Herbaceous Flower Pollination by Hand
A little plant knowledge: introducing the related content of flower propagation, the pollination by hand method for herbaceous flowers, read on!
Most herbaceous flowers can naturally set fruit without artificial pollination, but some spring herbaceous flowers, especially biennial greenhouse flowers and perennial herbs, cannot rely on natural pollination to save seeds, and need to use artificial pollination to complete the task of seed development. Here is an introduction to a pollination method by hand for herbaceous flowers to promote seed setting.
The best time for pollination is on a sunny morning. Observe the maturity of the pistil and stamen in each flower of the flowering plant. Generally, the sign of mature stamens is that the anthers are powdery and can be easily touched by fingers, while the sign of mature pistils is a slight secretion of sticky substances on the stigma. The difficulty in self-pollination of most herbaceous flowers is caused by the asynchronous maturity of pistils and stamens. To make them set fruit, it is necessary to use the mature stamens to pollinate the later-maturing pistils.
Using geraniums as an example: take a mature stamen flower with a section of stem by hand, gently remove the petals, and pinch off the extended part of the calyx (at this time, the pistil is not mature and is shrinked under the stamens). Then, use the left hand to hold the flower to be pollinated with two fingers, and the right hand to hold the stem of the selected male flower, gently placing the yellow anther of the stamen on the cruciform pollination organ of the pistil, slightly touching it. In this way, one pinched flower can pollinate 5-6 flowers waiting to be fertilized. Two days after pollination, the pistil will show unusual elongation, and the calyx will expand, indicating successful pollination.
This method is suitable for herbaceous flowers such as begonias, pouch flowers, cathedral bells, and dwarf morning glories. If some pistils have already elongated, you can use small scissors or forceps to remove the pistils first. Additionally, you can use small scissors or forceps to perform hand pollination on delicate herbaceous flowers like cyclamen. For double or semi-double flowers, you can also use simple tools for hand pollination, then剪去花瓣部分, gently fold the elongated immature pistil, which can lead to successful pollination.
Pay attention: after pollination, do not spray water on the flowers or let them get rained on. Unfertilized flowers should be left to wither naturally and should not be pulled out by hand, as this affects seed setting. Hand pollination can be performed on the same plant or different plants, between the same flower colors or different flower colors. Hand pollination between different flower colors can also result in new hybrid flower color variations.
The above information about the hand pollination method for herbaceous flowers, green plant enthusiasts may consider referring to it in this aspect.