Clivia

Yeah, today is Friday...I decided to pollinate my 2 flowers again with Mirabilis pollen. The chances of the flowers pollinating are actually very low. For some reason, this pollen rarely produces many seeds. The flowers I'm pollinating are orange with a whitish center. I've learned from a clivia expert in South Africa that this pollen is good for yellow flowers. I can't wait to see the results with my cross. Obtaining this pollen was very difficult. It took me a month to find a source. I was lucky enough to find some in South Africa. He only had enough for a few flowers. The pollen was mailed on August 26 and I received it on September 9, 2008. Unfortunately, the pollen tube was smashed but luckily it was wrapped in foil to keep in somewhat intact. Thankfully there was still some pollen inside for my use. I had to use a light to shine inside the tube while I scrapped some pollen on an end of a large pin. It's best to pollinate in the morning. I decided to pollinate that night just because I couldn't wait. Also the flowers were getting older and the chance of success decreases with age. I only had about 4 or 5 good days left to pollinate. I will continue to pollinate everyday in hopes of better success. I will go in more detail of my complete pollination techniques on Saturday...until then, happy Friday...