About 7 feet tall. They have flowered for 2 years, this will be the third year. How do you collect the pollen?
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A small paint brush or cotton swab could probably be used.
The bottom half of one of these containers,is held under the flower and catches the pollen,when being knocked away.
They can be bought at craft stores in a box of about 25.
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Yes, the timing of the male/female stages can make it hard to hand-pollinate (or naturally pollinate) on a small scale. If you have wild trees nearby, they can serve as a pollen source but not everyone has that luxury.
Hard to say what went wrong. Sometimes the flowers will appear to be pollinated and have fruitlets but in reality they were not successful. Neal Peterson has said, and it seems mostly true in my observation, that if pollination was successful the peduncle (flower stem) will stand out mostly perpendicular to the branch whereas unsuccessful ones will droop at varying degrees.
My thought on the most likely explanation (though not the only) is that the flowers were not receptive when you dabbed the pollen on them. You can be too early or too late, though there is generally a window of a few to several days when the time is right.
High humidity can possibly prevent good hand pollination.
In addition to what @Bradybb mentioned, Neal Peterson advocates using XXL gelatin pill capsules (available at health food stores and possibly pharmacies) to capture and store the pollen. use something like a toothpick or stiff artist brush to knock (like Brady said) the pollen/anthers into the capsule.
I have had 3 total pawpaws in the ground suddenly die.
My most recent was a 6 foot tall 4-year-old seedling that had a great year last year. (video on my youtube channel)
It never woke up. There was green under the bark but pale and the branches were brittle.
I am trying to ID a fungus that was on the base of the tree but it could have come along AFTER the tree was hit with root rot or something else.
It is, however, budding out from low on the trunk. Iâm not sure if I will try to topwork it since itâs clearly compromised to some degree.
I just wish I knew what happened.
That depends on what the plant needs.Sometimes food is one of those things.
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Is there a way to know when the flower is receptive? Or when pollen is available to collect? My understanding is that the pollen must be from another variety, isnât that correct?
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Yes if youâre going to hand pollinate it should be from a different variety.
(Research is suggesting some self pollination capacity but very low- donât waste your time).
The flowers begin being receptive usually around the time they are mostly reddish but with some green still present. They can continue being receptive for several days up to the point (exact timing unknown) they start shedding pollen (more on that next).
They key thing to look for is shiny/glistening stigmas in the middle of the flower. The tiny cluster of ânubbiesâ in the middle. If they look wet, you are ready to dab with pollen. If you can bend the flower gently toward the sun, this will help you see the stigmas.
Recognizing the male/pollen stage is easier. The flower will be totally red/maroon and the petals flaring out strong. But just look inside and see if the big ball structure (mass of anthers) looks fuzzy. You may also see little yellow dust inside the flower. Thatâs your pollen!
I have a video (and there are others probably better) on my YouTube about all this if you want to check it out too.
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Hi,
This is very informative. A friend is offering me to come collect pollen from her tree. If I understand your instruction correctly, I should go when her flowers begin are mostly red and flaring out, is that correct? Please advise, if I happen to go to early how would I know? Would the pollen just not come out?
Thanks for your expertise!
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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The flowers are female first and then become male.By looking inside,it should be obvious to see a bare green center(female)or the whole thing looks kind of fuzzy and light brown(pollen of the male).
I can probably send some Overleese pollen,if wanted.
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@DennisD Hey I see Kim offered to help. If for any reason you end up still needing it pm me.
Female flower
Male flowers. Last photo is how they flare out at the male stage just before dropping the petals.
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Great pics - thanks!
I would just mention that the flower is also receptive for some amount of days *prior *to the first photo.
That flower looks like itâs just about finished being receptive/female.
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Thanks Preston,
I will try to use Kimâs if they are early enough!
Dennis
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Also thanks for the very good pics! Very, very helpful
Dennis
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Hi Preston,
After thinking through what you fellows said, I still have several questions:
What happens if somehow the female flower gets pollinated? Does the flower still go on to male phase and produce pollen?
Or
Do the petals fall without producing pollen?
Dennis
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The flowers will still go through the male stage pollinated or not.
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Mine have only barely started leafing out - different varieties at different times. One of mine never grew much and the soil it was in was awful, clay & alkaline, barely any water absorption. The other grew a couple inches a yr, then took off after 2-3 yearsâŚ
Yeah mine just now are BARELY beginning to showing green. The only thing that is later to wake up is a hardiered nectarine that I planted bare root like a month ago.
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Those are vegetative buds.
Yep, that was in response to a post about pawpaws just starting to leaf out
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