Pollination has to be regarded for every single bloom.
Commonly two days after an individual flower has opened the stigma will show upwards and become divided into three little branches at the top.
In this stage you pollinate, using a fine brush in order to dispense the pollen gently on the usually white interior sides of these three branches.

I have never observed a detrimental effect on the bulb from the subsequent formation even of numerous seed pods - do not hesitate to pollinate every single bloom.

Hans-Werner

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I only saw detrimental effect on the flowers. Pollinated flowers tend to wilt quicker after pollination, so I usually pollinate when I know that the flower is about to wilt, and most of the time I get nice, fat seed pods...
I still make my hippies flower for their flower, and the seed is just an added bonus.

Yes, I notice that the flowers do fade quicker after pollination... I have taken to waiting a few days before pollinating, so I can enjoy and photograph the flowers.

If I can do it you can do it. It is almost fool proof and you can use a small artists' brush, a q-tip or even just dab the pollen sack onto the stamen once it has opened. If you see my blog entry on Amaryllis pollination I have pictures of what the pollen sack and open stamen look like. Basically you just want those two parts to come into contact.

In a few weeks I had big Amaryllis seed pods as you can see from the that photo. And here is a photo of my Amaryllis seeds all nice and healthy waiting to be sown.

If you need bigger pictures let me know and I'll post them on this thread

I just cut the pollen sack with the neck and dab it on the stamen. It seems to work well. I dab and dab and dab until the whole tip is yellow.

I do the same, Soultan... I cut off a piece with pollen from the pollen donor, take it to the seed parent and dab until the whole tip is covered with pollen.

I hope I used the correct terminology for the parents...

Is it generally best to wait for the pod to open or should one open it before it that? If it is better to open the pod, how long after pollination?

Also, are there general guidelines for sterile or pod- or pollen-sterile types?

I do believe you should wait until the pod matures and just begins to split open on its own before removing it from the plant... I'm sure there are better instructions in past posts... although, I have no idea where to begin looking... Soultan seems to have the ability to search for, and find, exactly what information is needed... perhaps he will be kind enough to show us the way... Soultan? :-)

wildebloem

Leave the pod to do it's thing naturally and it will open when the seeds are ready. I just looked at the date stamps associated with the photos in the links above.

2-08-07-I polinated
2-20-07- The flowers that were fertilized were well on their way to looking swollen and the duds were shrinking.
3-16-07-The seed pods began to split open on their own revealing the seeds.

Maybe my dates will help give you an idea of when you should expect to see things happening with your pods.

Just as with daylily seed pods, if you use your thumb and forefinger to gently squeeze the pods, and they crack open, revealing brown seeds, THEY are ready!

Some take longer to ripen than others, but I have never had the time to document that. I just try my best to keep an eye out for pods to begin to crack open.

Trust ME! You will know when you see the brown peaking through the cracks! That's when they are ready...

elizabeth is right, you cannot mistake a ripe pod. It will tell you when it is ready then look out! Seeds!!

I've got a watchful eye on my Exotic Star, Limona and Sweet Lilian, which all have seed pods ripening!! I'm very excited! Just think... these are my very first seeds ever!!! I'm thrilled!

How soon can I plant them after they ripen?? Should I let them sort of cure or rest for a while? I probably need to let them dry first, right??

Just lay them out for a little while till they dry and not too oily anymore, then you can plant them. Or if you want, you can plant them right away. In the wild, they must "be planted" as soon as they hit the ground.

That's true... they would be planted as soon as the pods burst open and spilled the seeds, in nature. Thanks, Soultan... I will probably let them dry out a bit before trying to germinate them...

It took months for me to sow my seeds, but it seems like they are taking very well. I see a lot of bumps in the growing medium It must mean that the seeds are pushing up from under.

I have no bumps in my growing medium... only the Daylily seeds are germinating... but I haven't given up hope! I hear that sometimes seeds are slow starters, so I'm just keeping them moist, and maybe soon they will pop up...

I tried to pollinate my so-called "Apple Blossom" when it was in bloom and didn't have anything seed pods :-( Now I know why :-)
Maybe next year, when I have more bulbs of different variesties (Apple Blossom and Red Lion) then I can cross! Wow, so exciting.
Learn something every day. Thank you folks.

Xuan

Keep trying, Xuan! I've been told that Exotic Star wouldn't set seed, but I have pods ripening on mine! I think it all depends on the individual flower/plant and the environment it has been given, i.e., food, light, humidity, water... everything! So, keep trying... you never know what will happen!

Jodi,

It might be that the seeds you planted are not viable. Nobody can say for sure. I did not expect success on my seeds and they are germinating. I am surprised... But I am doing the pilgrimage several times a day to look at them to see if anything is happening in there...

Well... I hope they are viable, and just slow to germinate... but it's true that not all seeds are viable... All I can do is wait... and hope...

Did you plant them earlier than I did? I see a lot of little leaves emerging now.

I don't have the exact date handy, but it's been well over a month... I'm not sure what's going on... they're not germinating, but I will continue to mist them and hope...

I did not note the exact date either, but it was two, max three weeks ago, when I wanted to buy the Bestseller bulb... Oh. When I went out to buy Pam's Prelude... And that was on the 11th.

What do you think is the longest time to germination for Hippi seeds? I'd hate to give up on them too soon...

Since this is my first time to germinate, I can only talk about this first time... And they are developing fast. Now I have several little, green leaves showing. Nobody is as amazed around me as I am...
It is so weird that whatever my mother has failed with when I was a child, now I am successfully achieving. Maybe it is the Internet... There is so much material to learn from that was not readily available 10-15 years ago so easily.

This is very true... we now have all the information we need available at the click of a button! Technology has made a lot of things possible that weren't possible at all years ago! I used to spend a lot of time at the Library reading up on how to do things, and now I can have instant information right in my home in seconds! Computers and the Internet have made the entire world a little smaller and the information in it a lot bigger!

Can you imagine, that 8 years ago, when I came to this Country, I still had to send snail mail to Tünde to Hungary to communicate with her and call her on the phone?

I haven't written a real letter in ages... when I was young, my cousin and I would write back and forth to each other about once a week or so... that was back when stamps were about 3 cents a piece! Times have really changed...

Indeed. I don't use Postal services for other than sending packages and sometimes greeting cards. That's all.

Email has become the standard for letter writing, it seems... it is convenient, I'll admit... I'm still glad I know how to write a proper letter, though, with all the proper headings and everything... you never know when you'll have to write and send a business letter... I wonder if they still teach that in school?! Hehe! When I was in school, we had typing class... now, they have "keyboarding" class... imagine that!

It is interesting that this country is so standardized. We have different standards in Hungary or even in Europe... Sometimes these Standards here really get on my nerves. What if I want to be different? And I always want to be different, believe me! Just for the sake of being different.

I think I've got you beat! I'm about as different as it gets! LOL!