How young will an orchid bloom after removal from a flask?

[jerrymeola]

This question was asked in a thread about a year ago. A lot of theories were given then.

Since then I have been tracking times for flowering plants from different sizes and different varieties.

This is the current record. In October I bought every Kaleidoscope in the cloning laboratory I use. I was there Nov. 1st and there was not one in the facility.

Last week they said they had a partial tray if I wanted it. 58 plants in a 72 plug tray.

As you can see the tray has 2 plants in spike and they are less than 4 months out of flask.

For a comparison of the 350 I bought in October, 150 are in spike. I am not sure of their age but they were no larger than this tray. The largest plant has only a three inch leaf. Root balls are 3/4 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches deep.

[kmarch]

The full answer to the question "How young will an orchid bloom after removal from a flask?" is: it depends on the genera and the care its given. A fast growing, early blooming orchid like Jerry's phals or (was it Brooke's Tolumnia hybrids?) will grow and flower very quickly in the ideal conditions found in labs and commercial or experienced hobbyist's greenhouses. Other genera will take years to bloom even in ideal conditions. Under hobbiest conditions I believe the average length of time to flower out fo flask is, for most commonly found genera, about 3-5 years.

[digitalgate]

By comparison mericlone plant flowers and grow faster. Normally Dendrobium take 3-5 years to bloom from seed pod. Meristem take 2 years to bloom. Phalaenopsis violacea take 6 to 10 months from seed pod.

[Hummer344]

Kevin makes a great point: Plants grown in "ideal" conditions will do better. Most of us don't have those conditions. We struggle along, coping with the various weather conditions and home conditions. Also, most of us have more than one variety and we try and give each variety the best invironment we can. The beginners see all these flowering plants and don't realize the amount of patience it takes and what kind of conditions it takes to make these beauties re-bloom at home.

[jerrymeola]

I agree completely with prior comments and the results you will get when grown in very good conditions. And I agree how much longer it will take for different genera. The original thread asked how short could one be and that was my intention in starting this thread. This has been the shortest I have seen.

Even for the same plant it has to be the right timing for its natural blooming period. The larger September-October Phals did not bloom in 4 months but in bloomed January like these two. Florida Phals do not bloom before January.

Digitalgate is correct in general about the time to grow Dendrobium, at least for the common types we see. That is why they are cheap. They are not on the growers shelf for years. However, even inside a genera it will vary. Many species Dendrobium can take 7-8 years to flower even when hybrids take much less.

How well you grow plants at the commercial level is a constant learning experience. Many growers had told me Rhyncostylis gigantea take 8 years to flower. This year we have flowers on 2-3 year old plants and an experiment by a friend got flowering size plants (5-6 leaves with a spread of 10 inches) only one year out of the flask when grown in sphagnum moss. It required very careful monitoring the first 6 months to avoid fungal infections but once past that point they grew like weeds.

I try to be careful that I state when I give results for commercial greenhouses. Most of the advice I give especially to beginners are based on plants I grow in my lanai in typical hobbyist conditions.

The lanai plants get ignored and forgotten. There is no regular water routine although I plan one. I constantly remind people that thrips require repeat control application and mine mine were ignored so long (6 months) I had to take the entire collection down and treat everything intensively. The commercial greenhouse has had few problems and they were handled quickly. My personal plants must hate me.

These kinds of issues and discussions will keep coming and they are interesting. For the hobbyist you should try some of the techniques and decide it it works on your plants.

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

How well you grow plants at the commercial level is a constant learning experience. Many growers had told me Rhyncostylis gigantea take 8 years to flower. This year we have flowers on 2-3 year old plants and an experiment by a friend got flowering size plants (5-6 leaves with a spread of 10 inches) only one year out of the flask when grown in sphagnum moss. It required very careful monitoring the first 6 months to avoid fungal infections but once past that point they grew like weeds.

My gigantea one years is still 4 leave and still going to 2 year urgh.....slow...

[Ron]

Hi Jerry.
Interesting question, as stated previously, conditions have a enormous play in how quick they grow.
Then there is the different species.
I grow a lot of Cymbidium seedling from flask. My best is around 30 months.
The nursery I bought them off said I must be doing something wrong as he commonly get them from 18 months to 24 months!
Sarcochilus, Masdevalias I have seen flower in flasks.
Masdevalias I have only grown about 8 flasks or so and the average time was about 6 months.
Another thing people/growers often forget is the flasking companys.
I buy a lot of flasks from Taiwan, Paphs & Phallies mainly.
The plants are up to six (6) times the size of local plants I buy in flask,
That relates in about 6 to 9 months of growing time out of the flasks.
Currently I have just deflasked 4 flasks of Phallies, I was told if I did not flower them in 18 months I an also doing something wrong.
Time will tell and I also do not have a professional setup, I have been told the professional Phallie nurserys run their seedling rooms at 80F and hight humidity.
No wonder the get them to grow so quickly.

But in the end it is a lot of fun and enjoyment for me to see the bubs grow and flower.
Cheerio
Ron
PS. these are in 3 inch pots

[jerrymeola]

I mentioned in another thread that the Phals I bought in September-October, when it should have been dry season in Flordia, got 1-4 inches of rain a week for months. They were grown in sphag and there was never a day you could not wring the sphagnum like a sponge. I had not intended this to happen.

Contrary to the belief of not overwatering a Phal, these plants are pot bound in 4 inch pots already and 50% are in spike. Not one has rotted.

Accidents lead to some of the best discoveries.

[jerrymeola]

For interesting information about flasking check out this YouTube video from AgriStarts. It is a group of several companies owned by relatives and working together. The video is not the same facility that clones orchids so most of the information is about cloning regular tropical plants. Cloning orchids may vary some. I believe the video is AgriStartsII and the Phals came from AgriStartsIV.

Especially notice how they re-flask every 6 weeks. I need to ask if they do that for orchids as well.

You will notice in the video that one or two plants in a flask greatly out grows the others and is removed for best results.

YouTube - AgriStarts Tour

[Ron]

Hi Jerry.

Especially notice how they re-flask every 6 weeks. I need to ask if they do that for orchids as well.

.

From all I have been told by flaskers, once they come out of the mother flasks and placed in the growing flask, that is it.

Some Phallie Labs in Taiwan produce over one million flasks per year minimum.
I could not see them redoing it and for what reason.

Cheerio
Ron