Orchid Flasks

[Dave]

Just curious as to who Grows their orchids from seed? I know its a long long process...I've only purchased flasks with tiny orchids already in them.

[ccdisce]

I started growing them from seeds last year using 'kitchen culture' methods. So far I have managed to get some Cattleya guatemalensis ( around 200 pcorms ) through the 1st re-plate safely. I have a few hundred Bletilla ochracea and purpurea corms headed for re-plate in a couple of months. 2 types of Catt seedpods are maturing in the basement. I plan to start some Phal hybrid seeds in the summer when an old plant I have produces some seeds.
I am not a commercial enterprise, it is just something I wanted to do but just did not have the time til now.

[janet_a]

what exactly is "re-plating"? i've heard the term but never knew what it meant.... TIA.

[machiela]

I have sent some seed pods out for flasking to Troy Meyers (troymeyers.com). but never had the guts to do it myself

[ccdisce]

i have sent seeds to him also.

Originally Posted by machiela

I have sent some seed pods out for flasking to Troy Meyers (troymeyers.com). but never had the guts to do it myself

[ccdisce]

I usually germinate in a 'germinating' type of media and grow them to about a 1/10 in dia protocorms. Next you have to 'thin' them out onto new fresh agar gelled media and the process is called re-plate'.
Here they will grow to about 2in before heading to the community pot ( com-pot) which is a pot containing around 10 seedlings.

Originally Posted by janet_a

what exactly is "re-plating"? i've heard the term but never knew what it meant.... TIA.

[janet_a]

ah i see ok, thx.

[vseraphim]

Hello, I'm new here and am VERY interested in flasking for myself, not for commerical sale. I'm just curious about the whole process and would like any advice. I currently have 6 giant seed pods from a Nodosa Plant. Also everytime one of my Phrags. or Pahps. bloom I end up with seed pods. I would like to experiment and see if I could flask and see what I end up with.

Any advice would be soooo greatly appreciated.

[wwmikey]

i am in really need of help i have two seeds pods ready to be flasked but i cant find any seed germination recips can anyone out there plz help me out this is my first time doing this

[Philg]

I have collected a lot of web information on flasking starting three years ago when my Purple Cattleyas started producing seed pods...it has every year since. Flasking seems tricky, someday I will try it. These are all from the web and will keep you busy:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~barryg/Orchid_Flasking.htm
http://members.cox.net/lmlauman/osp/...from_seed.html
http://www.orchidlady.com/pages/orch...-07/index.html
http://www.users.bigpond.com/gmcorbi...om%20Seed.html
http://www.users.on.net/~gmcorbin/BOS/Flasking.html
http://ca.geocities.com/blackdragono....com/flask.htm
http://orchid-talk.co.uk/docs/Flasking.html
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barryg/Orchid_Flasking.htm
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barryg/...d_Flasking.htm
http://members.cox.net/lmlauman/osp/..._stemprop.html

[Philg]

http://www.orchidsource.com/GB_seed_manual.html

[ryanmor]

I am starting an orchid flasking program at my school where we have 2 laminar flow hoods, 2 autoclaves, and a grow room. If anyone has any extra seeds they are lookin to get rid of, i would be more than happy to take them. If i can get some good sized plants growing, ill send some back to you


Ryan

[CRorchids]

I am flasking orchids here in Costa Rica. I have about 7 year doing it. This is not as hard as it sounds. Just a little patience and care. Some species are tricky but cattleyas should be easy. I is harder to take them out of the flask than growing them in the flask. I started with a laminar flux chamber made with car filters and it worked fine now I manage to built a small lab where we are reproducing a lots of orchids this method is so efective you get more plants that you can handle. If someone wants some flask to practice I sell them world wide at a great price.

