Ryan--

I use a cotton swab...fluff up the end a bit and then pollinate away-- you could buzz like a bee if that helps ;oD

I've taken pollen from doubles to singles, singles to doubles and even pollen from one flower on the same scape and gave the pollen to the next flower on that same scape. There are certainly bound to be constraints on the breeding but nearly all of the ones i've tried have given up seed pods.

In the case of doubles-- it a clearly defined stamen isn't obvious, some people will cut the petals back until you can see a clear shot to the seed area (sometimes doubles are really curly and the pollen doesn't make it to the pods).

Did that help? Oh...you could wear black and yellow, too... it'll at least give on-lookers a good laugh.

The other Ryan

Actually that does help. I wasn't sure if I could use different flowers from the same scape or not.

Ok, so next question... Where on the stamen do you put the pollen? I'm assuming the stamen is that do-hickey with the three little fingers at the tip. Does the pollen go at the end of each of the little fingers, or in the middle where the three fingers come together?

See! This is why we need a FAQ, so I don't have to prove I'm a COMPLETE moron! LOL

Funny thing is I almost bought a bumble bee costume for Halloween last year when I was taking the nephews trick-or-treating. I think if I wore that out to pollinate there would be some nice folks showing up with a straight jacket with my name on it.

Yeah the do-hickey is the stamen and the white part of the stamen the end fingers) is where the pollen should be placed. It is sticky (as is the pollen) and the end has cells that are there to absorb the pollen.

As for the FAQ... well...pfft. LOL

I really think you should dress up as a bee- the flowers will think it more authentic.

Rocky

Self pollinating is super easy... I take a pair of small surgical scissors and snip off a stamen with plenty of pollen on the anther, and then, I deposit the pollen on the stigma of the same flower I clipped it off of, or one of the other flowers on the same scape.

You'll know when the stigma is ready to accept pollen... the end will turn up and curl a bit to face the sky. However, I always allow the flower to be an enjoyment before pollinating, so I wait until it just begins to show signs of fading before doing the deed.

Some people use little paintbrushes or Q-tips, but I use the stamen, itself, and deposit as much pollen as it holds onto the accepting stigma. There's really no right way to do it.

If your flowers are outside, it helps to bag the pollinated bloom so no insects can drop different pollen... small paper or cheesecloth bags work well, held on with twistie ties or string. If your flowers are indoors, you can just watch the process as the flower fades and the seed pod begins to develop, if the pollination was successful.

I have found that the average number of pollinations that fail is actually quite high... some flowers are even self-sterile. This is where knowing the Ploidy comes in handy. Many half formed seed pods will abort, and only Mother Nature knows why. But, she has a keen sense of what she's doing, so there probably would have been a genetic issue or deformity.

The pollinations that are successful are fun to watch grow and swell... and once the pod begins to split open on its own, it's time to harvest. I clip the pod off the stem just underneath it, and I place it in an out-of-the-way place to dry for a few days. Then, I store the seeds in a container, out of bright light or direct sun... somewhere dry and safe.

I hope this helps... especially for those trying this for the first time. If I would have thought of it, I would have photographed a pollination series. Maybe I can still find a flower in need of breeding!

Thanks, Jodi. Although, it caught my attention that Ryan and I may have the boy/girl parts mixed up. Or maybe I'm just confused.... I need to re-read Veronica's book...

You say the stamen contains the pollen (the boy part)
and the stigma is where I deposit the pollen (the girl part)

Figure if I'm going to do this, I might as well get the names of all the parts right.

I did follow your advice, and snip off the pollen part and held it with tweezers while I dabbed the other flowers.

The flowers are indoors, and right now only my pure white Minerva is blooming, so even if the kitties help transfer pollen, it'll still be self pollinating. hehe

When I get a seed pod (I know, I'm counting chickens before I even have the egg), it splits, I remove it, and let it dry. How long will the seeds remain viable? I've read on other posts that they work best while still fresh.

Hippeastrum seeds are best planted within 6 months of harvesting, though I've read that if stored properly, they can remain viable up to a year. I try to get mine planted within the first few months... I think this is when you'll have the best results, or highest germination rate.

You can "candle" the seeds as you would an egg, and with a light source behind it, you should be able to see a little squiggly thing inside the papery sheath. That's the embryo of the seed. They're best planted before they dry out completely inside.

Flower parts:

The anther is the part that contains the pollen.
The stamen is the little stem upon which sits the anther.
The stigma is where you would place the pollen.
The style is the stem-like part of the stigma.
The pistil is the part just below the petals and stamen, contains the ovary, and this is what swells when pollination is successful.
The ovule, or egg, is what the pollen combines with to form the viable seeds, and is located inside the ovary.
The sepal is the little flap that contains the flower bud, and hangs just below the petals when the bud opens.
The scape, stem, or stalk is actually called the floral peduncle.
Surrounding the pistil, but above the stem, is the receptacle.
We all know what the petals are on a flower.
The entire top part of a flower, including petals, stigma, anthers, style and stamens is called the Corolla.
The entire bottom part of a flower, including the pistil and ovary is called the Calix.

