If you want to save a lot of pollen it has been recommended to obtain clean empty pill casings from your pharmacist. I think tiny ziplock bags would also work. The pollen needs to be kept dry, but not exposed to the environment or the drying of your refrigerator. It should be removed from the anther before storing. For just a few months do not freeze the pollen - just keep it dry and cool.

The reason Trospero suggested allowing the foil to warm to room temperatures before opening is to prevent it from forming water and spoiling the pollen. Once pollen gets wet, it's virtually impossible to use. Not that it may not be viable, but how do you properly spread it when it becomes paste? You want it to remain dry until it is applied. And, if your weather or house are rather humid, you may need to dry it two or three days until you can see pollen dust releasing from the anthers. We've had a few periods of humidity this spring and anthers required noticeably longer to release pollen during those periods. Good luck! Kim

This depends on the plant species. Some pollens can be dried and frozen for lengthy periods, other pollens do not survive for more than a few hours (or less). Binucleate pollen (pollen with two nuclei) can often be stored more easily than trinucleate pollen (with three nuclei). The most important factor for freezing pollen is that it is dry. Next is the temperature and for most typical home freezers the temperature of 0F or about -18C is fine. Sometimes frozen pollen can only be thawed once and then the remaining pollen is no longer viable and should be discarded. Pollen can be saved on Q-tips or cotton or dry anthers and may simply be stored in small airtight containers in a freezer. Pollen of some species will keep for several days at room temperature and other pollens may keep for longer periods at normal refrigerator temperatures. It is best to experiment with the pollen by freezing it for a day and trying some test crosses.

"Why would running a Q-tip around inside a flower with added pollen do any more in hot conditions than running a Q-tip around a flower without any added pollen? I" Dan - two different situations addressed. Under hot high humidity conditions saved dry pollen might increase the odds of effective pollination but you sure would have to move fast before the pollen got hot. :-) And given the chemical changes that take place in all parts of the bloom, might not make any difference at all. But hybridizers - the one who save and store pollen don't use it in hot conditions but in controlled ideal conditions with a fine brush (like most MJ growers do). " Isn't there is plenty of pollen in the flower but it's just tacky and doesn't want to fall?" Not really. As the above links discuss not only is the amount of pollen severely reduced but it is chemically altered so even if it does come into the necessary contact it isn't viable. Dave