| Q Is it possible to safely store, and keep viable, cymbidium pollen? How long it
remain in good condition and how should it be stored? I would like to do some standard
cymbidium breeding, but one cultivar, which is in spike, has not yet bloomed and I want to
use it as the capsule parent plant. A For the short time you have in mind, remove the pollen, wrap in clean paper and store in a cool, dry place. The pollen will keep this way for at least a year. For longer storage, the use of a dessicant is recommended. We have stored pollen in a stoppered test tube, with dessicant in the bottom held in by cotton. Pollen will keep for some years this way. Be sure to label and date the packets. — Ned Nash, Director of Conservation, American Orchid Society |
Reprinted, with permission, from "Orchids" - The Magazine of the American Orchid Society, February 2001.