I hope everyone can comprehend that without a photo containing little arrows pointing at the parts... I don't have one to post! And I certainly hope I got all of that right! :-)

That helps tremendously!

I actually have a couple of flowers that still need to be pollinated... I was thinking I'd grab the camera and get a few shots of the process... just for educational purposes. It might be nice to show, so some of our newest members can see how it's done.

Pollinating Hippeastrum flowers is incredibly easy, and it's fun to cross the different varieties, or self-pollinate, just to see what the resulting flowers might look like. Of course, the growing process from seed to flower takes a ton of patience... averaging about 3-5 years... but if you have the time and inclination, it's a very interesting thing to do!

I'm sure your pictoral would be very helpful.

Ok, so what about naming? Obviously with a self, its not such an issue, but when crossing between varieties, which name goes first?

is it pollen donor x receiver?
or receiver x donor?

This is where even I get confused! I do believe the mother comes first, but don't take my word for it. I know there are a few very experienced breeders here that can accurately answer that question.

I'm sorry, Ryan... I'd like to think I know it all... but I just don't! :-)

The pollen receiver comes first.

In other words, it is the parent that is producing the pod itself which comes first when describing crosses.

For instance, if I cross Papilio with Misty, Papilio recieves the pollen and will produce the pod, therefore, the cross will be Papilio X Misty.

Bottom line, the pod producers name comes first.

Hope that helps!

Ann

That seems fair, since mom does most of the work, she gets first billing. Dad's commitment pretty much ends after the initial pollination. ;-)

Excuse me? I take offense to that Phoenix. I'm not weather hormone swings for nothing here!! ;oD

Nayr Niantnuom Ykcor

Go, Desert Boy, go! I've had THIS conversation plenty of times before... and we always end up at the same conclusion... if a man wants equal billing, he must make absolutely certain he deposits his seed in a place where it's completely wanted. Otherwise, possession is 9/10ths of the law, as they say.

You, Rocky Mt. Ryan, have staked a claim... and I believe there's a ring, a contract, and time served to prove it? Heehee! :-)

Bulb Daddies don't really care once the pollen is gone... and besides... in a Selfing, she impregnates herself? O-kay...

I just made my very grumpy wife eggplant parm, pasta and grilled asparagus with dessert being her favorite-- carrot cake. I won't list the other things I've done just this past week. But I take care of my woman! So if anyone wants to pick a fight, I'll be in the kitchen doing the dishes ;o)

OK Rockin' Ryan, now we all know you're one crazy fella in the kitchen as well as probably elsewhere BUT exactly why do you wish to pollinate yourself?
PS be nice to your grumpy wife.

Ryan what crosses are you planning for your hippis?

Salpal-- LOL My mom and dad taught me to NEVER self pollinate!! I heard that's how John Gotti died.

And as for my wife...aw...I could never not be nice to her... she isn't enjoying being pregnant-- she's uncomfortable a lot. SO I do what I can to help her through it. She hasn't put on much weight but the baby goes through these spurts of growth and the wife's body obviously tries to keep up and she feels bad. I'm no expert but I think its akin to growth spurts, even for the mom-- her body has to keep up and make room and that isn't easy!!

To put it plainly, if I had to choose which parent to be, I'm glad I'm the dad!

Non-self-pollinating Ryan

I'm from the old school of thought... I've always heard self-pollinating would make you go blind! I'll admit I need reading glasses, but I can still see... my Mom lied! ;-)

Having never gone through a pregnancy or given birth, I don't have first hand experience... but I did watch my daughter and my son's wife go through their pregnancies, and I'm a little bit glad I got in AFTER the diaper phase! I can fully imagine it's no picnic sharing your body with a growing baby... and the fun part is yet to come! Birth! Even raising step-kids has its moments!

Ryan, I only wish I had help with dishes and that sort of thing... but, Larry does cook, and he does enable my bulb collecting, so I'm not complaining! You're one of the good guys! :-)

Being a Dad isn't that easy... you only get to miss out on the pregnancy and birth parts... the rest of child raising will come with your fair share, believe me! But for every hard part, there are a million good parts... you've already got your hands full, I'm sure!

When it's all said and done, Ryan, I think you'll make a great Dad. And I think your wife is a lucky girl!

ROFL, Jodi. You seriously stole the line outta my head!

