Hey Zuba! I find saving pollen in plastic and then storing in a fridge can result in mold and moisture build up. I try to save my pollen in paper envelopes and do not refrigerate, but put in a cool area in my home or garage for later use. When you pollinate, the 'holding parent' gets first billing then the pollen donar. So if you pollinate a Red Lion with a Lemon and Limes pollen it would be "Red Lion x Lemon and Lime". I hope this makes sense to you. Please let us know if you need further help. Oh yeah, always let the seed pod dry to cracking stage before plucking. Once the pod begins to form a substancial shape, I trim off the spent flower. This is not necessary, just looks better. I allow the seed pod to dry several days on a paper plate, slowly coaxing the seed chaff away from the pod to dry better.

I take mine before the flower opens. I get a little piece of paper and fold it very loosely over the anthers. I let that sit on the table or in a cupboard for a few days. Don't wait too long or it will dry out too much. Keep checking it, it will depend on how much humidity your house has. Here it takes about 3 days. If you directly freeze fresh pollen before it dries out, the water crystals in the pollen can freeze and it will rot easier. Once dry, I put them in the freezer in a ziplock or centrifuge. I keep all my pollen in the lock-n-lock tupperware- they seem to stay much better in those for some reason and no one can knock the lids off lol. It is clearly marked 'pollen' because my dh tried to microwave one once thinking it was leftovers!

A word of caution. I put a plastic grocery bag around a bud to save the pollen from rain and used a clothespin or two to connect the ends of the bag. We had a big thunderstorm and I found the entire scape broken off, lying on the ground. It was a new arrival so I put the scape in water inside and did manage to get 3 blooms, but they kept getting smaller and smaller. Maybe the clothespins made the bag too heavy - I am not sure. Here is what I am doing now. I have a lot of plant supports that are 3' tall from the big box stores. They have a circle on the top (sort of) so that one can put the stem of a flower into the circle. This circle is parallel to the ground and about 3-4" in diameter. I now put three of these into the ground around the daylily I want to protect and place a white garbage bag over the plant supports. The circles on the top provide a platform for the bag to rest on and keep it off the bloom. I use clothespins to connect the bag to the plant supports very close to the ground. It has worked very well for me. Doesn't look too great to have a bunch of tents out in the garden, but if I want the pollen it is worth it. If I want to pollinate the flower when it is raining, I can do so (under an umbrella) and place the bag back on for that day. Good luck! Ann

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