seedling question

[exasperatus2002]

I have 3 flasks which I was told can wait till spring. Its 5 days into spring & Im itching to try to deflask one of them. When I look at the bottom of the flask I see some long roots. But less then the # of seedlings in flask. The ones with the shorter roots, if they are deflasked, will they start growing like normal or should I wait longer for more active growth before trying to deflask? Im at work so I'll have to post the pics later tonight.

[Ron]

Hi You will find all sorts of sizes in the seedling roots in a flask.
There will be some hero with big growth and good root system and then middle size ones and the runts with poor small roots, give them all a chance to grow.
depending on what species they are, I would de-flask them all if average size is good
Best of luck

[orchids4me]

This is going to sound funny....
Can you lay on your back with your camera and take a pic of the flask bottom held up above the camera to not disturb the flasking media etc. So we can see how big some of the rootsa are on the catt alliance babies. Reading it I'm wanting to say wait but I've gotten at least 15 flasks now of Catts and Laelias. Maybe I can tell by seeing them as a comparison to what I'm use to now from mine. Maybe I can be of some help.... Use a coin for comparison also if you can (with scotch tape mabe to bottom edge ? I know you don't have 3 hands lol
Emmaye

[Ron]

This is going to sound funny....
Can you lay on your back with your camera and take a pic of the flask bottom held up above the camera to not disturb the flasking media etc. So we can see how big some of the rootsa are on the catt alliance babies

Good idea Emmaye!
Sorry to laugh at it, can just see him laying on the floor, flask bottle held at arms length, trying to take a photo, agar is usually ok to lay the bottle on its side to take photo
Again sorry Emmaye

[orchids4me]

Originally Posted by Ron

Good idea Emmaye!
Sorry to laugh at it, can just see him laying on the floor, flask bottle held at arms length, trying to take a photo, agar is usually ok to lay the bottle on its side to take photo
Again sorry Emmaye

Hi Ron !
Lol good to know about the agar see when I get mine he already de flasks them they come in whirl zip bags in a damp paper towel. So I have no idea if the agar is runny or not .
I couldn't picture him doing that either but I would rather be safe than sorry if the agar was runny. Lol thanks Ron
Emmaye

[exasperatus2002]

I didnt think about that before taking pics. Here they are, I rotated the flasks 3 sides to a flask & bottom. Flask #2 got a little cooked by accident to much light from a south window.

flask 1 -









Flask 2 -








Flask 3-

[orchids4me]

Wow beautiful roots. Those are ready pot em up they have more roots than the ones I get lol. You will find toward the center of the flask some may be under developed but that's normal the ones around the outer areas get all the light so grow like crazy while the center ones get smothered and don't develop fully all the time or some have very tiny roots. I usually try to save them (ones with some kind of roots) but they don't usually all make it.
Good luck they looks so beautiful !!!

[digitalgate]

my goodness, you have to deflask them this week. Your agar is running out of nutrient already.

[Ron]

Originally Posted by orchids4me

Wow beautiful roots. Those are ready pot em up they have more roots than the ones I get lol. You will find toward the center of the flask some may be under developed but that's normal the ones around the outer areas get all the light so grow like crazy while the center ones get smothered and don't develop fully all the time or some have very tiny roots. I usually try to save them (ones with some kind of roots) but they don't usually all make it.
Good luck they looks so beautiful !!!

Ditto here also.
That is a top quality flask and very health root system. Still a good layer of agar in the flask if by some reason you are not in a big hurry to de-flask them
Thanks for the photos

[exasperatus2002]

Now to get a good seedling mix.

I was looking at this one Seedling Fir Classic Orchid Mix
It is Small Fir Bark, Small Sponge Rock, Small Charcoal & Rice Hulls.


my local nursery doesnt really have much for seedlings & the repotme blend sounds better then theirs which is Fine Potting Media - Contains fine fir bark, fine charcoal, and medium perlite. Supplies

I plan on using the 72 cell seed trays with the humidity domes from burpee. How large a bag do you think I'll need?

[Ron]

RePotme Seedling Fir Classic Orchid Mix is ideal for a variety of fine rooted orchid plants including seedlings, Brassia, Catasetum, Cynoches, Epidendrum, Encyclia, Lycaste, Masdevallia, Maxillaria, and Miltonia, Oncidium/Odontoglossum, Oncidium Intergenerics. This Classic Orchid Mix blend has small particle ingredients that allow delicate root systems to thrive and is designed to promote effective nutrient uptake due to increased root contact with the medium.

variety of fine rooted orchid plants including seedling

That answers your first question.
too me your flasks are nice big thick type of roots.
When I deflask I like to use an open type of mix that will only hold moisture for a day or so.
Helps prevent dampening off, now days I use a 12 to 18 mm CoCo nuggets and place them in community pots or if big enough into 2 inch pots, if in a community pots I might spring a few fines around the top of the mix if the plants are on the small size.
My way of doing it, works for me.
I also use a good quality fungicide to prevent damping off usually fungirid.
In all, if this is your first time deflasking it can be a bit frightening but if every thing is bleached before hand such as pots, dish or sink you may be working in, even hands and the outside of the flasks, success should be easy
Cheerio

[Brooke]

Use whatever you are comfortable with for a mix. Catt seedlings need the same thing as an adult catt does - water when dry and let dry out, water again. They don't want to be dry very long.

