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OT: Orchids from seed

15 years ago

In all the years that I've grown orchids I've never had a seed pod develop until this year. One of my epidendrums has a pod that looks about ripe but I have no idea what to do with it. All I've read is that a sterile culture in a flask in an incubator must be used. This is all way over my head. Evidently you an contract wth a nursery to grow them out for you but I don't want to go to that expense. Is there any other way to start orchids from seed? I have no problems with cloning orchids but I've never tried seeds. It's not like the epidendrum is a special orchid. It's one of the easiest basic varieties and I have no idea what pollinated it.

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Comments (7)

karyn1
Original Author
15 years ago
The darn pod exploded when I touched it. All this powdery spore blew all over. Maybe it will land on some beneficial fungal patch, fat chance! lol I did manage to keep some of the seed in the pod but don't know what, if anything, I can do with it.
givelittle_getlots
15 years ago
rofl. Sorry I am laughing. First posting I was so excited for you! It WAS a special seedpod even if the orchid is not. Sorry it EXPLODED. It just reminded me of the seedpods that do that when you parely touch them. Do not know the name like always. But even thou you KNOW they do it. You jumped everytime lol

Who knows, maybe you got lucky ....again!!

cross my fingers for ya

Lucy
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With all the beautiful canna pix I've seen here (then making the mistake of searching a little) I'm afraid I feel another obsession coming on. You may just have a line waiting as yours multiplies Lucy. My few canna's foliage is great but it has been so much cooler than normal we haven't seen any blooms yet...OTOH it gives me another thing to 'look forward to' just like my shy brugs. Will
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Nancy
15 years ago
That happened to me a couple of years ago. I tried crossing a couple of my epis a couple of years ago & had a pod develop. I was watching it carefully, but it didn't look ready. Suddenly one day it was gone. I didn't luck out, even though I'm sure something must have landed on some soil.
Maybe you will have better luck.
daniellalell
15 years ago
SOrry bout that Karyn. Hope you are feeling ten times better today, but still, dont push it!
chena
15 years ago
Well that bites!LOL Glad you feel well enough to be messing around in the GH..
Kylie
grrrnthumb
15 years ago
Yes there is a way! Orchids somehow survived before tissue culture, so they will take if the conditions are just right. The usual method is to just sprinkle the seed around the base of the mother plant, and if it's in a quality greenhouse, and it likes your conditions, and you get a little lucky, you may just get some seedlings.
Mature pots with beneficial fungus and perhaps a light coating of moss, etc. seem to do best.
- Tom
karyn1
Original Author
15 years ago
Tom I'm kind of hoping that some of the seed will have spilled in a favorable area. That GH is pretty much all orchids. We'll see. At least it was kind of interesting to finally see a seed pod even if nothing happens.

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