How to Pollinate Adenium - detailed tutorial

Today I would like to show you, how I’m cross pollinating by hand Adeniums, so they would set seed pods with plenty of healthy seeds from parents I select.
First I would like to show you tools I’m using:
Here I have scissors and stripes from old louvers and dental floss to make labels to mark how old the seed pods are and who its parents are. The waxed floss is best, because it disintegrates slowest.
The tags look like this and I prepared the pencil for marking.
The reason I’m marking the age, is because the pods ripen 3 to 5 months after pollination, so first 3 months I don’t need to check, but after that, if neglected, the cracked pod releases seeds and they’ll fly away. So this way I know when to start watching, so I won’t start too early or too late.
Next I have strong magnifier with loop and screw in the back so it is attachable to the head. It magnifies 10 times. It’s called wiser of visor – I’m not sure how it’s pronounced. It’s possible to order it from the Internet. They sell more expensive models that have little flash light attached on top. I don’t need that, because I’m using it for cross pollinating outside in the open area, where is plenty of light.
Next I have a box of wooden toothpicks, to transfer pollen from flower to flower. Next I have water, to make tip of the toothpick moist. Not wet, because drop of water would dissolve the pollen. I dip tip of the toothpick in and then I shake the water off. So the moisture would help attach the pollen to the toothpick for transfer to the other flower.
Next I have a napkin, because after I tear open the flower, some of them sometime release droplets of sap, which I with dry with napkin. Otherwise, if they’ll get mixed with pollen, the pollen would dissolve.
And the last thing I have are adhesive labels. With those I close the flower, so the sun or wind wont dry the stigma and pollen and the insect won’t interfere.
And finally I have here blooming Adenium plants that I selected for your viewing how I pollinate.
So to start with, I have to tear away top petals to expose the inner workings of the flower, and also most of the petals of this flower to again expose inner workings of this flower, in order to move pollen from this plant to this plant and from this plant to that plant.
I for purpose choose not too old flower, because it might drop off before the pollination takes hold, and or the pollen would not be viable any more.
Now let me open these flowers and then I’ll continue with demonstration.
Here are the petals I tore off from this flower and this flower.
If this wouldn’t be Adenium but a flower of some other species, you would assume that these long things sticking out are filaments with pollen on top, but that’s not how Adenium flower is constructed. The pollen is inside here, but I can’t focus the camera. Anyway – I’m taking a toothpick and opening gently that part up.
OK – here it is. That part of flower is now open, and you can see on the tip of that green part called style. On top of style is stigma and on top of stigma is gray pollen. Right here.
And on the tip of this other flower – here you see pollen.
So now I’m wetting the tip of the toothpick, shaking the water off,
And I’m taking that pollen out. I have to put it somewhere for storage so I can make it rest on this label.
Now I take another toothpick, make it wet, shake it, and take the pollen from the red flower
Now this pollen, from the dark flower, I’m putting on receptive part of stigma of the light flower. It’s hard to focus the camera. I would have to draw for you which part it is.
Because I have a hard time to make sharp image of the stigma, of the receptive part of flower that receives the pollen, I will draw it to you.
Here is the flower. These are petals. Here is the stigma on the end of light green style.
The pollen is sitting right here.
And the receptive part of stigma, where you should put with your moist toothpick the pollen is here.
So you are getting it from here from one flower and putting it here from another flower.
Why are you putting pollen from another Adenium plant? Well partially because you want to select right mix that would be interesting to you, but also because Adenium is to some degree self incompatible. So you have bigger chance of succeeding in pollination, if you take pollen from one plant and put it onto stigma of the other plant. Just like moth does it to Adeniums in nature at night. So receptive part of stigma is here
Is the part that carries the original pollen.
And the pollen that is resting here from the light flower, I’m putting on the base of the stigma of the dark flower.
Now I’ll peel these labels to close the flowers...