Cymbidium madidum pods

[Slick]

There are quite a lot of these growing as epiphytes on the palm trees where I work. There is such a thriving population, and every year provides a bumper crop of pods.
I would love to harvest a couple of pods to flask. How should they look? I'll try and get some pictures up soon. It has been raining a lot and I haven't been able to get a clear shot.

[terra_australis]

Depends if you intend to sow green or dry seed. Green seed may be tricky to tell because you usually have to have a good idea of when pollination ocurred and get the harvest timing correct. For dry seed, harvest the pods when they start to yellow or split.

I am of course assuming these are cultivated plants and you are not harvesting from a wild population...

[Slick]

Hello again Dan,
It is a bit of a grey area. They don't appear to be intentionally mounted. Many of them are so far up the palm trees, it is hard to imagine anyone placing them there. They aren't domestic...
The palm trees are growing in and around a public car park, and shopping area, I pass them every day. And the orchids, they are amazingly drought and exposure tolerant. Amazing plants. Now that I have some hybrid cyms, I would really like one of these as a source of potential crosses.
Is it likely to see these for sale in an orchid nursery? I really haven't had a good shop round to be honest.
Maybe it would be best to wait until I have shopped round more. Although these aren't growing in a wild forest as such, it is really cool to see an unusual local doing well in an unexpected spot.
I do not harvest from the wild as policy, there are so few wild orchids. I think the only ones I have seen are Calanthe triplicata and geodorum densiflora... Seeing the calanthe in full flower is a big part of why I signed up to this site. Amazing site by the way, the know how in these forums, defies belief.
Thanks again Dan,
Peter

[terra_australis]

Cymbidium madidum can be found for purchase commercially although you are most likely to find it sold as seedlings or in flask. Such plants are often specially bred and offer better flowers than the average wild plant.

[Ron]

Hi If you would like some plants of this species, you can buy them in flask from
Kevin Western at
Western Orchids / Laboratory - 2011 Oz Cymbidium flask list

it is listed about 2/3 down the page.
Also a lot of other temptations to look at