Telling when a male is ready to release

Like the title says i have one male purple skunk that i left in flower that i want to cross with my Blueberry gum that is also in flower...instead of letting it go completely i would like to selectivly brush the pollen on but am unsure of when the pods will open, also would like to keep some to back cross the hybrid with or to pollinate other plants. right now thay are just starting to lift away from the node and a few have toppled over already so i think they are close.

Also i read some where you need to let the pods open naturally otherwise the pollen is not viable is that true? sorry for the newb questions this is the first male i have every let live

You won't be able to collect any pollen if the balls are closed, you have to wait until they open, check next post for an idea how to collect:

https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/437669-collecting-male-pollen-videoman40-post.html