I prefer sphag/tree fern for all seedlings except for one terrestrial where I used a coir peat type combo. The most important thing is for you to understand what works in your conditions.

Brooke

[steam fire and ice]

are you getting excited to finally see them out of the flask? I have been following your other thread and I know I'm excited to see them out and growing up to blooming sized. I totally cant wait to get to see some of the blooms off of these babies. Do you think in the three flasks you will have a variety of different blooms? I am just amazed by the size of the roots on them too, it looks like you are doing a great job.

[BGGraham1]

this has really been an exciting read! May we please have an update?

[exasperatus2002]

I have the seedling mix on order. Cant wait to start.

[VEEKTOR]

Wow those fotos have me chewing at the bit to order a flask!

[Ron]

Originally Posted by VEEKTOR

Wow those fotos have me chewing at the bit to order a flask!

Personally I find deflasking the most exciting part of growing orchids, weather it is mericlones or seedling crosses.
To take a baby plant out of the flask and grow it on to maturity and see it flower.

along the road you will learn a lot of how different type of species growing in your conditions and medium grow and react. A big and very exciting learning curve.
I think all growers should have a go at it sometimes in the orchid growing life.

[digitalgate]

I wait for four years for my big cane dendrobium (I thought they will bloom in 2.5 year) urgh!!!!!! My strap leave cand 3 years ++ still no hope of flowering , my big catt 3 years
And still 6 inch high . Vv slow .

[exasperatus2002]

Originally Posted by Ron

Personally I find deflasking the most exciting part of growing orchids, weather it is mericlones or seedling crosses.
To take a baby plant out of the flask and grow it on to maturity and see it flower.

along the road you will learn a lot of how different type of species growing in your conditions and medium grow and react. A big and very exciting learning curve.
I think all growers should have a go at it sometimes in the orchid growing life.

Couldnt have said it better.

[nenella]

Very Cool! Thanks for updating can't wait to see pics of your deflasking and potting.... and growth... and repotting ... and some more growth... till the first flowering! ...Super thread, I have really enjoyed reading about & following your experiment with you. Thanks again & I very much look forward to keep reading & living it with you.

[exasperatus2002]

Got my seedling mix from repot me this afternoon....Guess what I'll be doing this weekend? Playing it safe and trying one then the other in stages so I dont kill them all off at once due to my inexperience with the newly deflasked.

[kid a]

How did the potting go? I am anxious to see how it went

[tangers40]

me too! hopefully your first experience went better than mine!

[exasperatus2002]

Sorry for the delay, Saturday Im having a big bday party for my daughter (she'll be 4) & with redoing the floor in the kitchen & bathroom. I will have one flask deflasked before saturday with lots of pics.

[Musika]

Ummm... whats a flask??

[exasperatus2002]

Originally Posted by Musika

Ummm... whats a flask??

Orchid seed is sprouted & grown in an nutrient rich material (kinda like a jello wiggler) called agar. Its sealed inside a sterile jar which is called a flask. Once the seedlings are big enough to remove (about 3 inches) the process is called deflasking. See the pics above to see what my flasks look like. See the link on my signature for the step by step pics for when I pollinated the parents originally, its have the seed which is fine like dust & pics of the flasks when they first germinated. Its amazing what an orchid goes thru before its big enough for us to purchase.

[Musika]

Originally Posted by exasperatus2002

Orchid seed is sprouted & grown in an nutrient rich material (kinda like a jello wiggler) called agar. Its sealed inside a sterile jar which is called a flask. Once the seedlings are big enough to remove (about 3 inches) the process is called deflasking. See the pics above to see what my flasks look like. See the link on my signature for the step by step pics for when I pollinated the parents originally, its have the seed which is fine like dust & pics of the flasks when they first germinated. Its amazing what an orchid goes thru before its big enough for us to purchase.

OMG! I read that whole thread.... hahaha thats soooo awesome!

[exasperatus2002]

How long after deflasking before you start introducing them to fertilizer?

[Ron]

Originally Posted by exasperatus2002

How long after deflasking before you start introducing them to fertilizer?

Hi I usually wait at least a week to 2 weeks depending on how warm it is now, usually I like to use a mild fertilizer like seaweed extract for a couple of weeks just to get them started.
Until I can see the roots and leaves showing good signs of new growth I will contine with the seaweed type fertilizer for about 3 months and then start with your usual chemical fertilizer at about 1/5 strength for the next 3 or 4 months, remember they are still very small plants and take a bit of time to adapt to stronger fertilizer.