Growing from seed general questions.

[Etugan]

Hi

I'm new to orchids but I want to try propagating from seed, I like a challenge and so far it looks like orchids are the most tricky plants to grow from seed.
I have grown all the easy stuff like Agapanthus (takes two years from seed to bloom), Clivia (3 - 4 years) and Hipeastrum (4 years)

I would guess that germinating on bark would be more difficult than germinating asymbiotically, so will go for the asymbiotic method first, plus it looks so cool to work with agar and to transplant them and all the processes that the plant go through before they are in a community pot ready to grow up.

Now my question is, is there a general time it takes for each genus to flower from seed ? If so how long does the individual genus groups roughly take? The ultimate is to see plant that you started from seed flower he he.

Which genus would be best to start with relative good results?

Thanks.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Etugan

Now my question is, is there a general time it takes for each genus to flower from seed ?

It varies not only from genus to genus, but from species to species (or hybrid to hybrid) within a species. For example some Maudiae-type paphs can go from flask to flower in around 4 years but the big multiflorals like rothschildianum can take more than 10.

Originally Posted by Etugan

Which genus would be best to start with relative good results?

I think the best genus to start with would be the genus you already know and grow well. What genera are you currently growing well?

[Etugan]

Hi kmarch.
I don't grow any yet and would like to start my collection from seed, but I know given enough time I will go out and buy larger plants

My favourite groups so far are Phalaenopsis, Oncidium, Disa, Cattleya, Brassavola.

What got me interested in orchids is, I did research on tissue culture to propagate succulents. And got a great design for a laminar flow hood on an orchid website after a google search, and it just took all my attention away from succulents for a bit and spend the entire day yesterday just looking at orchids and this forum.

I have a couple of small greenhouses so to manipulate climatic conditions for them wont be a problem. Basically all I want to do is get the most out of the planned lab and use it to grow other interesting things on the side while it's not in use for the succulents.

I have always kept my distance from orchids because if I start to like a plant type its overs kadowers and I will spend my last bread money on a plant hehehe.

Will those above choices be good for a beginner, is their climatic requirements similar ? And will they be good to learn the art of seed germination on? How long will they roughly take to flower?

Thank you.