Hi Fran,

Learning how to do simple hand pollination is a good idea in order to increase seed production and to enjoy doing your own crosses or to insure that a particular cultivar is self-pollinated to prevent unwanted crosses.

The easiest way to insure that a Morning Glory is pollinated is to push the anthers (after the pollen has been released) with the fluffy looking pollen up against the stigma so that pollen adheres to the usually slightly sticky surface of the stigma...if the anthers are at the same height as the stigma or slightly higher than the stigma , the pollination is easily achieved...(but if the anthers are much below the stigma or much higher than the stigma then simply using some object to simply push the anthers onto the stigma will not work and you will have to try another method...)

You can use a small artists brush to tranfer the pollen from the anther to the stigma within a flower,or between different flowers...

The brush should be able to perform 2 functions well

a) pick up the pollen

b) release the pollen

I have found that the cheap brushes which are made out of synthetic material do not pick up or release pollen very well...cotton swabs are excellent at picking up pollen,but are very reluctant to release it and you are likely to to damage to the surface of the stigma by abrading (or bruising ) it with a cotton swab in the process of trying to get the pollen to be released...

The brushes that work the best are made out of natural hair and pick up the pollen and release it very well...a very good brush is usually about $5 to $10 but worth it...you can find high quality brushes that are excellent for pollen work at an artists or high quality craft supply store...a quick wipe will clean the brush of pollen...

The other method that I use to hand pollinate is grasp the stamen about midway (or lower) with a pair of tweezers and with a quick sharp tug > yank it free...then re-position the stamen so that the anther is facing the stigma and use it like a paint brush to lightly paint the surface of the stigma(s...a very light brushing is usually sufficient and you should be able to see the pollen coming off of the anther and adhering to the surface of the stigma...one very full anther can pollinate several flowers...you don't need to completely cover the stigma with pollen...10 to 15 good pollen grains is usually very sufficient...more than that is usually a waste of good pollen...

The pollen will sprout and produce a pollen tube which will penetrate the specialized pollen tube transmitting tissue and make it's way to the ovary and on to the the ovules and if all goes well,the fertilized ovule will ripen into a seed...

Morning Glories can only accommodate up to about 25 pollen tubes in total,so if the 25th pollen tube for whatever reason does not fertilize the ovules,no further pollen tubes will be enabled and any additional pollen placed onto the stigma is realistically wasted...

The pollen transfer is best done as soon as the anthers have released the pollen (i.e., dehisced )and this may be very early in the morning,although some flowers may not release the pollen until mid-morning or sometimes later in the day...

Hand pollination is best done when it is not too hot and not too cold...not too dry and not too wet...pollen which has been rained on is worthless...

Pollen can be stored in a cool,dry place,on a non-absorptive surface(like glass,plastic or waxed paper) after being dried in the sun for about an hour or so...pollen so prepared will remain viable for a couple of months...pollen can also be frozen,but will loose a certain amount of vigor...

Flowers which have been hand pollinated can be protected by any further unwanted pollination by covering them in something to prevent other pollinators from accessing the inner flower e.g., like a small piece of muslin with a tie string to tighten below the flower base...

Hand pollination is actually very easy and can be mastered with just a little practice...

Check out the photo link posted and click onto the contents at the top of the photo page to view more from Dr.Yoneda's wonderful online asagao book...

There it is...(!)

Hope the suggestions are helpful...

Talk to you...

Ron

Here is a link that might be useful: Pistil and Stamen Closeup in Morning Glory Beginners Guide