[rbisetto]

I'm interested in some flasks from you, I'm only just started deflasking some orchids , and would like to keep in touch with you, my email address is rbisetto@aanet.com.au. What do I need to be able to import these flasks from you to Australia? Can you get a flask of Sch. superbiens for me? Can you tetraploid treat it? and send me a catalogue if you have one
Thanks Robert

[nanhug]

Does anyone know of a good book on how to raise by seed. I would like to start but want to read up on it before hand.

It sound like it could be complicated don't want to dive right in. I may need to wait until the kids are grown and I have ample time on my hands. But I could still educated myself!!

Nancy

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

While you're at it, check out books and web sites to learn how to pollinate orchids. I would not use naturally pollenated seed since you do not know who the pollen parent is. Think of all the mongral puppies people have a hard time finding homes for. Unless you plan to raise all these to blooming, at which point, there is always a place for blooming noides.

If you are going to pollenate by crossing two of your plants, recognize that there is a possibility of transfering virus from the pollen parent to the pod parent, as I recall from Orchids 101 30 years ago. You may want to have the pollin parent checked for virus first. Cynthia

[Lucifer]

Originally Posted by nanhug

Does anyone know of a good book on how to raise by seed. I would like to start but want to read up on it before hand.

It sound like it could be complicated don't want to dive right in. I may need to wait until the kids are grown and I have ample time on my hands. But I could still educated myself!!

Nancy

Aaron Hicks has an excellent book on Asymbotic Orchid Seed Germination. The title sounds very technical, but trust me, the book is perfect for beginners. It can be bought from his site, the Orchid Seedbank (google it) or a few other sites on the internet.

Good luck!

[nanhug]

Originally Posted by Lucifer

Aaron Hicks has an excellent book on Asymbotic Orchid Seed Germination. The title sounds very technical, but trust me, the book is perfect for beginners. It can be bought from his site, the Orchid Seedbank (google it) or a few other sites on the internet.

Good luck!

Thanks Lucifer, I'll check it out.
Nancy

[mick mc]

hi all first time on this site i would like to grow orchids from seed i have read lots about it but all give the scientific names is they names that we can understand and where do you get the ingredients is it all from a chemist
thanks Mick

[Lucifer]

There is an company called phytotechnologies that sells all the stuff you need to make the media. Or google Kitchen Cultures and they sell kits to do it really simply but effectively. The Orchid Seed Bank is the best place to get seed, aside from producing it yourself.

[mick mc]

thanks lucifer i might try this way of going

mick

[Gérard LEUNG]

Hi Everybody,

I started a phalaenopisis stem propagation on 20th Aug. I have put 4 nodes under culture and up to yesterday there was no sign of contamination. But today, I found 1 flask (actually baby food jar) contaminated with mold. I am just crossing fingers and hope that the others won't follow. It's the first time that I'm trying stem prop. Just hope that at least 1 node survive!!

Gerard

[Kevin Western]

Originally Posted by nanhug

Does anyone know of a good book on how to raise by seed. I would like to start but want to read up on it before hand.

It sound like it could be complicated don't want to dive right in. I may need to wait until the kids are grown and I have ample time on my hands. But I could still educated myself!!

Nancy

There is an excellent book by Lydian Keyte titled "Plants from Test Tubes" that IO would recommend to anyone. I also have a personally generated 20 page document to take people from beginners to familiar operators through highly refined but straight forward techniques that I have developed over 36 years of doing orchid tissue culture.

[Anton]

Welcome to the Forum Kevin glad you could make it.

[Orcacr]

Hi Dave! Orchid flasking is great fun! The book from OSP.com Wrote by A. J. Hicks is great! I highly recommend it for all! I trade seed from all over the world! That's fun too! Norm

[Orcacr]

Hi Dave!
There are orchids that are slow growers, but also some that are ready much sooner==I sowed Bletilla striata 4-4-07--and today I had to replate them they was too big--Encyclia tampensis that i sowed 12-04-06 ready to put out in the orchid room--they are about 2" to 3" plants--when you first start out you should start out with fast orchid that way you won't lose interest if you're inpatient--Norm