How long

[iandaniel]

How long do I wait to harvest the seed from the plant? is there a sign that it shows when they are ready, and after I do harvest them where and how do I store them until I get them ready for Flasking?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by iandaniel

How long do I wait to harvest the seed from the plant? is there a sign that it shows when they are ready, and after I do harvest them where and how do I store them until I get them ready for Flasking?

You harvest your seed pod and send them off for flasking before the pod dries, splits, and disperses the seed, in other words while the pod is still green. Hopefully you kept track of the date your plant was polinated (or there abouts) and your flasker will tell you how many weeks the pod should mature before cutting it off and sending it to the flasker. The length of time you wait to harvest the pod differed from genera to genera. Your flasker will probably know or if you tell us what kind of orchid you have, perhaps someone here will know.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Don't know where I found this, and if it is for green pod or ripe pod.

GENUS Seed pod harvest time(mo)
Cattleya 5-7
Cymbidium 9
Dendrobium 2-5
Dendrobium 2-5
Disa 1-1.5
Laelia 4-6
Masdevallia 3
Miltonia 4-5
Odontoglossum 9
Oncidium 9
Paphiopedilum 6-15
Paphiopedilum 6-15
Phalaenopsis 7
Pleione 5-6
Sarcochilus 7-12
Sophronitis 2-3
Vanda 5

Maybe I'll hear from someone for copyright infringement, then I'll know where it came from.

[Ellen]

You can do flasking with green pods OR dried pods. Which you do will depend on the preferences of the lab you choose to send your seed to. I prefer dry pod flasking because I know for sure that the seed are mature. With green pods, I think the tendency is to harvest them too soon before the seed are viable, especially if you're a newbie. When a pod is ready, you will know it because the stem linking the pod to the main stalk turns yellow and stops providing water and nutrients to the pod. At this point you need to check the pod every day. Soon the pod will start to split, usually at the end closest to where the flower was. This is when you harvest the pod and hang it over a paper container (e.g., coffee filter or paper envelope) to catch the seed. Once all the seed is out of the pod, you can tape the filter or envelope closed and ship the seed that way. Don't use plastic, as the seed can rot if there's any moisture in it. Send the seed off to the lab as soon as you can after harvesting. There are several tables giving estimated maturation times for orchid pods. Just Google it and you'll find them. You can also Google orchid flasking services and pod preparation techniques using both green pod and dry pod methods. If you want some recommendations of labs that could flask your particular orchid, feel free to PM me.