making hybrids

[exasperatus2002]

Hi Im new and have a few questions about crossing hybrids.

1. how much of the new orchids traits rely on the pod plant instead of the pollinator plant and vice versa? Do they tend to take more after mom or dad?

2. If your going for color or shape, who should you make the cross with or do it with both so you cover both possibilities?

3. If you want to name the cross should it be a new one. How do you find out if its taken? I have a daughter (Cassandra) and there is a Phal. with her name but its an ugly one in my opinion. I'd love to come up with a Cattleya hybrid to name after her.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by exasperatus2002

1. how much of the new orchids traits rely on the pod plant instead of the pollinator plant and vice versa? Do they tend to take more after mom or dad?

It depends somewhat on what kind of orchids you are breeding. In orchids there's no such thing as "mom" and "dad" we have pod parents and pollen parents. In Paphs it seems that when an easy blooming plant is used as the pod parent, the offspring are easier bloomers. This is especially true when theother parant is a tough bloomer. And example would be the Brachypetalum Paphs when crossed with Corypetalum Paphs. When the Brachys are used as the pod parent, the offspring bloom much easier than when the Cory parent is used as the pod parent.

Originally Posted by exasperatus2002

2. If your going for color or shape, who should you make the cross with or do it with both so you cover both possibilities?

What genera are you crossing?

Originally Posted by exasperatus2002

3. If you want to name the cross should it be a new one. How do you find out if its taken? I have a daughter (Cassandra) and there is a Phal. with her name but its an ugly one in my opinion. I'd love to come up with a Cattleya hybrid to name after her.

When you make a cross, once it blooms you can register it with the RHS (the world body for the registration of orchid hybrids) and give it a name. You can download a form with instructions from: Royal Horticultural Society - Plants: Registration of Orchids
When you submit your registration, you must indicate a first choice for name and a second choice. The RHS will see if any other crosses bear the same name. If not they will process the registration. You can search yourself to see if a name has been registered by going to: Royal Horticultural Society - Plants: The International Orchid Register

[exasperatus2002]

I havent decided yet. So far I've been dappling with different types of orchids but now I think Im hooked on the Cattleya alliance. Dendro's grow to tall for my limited space and I love my Brassia but Its in a 12 inch bowl now and will be needing transplant within a year since its growing over the edge now. Cattleyas seem compact enough and short enough for my stand. I built a stand with 36" x 13" shelves spaced 24" apart. My Dendro now has a cane that If you count the flower spike on it, is a yard long. With out the spike, the cane is 27". Only two shelves are used for the orchids the others are not in the right position for plants so my wife hijacked them for knick nacks. I also have a Dendro keiki that I mounted and hanging on a cross brace.

[Andrew]

Two things to note. The pod parent passes on plastid and mitochondrial DNA to the progeny. As these organelles mediate energy production and utilisation it follows you have a better chance of getting vigorous seedlings if the more vigorous plant is used as a pod parent. Hence, Kevin's comment about free flowering pod parents producing free flowering progeny. An issue which also should be considered, particularly when hybridising species, is the comparative flower size of the parents. Upon transfer to the stigma, the pollen sends a pollen tube down to the ovule to allow fertilization. The distance between stigma and the base of the pistil vary between species and pollen tubes have evolved to be long enough to reach the ovules of their own species. If you pollinate a large flower (in terms of the length between the stigma and the base of the pistil) with pollen from a smaller flower you run the risk that the pollen tubes may not be able to reach the ovules and seed set will be low to zero.

[exasperatus2002]

I've been watching & waiting patiently as The sheath of my Guarianthe aurantiaca bulges from the blooms with in it. I cant wait to try this cross Im planning. If its going to be on the same schedule as it was last year, I've got 3 weeks of waiting to do. Is it better to do the pollination right away or to wait a little bit before trying to pollenate?

[brian monk]

I find that when pollinating Catts, using a flower that has been open for only a short time produces the best results. Also, do not remove the pollinia from the flower you are pollinating. Most orchids begin the process of dehiscence when the pollinia are removed before pollen tubes reach the ovary. They will often shed a flower that has no pollinia, even if it has been pollinated. Another note on maternal DNA - In Catts, yellow colors are greatly influenced via mitochondrial DNA.

What are you going to put on your aurantiaca??

[exasperatus2002]

Originally Posted by brian monk

I find that when pollinating Catts, using a flower that has been open for only a short time produces the best results. Also, do not remove the pollinia from the flower you are pollinating. Most orchids begin the process of dehiscence when the pollinia are removed before pollen tubes reach the ovary. They will often shed a flower that has no pollinia, even if it has been pollinated. Another note on maternal DNA - In Catts, yellow colors are greatly influenced via mitochondrial DNA.

What are you going to put on your aurantiaca??

Blc. Chia Lin 'New City' AM/AOS will be the pollen plant. Im curious as to what color possibilities there will be. My aurantiaca is bright orange with red throat stripes and New City is purple & red with yellow/orange throat stripes.

[brian monk]

So far, this cross hasn't been made. Chia Lin has been used, mostly in Asia, to create big, red, floofy Catts. No novelty crosses (novelty hybrids are a cross between a complex hybrid with a speces or near species) have been registered with Chia Lin.

The cross you propose might be interesting, and should generate some oranges to yellows. The flowers should have good form, but the segments will not be as wide, or as large. The flower count should increase, from 2 to about 3 or 4. You may see an increase in vigor of the plants as well, due to hybrid vigor. I personally would use Chia Lin as the pod parent, it will contribute more to size and shape that way. It may take seven years to bloom out this plant, and I would grow out at least 100 plants to see how good it could be. Good luck!

[exasperatus2002]

Thanks theres two reasons I havent used the Chia Lin as the pod parent. The main reason is that I had bought it in bloom back in december and my cat broke off the flowers so all I could save was the pollinia (I have them stored in a coffee filter) and my aurantiaca has buds in sheath now. The other reason I havent tried is that with the flower size being so different, will the pollen tubes be long enough if the smaller flowered plant is used as the pollinator. But mostly Im anxious to try my first cross, asap. I'll save some pollinia from aurantiaca for later and try Chia Lin as the pod plant when it blooms again.

[kmarch]

Sounds like a plan exasperatus, keep us posted! I'm getting ready to send my first cross to the flasker.