Human daddies have it a bit rougher than Amaryllis daddies. They're tasked with dodging the emotional steamroller that is mommy for nine months. From what I've heard, only Black Widow daddies have it rougher. But not by much!

If my pure white Minerva is having mood swings, she's hiding it well.

She's the beauty I'm selfing right now. The only hippi in bloom. It seemed the fastest way to get lots of little babies from her. Hopefully they retain mommy's good looks and grace. I am worried though, I've heard horror stories about in-breeding.

The reason you hear horror stories about inbreeding is because most people don't know what it is or what it does. In dog breeding, inbreeding is great tool for finding out what's hiding in the woodpile, so to speak. Culling is a big part of using inbreeding or tight line-breeding.

The only true inbreeding is belly sister to belly brother, meaning of the same litter. What this does is double up the genes, both good and bad... you would take the results of such a breeding, keep the good and cull the bad.

Culling is not acceptable when breeding humans, and many animal breeders refuse to cull... this is where the horror stories come from.

Mother to son or father to daughter would be called a tight line-breeding, and would do close to the same thing... it would double up the genes on one side.

The problems arise when breeders can't, or won't, cull... this is what perpetuates genetic problems. Culling is not enjoyable, but it is a necessary and responsible part of true breeding.

Mother Nature will cull any genetic flower problems ahead of time, Ryan... the pods will abort, and then you'll know there was the probability of a genetic issue. Flowers don't bite, so culling and proper breeding techniques aren't quite such an important issue!

This is the most hysterical thread on pollination! I have laughed my way through it ALL!! Didn't know plant sex could be so funny!!! the 2 Ryans should both do stand-up...Ryan n Ryan!!

Pregnant Ryan...when's the baby due? Congrats and keep us posted on the little sprout!

First Name x Last Name. It seems to me most people get their last name from the Dad's side. :) -GM

Oh, the traditions we still uphold... I took my husband's last name, though I do know women who have either kept their own or used the hoity-toidy hyphen method!

Ryan,timing can be crucial to sucessful pollination.In most Hippeastrum the pollen is shedding long before the stigma is ready to be pollinated.Hippeastrum vary in the shape and spread of the lobes or arms of the stigma. Watch what the maximum spread of the lobes is on the variety you are interested in pollinating.Pollinate it then.Some do not spread,especially in doubles. You may need to collect the pollen as soon as it starts to shed.If the stigma would be ready within one day and your room temperatures fall below 78fah,then just lay it on a sheet of paper or such and pollenate that day. If the stigma does not appear ready at the end of one day,then refridgerate the pollen,until the stigma is ready.Quite often when just doing a one flower self,another flower on the same scape may be ready for the pollen because it is a little older. I some times pollinate three times over a spread of two days,or so,when unsure.
Del

Very good method, Del-- thanks for sharing.

Definitely good information. I put it to good use today, on my fading white "minerva" imposter. My 'Emerald' opened today, so I went ahead and dumped some pollen on the fading, upward-pointing white imposter. We'll see what I get. At this point I'm more practicing technique, than concerned with end results. This why I'll be good to go when I get some good varieties to cross.

Does it appear that the flower in front was successfully pollinated? That was a self pollination.

{{gwi:405745}}

Yes... it appears that one took well to the pollination... now we keep our fingers crossed that it grows to maturity!

I just went outside and flicked my eggplant flowers and pollen went EVERYWHERE!! I'm sure I'll see little eggplants soon now! Thanks so much for the great advice!

Hi all. First time on amarylis forum. I got several Bolero's and a red in a nursery buyout. Crossed the two and have a bundle of seeds. Hope I can be patient enough to wait for maturation and flowers! On breeding, it is always female (pod parent) by (X) male (pollen parent). I my daylillies I mark pod name X pollen name. Where can I find out about patent protected and ploidy of amarylis?

Thanks,
Weldon

I read this thread and I was disgusted to see that anyone thinks it's acceptable to "cull" dogs, that is incredibly illegal and unacceptable, how morbid and gross and what an AWFUL judge of character that causes.

Gosh, that really made me upset.

Hi Josh,

Not to turn this topic in a different direction,but I just had to add that I totally agree with you..neutering or spaying an animal with undesirable traits and then giving said animal to someone as just a pet who would love.. and bring love.. to someone who couldn't afford a purebred would seem like a much better alternative to me..this sort of thing upsets me also....

Donna

Donna,

That is such a better alternative, I'm sorry about the rant but that really blindsided me :( Donna, those dogs could be used for so much good, we as nature lovers should embrace God's love in whatever shape or form it may come in. To compare culling a plant to killing a helpless animal is outrageous and I just hope that this practice is no longer in use as it's absolutely unacceptable and cruel.

Sorry you guys for that little off topic tangent, sometimes I feel like animals need an advocate considering they can't necessarily stand up for themselves.