Tim, I need good yucca info.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 5:32 pm

Tim,
How do you pollinate a yucca pod?

I may need pics.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:13 pm

Is your Y. elata is bloom? Lets see some photos!!

Benny has a good page on his site:

http://www.bennyskaktus.dk/Y_hybrids.ht ... te_by_hand

Basically place pollen into the 'tube'. I use a tooth pick or cut the end off a Yucca leaf since the 'tube' opening is rather small. It appears you need to perform this task after sunset or just prior to sunrise for best results. I've noticed that not all Yuccas seem to produce good quantities of pollen. The Yucca gloriosas this year had little to no pollen........perhaps I need to wake up at midnight to get the pollen?? Also, I've noticed that the first flowers to open rarely form seed pods.........so if you don't have much pollen save it until the end of the bloom cycle (flowers on the ends of the branches form pods in better % than the first flowers to open on the branches).

MCKATELYN · Post by **MCKATELYN** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:17 pm

This was a great question. I was curios about this too. He said he saves the pollen in an airtight container in his freezer. Tim, how long have you kept pollen and used it later before it went bad? Do you freeze it too? Would if be helpful to put a small piece of nylon tied off around pollinated flowers to keep the moths from pollinating and beetles from laying eggs on flower? I just thought of that when I was reading this article. Since they don't have the yucca moth in Europe, they probably don't have the yucca beetles either.

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:39 pm

TimMAz6 wrote:Is your Y. elata is bloom? Lets see some photos!!

It is done blooming, but I do have a pic.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:50 pm

Magnificent in full bloom, Aaron,

I can't get over how sturdy and tall the trunk is.

Can you imagine those out your window as far as the eye can see...

Barb

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:56 pm

lucky1 wrote:Magnificent in full bloom, Aaron,

I can't get over how sturdy and tall the trunk is.

Can you imagine those out your window as far as the eye can see...

Barb

Yes...how nice that would be.

TimMAz6 · Post by **TimMAz6** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 6:15 pm

I don't freeze pollen.........I just keep it in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it lasts........I've pollenated Yuccas with pollen from Benny but the success rate is very low. Mailing pollen to each other is somewhat new and it works but at low %. The beetles typically core a hole into the unopened flower to lay thier larvae. I inspect all flowers for 'holes' prior to hybridizing. These beetles are my biggest enemy when hybridizing.

Great looking Y. Elata bloom Aaron!