This is editted part of a mail I sent to a fellow CP grower but feel
that the more the more people who read it, the greater chances it has.
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Hmm... Well here is something else for us non-botanists to work
on: A pollen bank!. If it can work, have someone, not Tom Johnson
as he is already busy with the seed bank, work with storing the
pollen. I don't know how to do this, but it would probably
involves some _low_ Temps. It should be stored in such a way
that your average Nepenthes growing will have little trouble
keeping the sample(s) fresh after receiving them. Probably put
it in freezer then, as flowers ready, the fridge.
This could be coordinated just like the seedbank, the first
part anyway. Someone has a female plant in flower. They send
in a S.A.S.E. to the Pollen Keeper, who sends a list of availible
pollen back out.
After seed is grown? Not much point to it if the grower can't
(doesn't have room, ect) or doesn't know how to grow many plants
from seed. So then the seed, most of it anyway, should be sent
out to TC people and the more capable growers, I certainly doubt
I could grow a worth while number of plant from seed... Of
course, the pollen and seed growers should get back some of the
resulting seedlings or the other species/hybrids grown through
the pollen bank. The seedling growers could sell the rest,
maybe donate a couple here and there. I don't really have any
problems with this... What do ya all think? The people doing the
most work, besides the Pollen Bank keeper, would be componsated
by sale of the seedlings which would sold be though the CPN. I
hope I.C.P.S. could get something like this together. It really
would help everyone and the plants too!
Dave Evans