breeding orchids

[morigan]

how do i do it?x

[kmarch]

Too big of a question to cover in a post or 2...or 10. There are entire books on the subject. Maybe some other members can recommend one.

I assume you're already growing lots of orchids and are quite knowledgable about them? This would be a very helpful step before starting a breeding program.

What kinds of orchids do you want to breed?

[digitalgate]

ah, birds and the bees question. you need someone to show you how they did it.
Do you intend to germinate the pod yourself? or just a curious question?

[exasperatus2002]

Go to the aos site Theres good info on it there. Im still learning but started a post called step by step to follow my first attempt at a new hybrid.

Heres the aos link

American Orchid Society - Orchids

[morigan]

to be honest i have no idea on the different types of orchids as ive only just started but i buy ones that other people class as dead and some how i bring them back to life and end up with some stunning blooms.i bought one from a garden centre last year and now its got 11 flowers.i bought it for £1 cos it was dead lol.i seem to have a nack with orchids so just thought id take it one step further.xx

[fred]

welcome morigan
can you please go to your usercp settings and update your Profile with your Location
as this will help us with giving you the right advice.
also with understanding your growing conditions as we have members from all over the world with different growing conditions.

[kmarch]

morigan, it's good that you've had some success with orchids. As you've discovered there are several varieties of orchid that grow very well in a windowsill without any special attention. It's a good, confidence-building start.

Originally Posted by morigan

to be honest i have no idea on the different types of orchids ...

This is your next step. You'll need to learn somethign about the various types of orchids and what conditions are needed to grow them. Get yourself a good orchid culture book, like Ortho's All About Orchids, which also shows several different types of orchids in addition to providing info onhow to grow them.

Familiarize yourself with orchid flower anatomy. It's different from other flowers. An understanding of this will be necessary to start breeding orchids.

After all that you could then try to cross one of the orchids you already have, at least you'd know how to grow those. You can cross an orchid wiht another in the same genus or in some cases the same alliance or you can "self" it, which means you polinate a flower with its own pollen. Then on to seed pods, flasks and etc., etc.

But first,learn some orchid basics.