Let's Get Our Terms Clear!
Any seedman or nursery that sells you a plant to pollinate, or calls a plant a pollinator is confused. BEES POLLINATE; PLANTS POLLENIZE. A plant cannot be a pollinator and a bee cannot be a pollenizer. These terms are as precise and different as uterus and ovary.
How much would you trust a gynecologist who used these terms interchangeably? Unfortunately, the understanding of pollination is just about that primitive, even with some folks who've worked with plants for a long time.
A pollinator
is the agent that carries pollen, most often a bee, but it can be many other things,
including humans that are hand pollinating. A pollenizer is a source plant for
compatible pollen (a "daddy"), that normally blooms at the same time, although
pollen is now artificially saved as well.
(Garden Glossary) (Glossary of Horticultural terms)
A good example is Johnny's Selected Seeds (not to pick on only one seedsman),
which is offering a percentage of POLLINATORS with some of their cucumber seeds. I
recently asked them, if they really meant that they were offering pollenizers (plants to
provide pollen), and told them that the
primary pollinators for cucumbers were honeybees. They won't change the catalog, so I can
only conclude they are offering bees to do the job. Their web catalog is at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ The standard way to
mail order honeybees is in three pound packages, shipped by US mail. This is a very
generous offer indeed. Ask them if they really
mean this!
Another example can be seen in this non-sequitur from a nursery:
"Most Citrus, including Citrus Sinensis are self-fertile so a
pollinator is not normally required. Use a Q Tip or a clean small paint brush to pollinate
the flowers."
A pollinator is not required, so they proceed to tell you how to be
a pollinator.
Obviously, they mean a pollenizer is not required?
Effective Pollination: A short course by Richard Norton (tree fruits)
We are thinking of posting a list of nursery/seedsmen that confuse these terms.
Here's the beginning of a nursery/seedsman list that get's it right!
Cummins Nursery
Raintree Nursery - Good
Fruit Pollenizer Charts
Hilltop Nursery -
Good Pollenizer Charts
Dave Wilson Nursery
Burkard Nurseries
Sierra Gold Nurseries
Sonoma Antique Apple Nursery
Bay Laural Nursery
Edible Landscape Nursery
Tropical/subtropical, includes a good list of citrus pollenizers
Adams County Nursery
Wafler Nursery
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply Organic
fruit trees
Glossary of Pollination
Terms
Walnut Varieties for Home
Production
Stonefruit Variety Recommendations
for warm climates, with pollenizer recommendations
Does my fruit tree need a pollenizer? Dr. Mark Rieger has a concise list of fruits which include general pollenizer information by fruits. Select Botanical description for each fruit category.
Penn State on Choosing a Nursery for Fruit Trees
(Let's Get Our Terms Clear! Part II)