Normal pollen development requires numerous cellular processes, one of which is cell wall remodeling. In this issue, Kikuchi et al. demonstrate that pectic arabinan and galactan are transiently deposited on the surface of pollen mother cells (PMCs) prior to meiosis, and show that these cell wall polysaccharides are essential for meiotic progression and pollen development. In the arad1 gals2 gals3 triple mutant, where arabinan and galactan are reduced, meiotic failure occurs despite normal vegetative growth, highlighting the crucial role of cell wall matrix polysaccharides in reproductive development.