The closest I could find in the seedy subjects to what I want to say, was Hand pollination of Arisaemas but this can apply to almost anything I think, so a new thread.
I had a lovely visit today with Louise Salmond of Hokonui Alpines, and as usual, spent my life's savings but what the heck? After lunch and in the course of a wonderful trip around the nursery, all the parts that are usually not for public view, Louise showed me her two favourite pollinating tools, and how they worked on the appropriate plants. No 1 was a small branch of Helichrysum plumeum which is a woolly version of the various H. selago types. Poked into a primula, gentian or whatever, it comes out covered in pollen and may then be poked into the next relevant flower. I shall be growing a couple of extra plants of it, for use as pollinating brushes. So quick, so easy and so very effective and not needing to be washed afterwards, just flicked away and a new twig taken when needed.
The other tool was a slim blade of ordinary grass, a kind which has those microscopic hairs at the edges and on the blade. We all have masses of them. A couple of inches are enough and the blade with its pointed end can be poked into the tiniest flowers such as a myosotis or androsace and again, comes out with pollen which can then be transferred to the next candidate. Louise demonstrated on something VERY precious but I won't say what it was in case someone tempts her with a better bribe than I can think of.
