scientific proof of exactly what length of time all pollens have done their job in. I imagine there would be a few variables to have to factor into such adviceā¦dunnoā¦ Even if I knew that answer, I might still cover for an extra few days to protect from the frying effects of the harsh sun here.
The difference in my hip set results have been very encouraging ( I can say great ) so far, for whatever reason since I made thie switch.
:O)
Itās frying because of being covered with our sun, Iād be afraid of. Yes, the direct sun dries them out and sometimes burns them, but putting any kind of cover on anything in the direct sun here cooks it.
I understand your point Kim, especially agree on that one if there is no ventilation possible to the covered receptacle (hard to achieve ventilation PLUS coverage). YES!!! I would guess that complete coverage could promote death of the receptacle in very intense sun.
In that regard, these hats appear to provide sufficient/limited ventilation to the āsystemā from underneath, to keep the status quo fairly happy, even in very intense sun, believe it or not!
LOLā¦
Let me post a pic of it all tomorrow when that dang flower opens!!
That might help in the explanation of what the heck I am on about here.
:O)
George, did you just wash your fingers and now canāt do a thing with them? LOL!
I was waiting for that one, I knew you were on here writing to me, at the same time I was writingā¦LOL
I am adding/altering my comments more and more as I think about your answerā¦bear with me!!
ā¦maybe read back on my recent comments NOW, and youāll get the final versionā¦
Maybe caffeine overlad as well.
Off to make another coffee.
ROFLOLā¦
OK, thanks! hehehe
Sorry 'bout thatā¦our own private jokeā¦
In real time things happen/are written in these corridors, which we can now modify in time, thanks to the āedit/save changesā buttonsā¦hurray for that innovation!!
o_O
Clearly too much time available to me today for spare chat hereā¦
:O)
Before posting the finished appearance of the hat on the receptacle tomorrow, here for some fun, are some quick pix I just snapped to help give a picture of the simple prep invloved (the flower to be pollinated will be the size of a regular floribunda in this case):
A typical one of these paper rolls:
[attachment 500 Picture23.jpg]
I cut out the square very roughly and fast, about this sorta size:
[attachment 501 Picture24.jpg]
First fold:
[attachment 502 Picture25.jpg]
Second fold:
[attachment 503 Picture26.jpg]
Oneās finger creates the pouch after the small paper clip has been loosely applied to close off the āopen endā of the triangle. Make sure you donāt open a pouch between the middle layers of the triangle as you will end up with a complete opening at the tip/roof of the closed-off triangle ā¦duuugh!!.. yes I have done that once or twice!!
[attachment 504 Picture27.jpg]
A view of the completed hat, from the underneath aspect:
[attachment 505 Picture28.jpg]
Hmmm, George, do you make ācoziesā for everything?
Here it is, all ready for a Thursday pollination (tomorrow).
It took a minute or so to do now that I have done so many of them and am organised about it all, I guess.
I donāt use the tape measure, it is just included for the benefit of this series of demonstrations.
So for 3 days cover, I wrote SUN for easy ID of the day I want the hat removed.
Yes I trimmed that base off the triangle to give a neat line (satisfy your own level of OCD &/or OC tendency!!!)
If the peduncle is very short you can cut an angle off the tip of the triangle opposite the paper clip end which will shorten it all for the appropriate fit.
ā¦and if ur wondering, NO I donāt apply make up on myself (have nothing against anyone that does, either) LOL!!
[attachment 506 Picture29.jpg]
Hi Kim, I donāt usually get into making cozies, but I am glad this time I have ventured into that āZONEāā¦
Have a nice day/night yāall, I am definitely signing off, NOW!!
LOL
O:)