Linda,
I completely ignore the "wait till the stigmas are sticky" rule and just pollinate the blooms as soon as I emasculate 'em. The pollen will be accepted just the same.

If it rains immediately after you pollinate, odds are that most of the pollen will be washed off. If you expect it to rain within 24 hours of your pollination, then cover the blooms with plastic bags, or some other waterproof device. You can remove them after 24 hours.

Good luck!
Paul

Paul, Thanks! What a relief. I was sitting here distressed about what to do with all my pollen, thinking why does anybody say hybridizing is easy when I can't figure out when to put the pollen on. I will try it your way..obviously it works.

Some things I've read say to use the pollen within a couple of days, other people say it's good for a couple of weeks, and other people say refrigerate or freeze it and it can last a year. Some of my pollen is about a week old now. Also, I think I read something on your site about just using a bloom to touch to the stigmas of another bloom. If you did that, do you have to wait awhile after picking it, or can you just do it right away? Am hoping for as much simplification as possible.

Some roses look like they don't even have anthers.
Linda

1) Pollen is good at room temperature for approximately 7 to 14 days depending on the variety of pollen, humidity and temperatures.

2) Pollen can easily last a year or longer if dried properly and then frozen. I do this every year: save pollen in September for use in May the next year.

3) Sometimes I will simply grab a bloom that is shedding pollen and pull the petals off and use the bloom as a "brush" to apply pollen to a prepared bloom, but this means you aren't "archiving" the pollen for future uses, which may or may not be an issue. A single blossom can often supply pollen for dozens of pollinations, so this is a technique I use only occasionally, when a whim strikes me.

4) Some varieties do not produce an anthers, its true. Some roses occasionally produce a few anthers here and there and you have to dig to find them, and you may only find a couple per bloom. These are hard to work with because they simply don't provide adequate volumes of pollen. Austin's 'Prospero' is like that. I pull apart 10 blooms to find 7 or 8 anthers. :-(

Hi Linda,

I tried to respond to your post last night but kept getting a security pop-up window, and was a little uneasy as to what it could be. But anyway, I agree with Paul and I just put the pollen on as soon as I take the petals off, I also apply it a second time later that day or evening and sometimes even the next day. I store my pollen in spice containers in the freezer over the winter so I have plenty of pollen for the new blooms in May. You want to keep your pollen dry and cool. Having the air-conditioner on in the house takes the humidity out. I cover my blooms with baby bottle liners if it is going to rain. Get the large ones. Don't keep them on the hip too long though because it will make the hip rot in the heat. Also you want to protect them from the sun, which I use netted plastic that you can get in the produce section of your grocery store, cherry tomatoes usually they come with.
However if you have them in a green house that is even better.
I hope this helps, can't wait to see your new seedlings!

Paul and Ramblinrose, I appreciate these tips so much! I have been trying to log on here the past five minutes..don't know what's the problem. I hope I get some hips from my crosses, I'm not at all sure it's going to work. I hadn't heard that protection from sun was needed, though I think I've read that some people use a paper bag.

I've been collecting the anthers from maybe 3 or four blooms at a time..I don't know if that's enough to get enough pollen. It's hard for me to tell if they're releasing the pollen but I could see it on some.

I don't have a greenhouse. Right now I have some open pollinated seedlings coming along outside where a caterpillar ate a few of my babies. I may stick my envelopes of pollen in the freezer to buy some time..we've had rain in the forecast the last few days.
Thanks again,
Linda

We have had rain for the past 3 days and more is expected the rest of the week. I have alot of buds just ready to open but I hope they can wait until the rain stops.
I wouldn't use a paper bag over a newly pollinated hip, it might get too hot, unless you poke some holes in it.
Putting your antlers on white typing paper and leaving it sit out in a cool dry room overnight is a good way of getting the pollen to be released.
Good luck Linda, I am sure you will get lots of hips!