would like orchid seeds

[dionysus]

i am a novice orchid gardener, but i am excelently skilled in growing them for only having them for less than a year. i would LOVE to have some seeds to germinate, i have pollinated one of my orchids but i am not so sure if it will seed or not. if you send me seeds, i will try and grow them, and if i get a few plants, i will split them with whoever sent me the seeds. just send the seeds COD. thanks sooooo much! this will help me in my gardening experience!

[kmarch]

To grow orchids from seed requires laboratory equipment and a sterile environment. It's not as simple as spreading a few seeds on some soil or other medium. If you have the equipment or have a friend who can do the flasking for you then you have a chance at raising some orchids from seed. It will require patience though.

[Ellen]

What Kmarch says. However, having said that, I have about 30 spontaneous Bletilla striata pods that should be mature around November, so if anyone wants to try propagation on bark, I'll donate a pod to your experiment. Just send me a PM around the middle of October to remind me.

[prisana]

Ellen, I'm definetely interested. I will PM you in Oct ( God please help me to remember ) In the mean time, I'll do some reserch on this plant. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Maxxreps]

Ellen if you can document the species parentage of the Bletilla striata with photos of both parents then Meyers Conservatory (troymeyers.com ) will flask the pods for free!

I have used them a couple of times and even if you have to pay it's a great service!

[dionysus]

hey, thanks for the tip. i will try them for my orchids if i can't propagate them. and i have all the means to grow them. all i need is agar, or other nutrient suplement, and some calcium hypochlorite. and a flame to disinfect the equipment. but i will definitely remember. thanks.

[Ellen]

Maxx, I do send seeds to Troy for flasking, but he can't use 30 pods worth of seed, so the excess will be distributed to those who want to try growing them. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Just FYI, these are all spontaneous selfings or crosses (thanks, bees!) across flowers on growths from the same original plant, planted about 8 years ago. The orchids grow outside in the ground year round and are very cold-tolerant. I do have pics of the parent plant clump for those who want to propagate seed. This is a great species. It looks sort of like like a small purple Catt, but you can grow it in your garden. Any more takers?

[zonepusher]

Are these plants able to withstand the cold Seattle winters or do you dig them up and bring them inside?

[Ellen]

Actually, the Seattle winters are not that cold - it seldom gets much below upper 20's at night, and then not for long. The Bletilla have been growing in the ground year round for about 8 years. I think the lowest temps they've experienced were about 16 degrees for a few nights this past winter, but I think they're hardy in continuous cold weather. We're in Zone 8, but I would think they would be hardy to at least Zone 6. They're also drought-tolerant in the summer, withstanding up to 3 months without rain or watering. Just so you know, they're deciduous, and lose all the part above ground in the winter, then come up with twice as many growths the next year. I love these orchids because they require no care at all and bloom reliably with beautiful flowers.

[CathyG]

I have a purple Bletilla as well in my flower bed in central Oklahoma and it is growing gang busters and has two seed pods as well. It is the only Bletilla around so it has to be a self cross. Interesting to know that I have to send off the seed to be flasked? What happens if the pods dispurse the seed on the ground? Will they grow or just be wasted? Thanks all. I learn so much on this forum.

[Ellen]

I suppose there's some very remote possibility that a Bletilla seed could germinate and grow - after all, that's what nature intended them for. I don't think any have done so in my Bletilla patch, but I probably would never know if they did since there are so many growths. The main way that that this plant reproduces is by putting out multiple new growths from each old one. By next year your single Bletilla will probably be at least 2 or 3. I think that in the garden, the Bletilla seed would face many challenges, such as fungus, bacteria, and slugs that like to eat to eat tender shoots. Even in the plant's natural habitat it seems likely that out of thousands of seeds in a pod only one or two ever make it to adulthood. The survival rate is much better in the protected environment of a flask. I know there are some postings here about growing orchid seed on bark. I think the Bletilla would be a good species to try that technique on, and I may experiment with it myself.

[dionysus]

well, bletilla are a pseudo bulb, and like most pseudo/bulbs, they will divide. paphs, phals, and a whole plethorae will divide their bulbs to have a small plantlet, bletilla shouldn't be much of an exception.

[CathyG]

Originally Posted by dionysus

well, bletilla are a pseudo bulb, and like most pseudo/bulbs, they will divide. paphs, phals, and a whole plethorae will divide their bulbs to have a small plantlet, bletilla shouldn't be much of an exception.

I know they will divide. The one plant is already half a dozen distinct plants. The question I posed was whether or not the seed required the laboratory environment of most orchids, or if the seed is more like a regular plant i.e. you place it in good potting soil and it sprouts. I see that another poster has talked about growing orchid seed on bark. I will investigate this before I decide whether or not to invest in flasking the seeds.

[kmarch]

dionysus,

Perhaps it would be helpful to review what a pseudobulp is. You mention dividing pseudobulbs, but as an example you mention Paphs and Phals neither of which have pseudobulbs.

Pseudobulbs are swollen structures that are usually found between the rhizome and the leaf-bearing part of the plant. They take a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the genera and serve as water and nutrient storage units to get the plant through seasons when water and nutrients are not plentiful. Most pseudobulb bearing orchids are sympodial orchids meaning a new growth grows from a rhizome (in some instances a very short one), reaches maturity, and afterwards does not continue to grow.

Examples of sympodial orchids with pseudobulbs are: Cattleya Alliance species and hybrids (like Lc, Blc, Potinara, Hawkinsara, etc), most Oncidium Alliance species and hybrids (like Odontocidium, Vuylsteckeara, etc.) Cymbidiums, Maxilarias, Coelogyne, Dendrobiums (although some Den have very elongaged pseudobulbs that are more like swollen stems which we call canes),

Off the top of my head I can't think of a monopodial orchid that has pseudobulbs. Monopodial orchids are orchids that continuiously grow from a central point. The growths are never terminal unless damaged. Ecamples include Vandas, Ascocentrum, Phalaenopsis, and members of the Angracaeoid family (Aeranthes, Angracum, Jumellia, etc).

While Paphs are sympodial orchids, and can be divided like a Cattleya, they nonetheless do not have pseudobulbs.

Bletilla are a little different in their structure than most of our commonly grown orchids. They have both a corm-like pseudobulb that sits at ground level and a tuber-like rhizome that grows under the ground.

If you have questions about these terms or what they are, let us know. We'll be happy to help.

[dionysus]

okay, i must have misunderstood when i read about the paphs and phrags. how about cyprpedium? i don't think that they do have them, but i am told they do have something similar.

[kmarch]

Cyps have underground tubers....they require quite specialized conditions...are you growing Cyps?