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TONIGHT WE FEAST! (tiny cherimoya fruit)
(feddit.org)
Last year I managed to fertilize a single flower on my cherimoya tree, which is a bit difficult as the flowers are female in the morning and turn male in the evening. This year I will hopefully be able to have the tree in a south-facing window. So I'm hoping for proper fruiting next year.
Also, strangely enough, cherimoyas seem to do well in an indoor environment and don't seem to have any pest issues at all.
Does the pollen die if you collect it and store it?
I think so. Although I've seen videos, where people will fertilize with pollen that's up to a few days old.
My current method is just having multiple flowers and since they usually open one after the other, I'll just sacrifice the first one and keep a daily fertilization streak going.
…btw. don't use cotton swabs. I used cotton swaps and a small brush is definitly the better tool.
I usually use an electric toothbrush with no head but never seen this species before
My dad used to use a toothpick to pollinate his cactus.
That was going to be my question. Collect pollen at night, fertilize in the morning.
Next option, a second tree in a dark room with ~~UV~~ grow lights on an alternative day-night cycle.
I think you'd use normal spectrum or red/blue lights instead of UV but that's smart
I guess the correct term I should have used is grow lights.