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Little-TON - Colorado

I have used these as I have seen many do from the web.....Do you all put them back on for a few days or take them off and just ty up the flower? I left mine on thinking it would keep the water off the flowers and offer insulation from the heat but after two days the flowers were too wet so I pulled them off.....ANy thoughts? I also pollinated my first Reiss flower.....a 5 lober!!!! but I had the Reiss males in the fridge for 1 day ( actual age was 2 days old) The pollen seemed a bit humid also, not as dusty as leaving them out on the table......What are the thoughts on this? I think next time I dont put them in the fridge......I got another Reiss female two days out.

7/21/2006 9:24:00 AM

Mocksville, NC

myself i put them back on, and in about 2 days pollination is done, and i take cup off the flower will be folded around your lobes bet your flowers wern't wet they were decaying after 2 days. most of the time i leave the flower on until its dried, and crispy then peel it off, and sometimes i peel off the decaying flower, I really never seen a difference. i use the cups they work for me, if you feel more comfortable tieing the flowers shut, please do so, or use a baggie or whatever works for you.
Great luck, and a new personal best

7/21/2006 9:42:45 AM

Mocksville, NC

as far as pollen goes i cut the males coverd the night before,off the pollinator and go right to the female, i have pretty good luck that way,its just the way ive always done it. most of the time in the morning around 7am to 9am!
(now i'm just telling you what i do)lot of people differ

7/21/2006 9:53:07 AM

Indiana

Im not sure that a styro cup itself would keep the bees out. I use about 6 to 8 inch pieces of pantyhose they allow the flower to breath i take them off after about 2 days.
Steve

7/21/2006 10:19:16 AM

Nova Scotia

stryo cups work fine for me. cody

7/21/2006 10:41:34 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Been thru this discussion before and put my foot in my mouth...LOL...live and learn...I challenged the idea of a styro cup being good enough to seal insects out...was told that at least one, heavy (very heavy) hitter has used styro cups as the only means of control for years...idea is that as the flower opens it seals at the inner edges of the cup...with the names mentioned, this rookie will accept it as law...grow em big....humbly yours....Peace, Wayne

7/21/2006 1:30:37 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

I do use several layers of cheese cloth to keep out any crawlies too. Roger your right that flower was just decaying and I too feel leaving the cup on is a good idea. LB suggested I post this to find out what the BIGS do, you all have the experience and one doesnt need to always reinvent the wheel.....lol I had to pick the males as they were a day ahead of the female and I really wanted to self this 1233.5 Reiss. This is a great plant.....I have another female closing in but a limited supply of these Reiss Males due to losing so much during the hail.....Thanks for all the help......

7/21/2006 1:33:15 PM

Long Island,New York

If you leave that cup on more than a day you risk finding white moldy stuff all over the blossom nubs when you do remove it. I will use them on hot days and remove the next day...if not, I get "nubrot"...put it in the dictionary !!!

7/21/2006 3:05:11 PM

sevierville, Tn

I like the cups too. Used em 2 years now. Also I have several bees of all diferent sizes and shapes in each unprotected flowers, never one in a "cuped" flower.

7/21/2006 3:05:14 PM

Salmon Arm, BC

twist tie and "brollie" for every potential! hee hee. Deb:)

7/21/2006 6:32:30 PM

Syracuse, NY

for what it is worth,
i have found that the pantyhose-pieces
method is working really well for me this year;
there were these little "hoselets" at a department store
that women use somehow to protect their feet when they try-on high heels at a shoe store now. essentially a toe-end
of a stocking, in great numbers in a box right there at the
counter....so i asked for one and they are small enough to
seal-off the flower from the insects simply by placing it over the flower the night before pollination, and i always
use the clingy-ness of the material to wrap it around the stem of the pumpkin flower and seal it even better.
in the morning, sometimes the flower doesn't ALWAYS open up
as wide as it would have if unprotected, but the advantage in New York recently has been that the ....continued...

7/24/2006 1:23:36 PM

Syracuse, NY

..."hoselet" doesn't let the rain into the flower
like what would happen if i used the standard,
nylon-mesh drawstring baggie things, which let the flowers
open up fully...
we have had in the recent past a lot of rain in NY,
is what i am saying.
once the males are brought to the pollination site,
the hoselet is gently removed from the female and
then the males' corollas are removed, etc., etc.,
and after pollination is complete,
a ZIP TIE (7"-8") is used to keep the cross as pure as can be, by putting that around the corolla of the female and
zipping it up tight. no way would i do it any other way than this, as far as protecting the flower AFTER pollination...bees, cucumber beetles, any insect at all can get in there and mess up the cross as soon as we are not looking. it seems that pre-pollination protection keeps
improving every season;
i think i have reached the peak of it. eric

7/24/2006 3:57:20 PM

Minnesota(dw447@fastmail.fm)

Eric,
I've used the nylons(knee-high) before and after pollination(on females). I tie with a cut rubber band, before and after as well, around the pumpkin stem. I can get the knee-highs for 3 or 4 pairs for $1.00.
I don't hold the petals shut with anything. What do you think of this method?

7/24/2006 4:39:03 PM

GreatFalls,Montana

do you just set the styra foam on the female and lift it up the next day to will the flower get squished

7/24/2006 6:15:59 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

The last 3 time I put the cup on at nite when I have identified that its almost ready....a lil triple cheese cloth aroung the side....Im going to use the nylons next time but I got to go get some....The cup keeps the flower from opening up fully and protects it from the rain.....This AM I pollinated my 1204 kline with the 1233.5 Reiss male x4....I had the 3 of the males in a cup for a nite and a half....they were just opening...I did refrigerate them this time. A 5 lobe female.....!!!The stems fell off on all three of the males so that made it difficult to hold on to but I did ....then I grabbed another fresh male just ready.....tied it up with a cable tie and Ill be damned if a bee came along and tried to force his way in.......He didnt make it as I had to swat him away......Hope this one takes....i need to start moving here.......Grow'em BIG

7/25/2006 8:59:02 AM

Syracuse, NY

Doug, i think it sounds good.
the good news is, the stockings things
can be kept several-at-a-time in
your pocket when you go out scoping-out
females, and once you see a female that
will be ready, BOINK!, you can put a
hoselet on it. her. whatever, lol.
all i know is that since i started using them,
my trips to the patch have been a BIT more
enjoyable, lol---eric g

7/25/2006 2:23:39 PM