Seed Pods

[parkkop]

Hello All
Merry Christmas
I have noticed that many of my blooms have left what looks like seed pods. Now that I have become aware of these wonderful plants, with the wealth of information from the Geeks, I am wondering if I can use them (the seed pods) to propagate. Any info or links would be apperciated.
Thanks

[digitalgate]

welcome to the forum. For germinating of seed from seed pod you need a sterile environment and artificial lighting for 10 to 14 hours per day.($$$) Unless you purposely cross that plant. I would let it mature and throw the seed at the base of the mother plant and hope it germinate. Not to mention a minimum 2 years wait before you see any flowers, also mean you can forget the road trip, you have planned for so long.

[kid a]

You can use the pods There are several option you have if you are willing to pay for flasking if you do not have the necessary items needed to do it yourself. Having someone else do the flasking is probably a safer option if it's something you have never done before and the prices are very reasonable less than you would expect. You can mail the pods to the flasker. There is two ways you can do this: either using the pod before it has split and spilled the seeds or by using the seeds once the pods have split. I would recommend researching (or chatting with a possible flasker) about the maturity time of the pods as it differs from orchid type to orchid type. Some flaskers prefer having the seed still in the pod as the seed has not been contaminated and does not need to be sterilized as other prefer the seed to be not in the pod and will sterilize the seed. I would check with whoever you would have do the flasking for you to see how they prefer to receive the seeds or pods. It is often times a lengthy process. But if you like the idea of having lots of babies of your plants its fun, also if you know what the crosses are some of them may be very worthwhile to have flasked. You can do a search on the forum about flasking and seed pods and read some of our members thread on their experiences from going to pollination to flasking. If don't mind spending the money to have it done I think it would be a wonderful learning experience for any orchid person and also an opportunity to multiply your collection o over a period of time. You could also give your babies as gifts to loved ones.

[terry_sealey]

Parkkop, any chance of a pic to see if they are in fact seed pods. I am not aware of many orchids that will spontaeneously form pods in the numbers you are indicating. What type of orchid are we talking about here?

[parkkop]

Originally Posted by digitalgate

welcome to the forum. For germinating of seed from seed pod you need a sterile environment and artificial lighting for 10 to 14 hours per day.($$$) Unless you purposely cross that plant. I would let it mature and throw the seed at the base of the mother plant and hope it germinate. Not to mention a minimum 2 years wait before you see any flowers, also mean you can forget the road trip, you have planned for so long.

digilgate I like the natural flow of throwing the seeds at the base of the mother plant and hopeing as opposed to $$$

Originally Posted by kid a

You can use the pods There are several option you have if you are willing to pay for flasking if you do not have the necessary items needed to do it yourself. Having someone else do the flasking is probably a safer option if it's something you have never done before and the prices are very reasonable less than you would expect. You can mail the pods to the flasker. There is two ways you can do this: either using the pod before it has split and spilled the seeds or by using the seeds once the pods have split. I would recommend researching (or chatting with a possible flasker) about the maturity time of the pods as it differs from orchid type to orchid type. Some flaskers prefer having the seed still in the pod as the seed has not been contaminated and does not need to be sterilized as other prefer the seed to be not in the pod and will sterilize the seed. I would check with whoever you would have do the flasking for you to see how they prefer to receive the seeds or pods. It is often times a lengthy process. But if you like the idea of having lots of babies of your plants its fun, also if you know what the crosses are some of them may be very worthwhile to have flasked. You can do a search on the forum about flasking and seed pods and read some of our members thread on their experiences from going to pollination to flasking. If don't mind spending the money to have it done I think it would be a wonderful learning experience for any orchid person and also an opportunity to multiply your collection o over a period of time. You could also give your babies as gifts to loved ones.

WOW...I had no idea it was so involved. I am looking forward to the challenge. I like the idea of gifts.

Originally Posted by terry_sealey

Parkkop, any chance of a pic to see if they are in fact seed pods. I am not aware of many orchids that will spontaeneously form pods in the numbers you are indicating. What type of orchid are we talking about here?

Two of the pods are on Dens. One is pictured and I don't know what it is yet. the other one is a woon leng. The other Pic is of another one I don't know yet. Sorry about being so new to this. Maybe I should sit back for awhile before trying to do this.

[Irene]

They look like seed pods to me. But what do I know? I'm a newbie.

[terry_sealey]

Well that first pic does look like a plant with seed pods and they are the typical shape for orchids. I don't recognise the plant though.

http://www.kitchenculturekit.com/StiffAffordablePTCorchids.htm" will give you some ideas.

[rcb]

The first one is probably either Brassavola nodosa, or a hybrid of it. And yep those are definitely seed pods on them. They are pollinated by night flying moths - which is why they are only scented at night.