Background: Cryopreservation has been proved to be an efficient method for the long-term storage of pollen, based on our previous studies establishing cryo pollen banks for Camellia, Paeonia, and Prunus mume.
Objective: In the present study, we aimed to extend and verify the applicability of the cryopreservation protocol for ornamental plants.
Materials and methods: 71 species or cultivars from 19 families were cryopreserved using the established protocol.
Results: Pollen from 60 species or cultivars (85% of those experimented on) retained viability after 1 year's cryopreservation; of these, 36 (51% of the total investigated) retained a sufficiently high germination capability compared with fresh pollen to enable longer term cryopreservation.
Conclusion: This study confirms that wide-scale pollen banking of ornamental plants is feasible.