Quote:
Originally Posted by estación seca
I found out I DO have a Psychilis. I thought I bought Epidendrum truncatum, but, NO.
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Hehe. Are you happy to have a Psychilis? How long have you had it? How are you growing it? Can I trade you for it.... or for a division of it? Or... can I have the pollen? I would probably use it to try and get a reed-stem Epidendrum pregnant.
I started off growing reed-stems. But then I found "better" (aka epiphytic) orchids and my collection of reed-stems rapidly dwindled. Just recently though I discovered that reed-stems grow really quick and easy from seed. No flasking required! Just sow them on some moist moss and voila!
This "discovery" really rekindled my interest in reed-stems. But... other than this really fascinating and useful feature... they are still kinda boring. So I'm
super curious to discover whether seeds from a reed-stem crossed with pretty much any other more epiphytic Cattleya alliance orchid will also grow as easy from seed.
I recently cross-pollinated Epidendrum secundum? with a Barkeria. I did the cross both ways but it's kinda hard to tell whether they've taken.
A couple days ago I climbed my tree and pollinated my Prosthechea cochleata. It has four spikes on it. The first spike I pollinated with pollen from a red Epidendrum secundum. The second spike I pollinated with pollen from something like a Epidendrum radicans. The third spike I pollinated with pollen from a yellow Epidendrum secundum. The fourth spike I pollinated with pollen from Epilaelia Carrot Top.
I'd love it if they took. But I'm not holding my breath.
I'm pretty clueless about the relevant biology. Clearly most orchid seeds don't contain enough nutrients to germinate on their own. They depend on a microscopic fungus to provide them with the nutrients they need to germinate. I'm guessing that at least some reed-stems are an exception to this rule. It's only a guess because I can't say for certain that the moss I sowed the reed-stems seeds on didn't contain some helpful fungus. But the seeds themselves are quite large (relatively speaking). According to Wikipedia... Epidendrum secundum has the largest seeds in the orchid family. The "embryo"? is clearly visible. Sometimes it's even green when the seeds are still in the pod. The rest of the time the embryos quickly appear after the seeds have been soaked.
But if the reed-stem seeds do have enough nutrients to germinate on their own... will this "trait" be dominant or recessive? Is there any chance that I could open the pod on the Barkeria (assuming it ripens) and see a variety of seed sizes? Maybe even some seeds that are as large as Epi secundum's seeds? This would be at least some evidence that they might germinate as easily as the "pure" reed-stem seeds do.
I have a couple Bardendrums but haven't yet had a chance to pollinate them. So I can't say whether their seeds take after the Epi (assuming it's a reed-stem type) or the Barkeria... or whether there's a range of seed sizes. I have one Bardendrum in bud that might be just large enough to pollinate. I'd probably try and pollinate it with Epi secundum to increase the chances of getting some seeds that will easily germinate.
The overall goal would be to have the widest possible variety of orchids that grow quick and easy from seed. Then more people will easily create new crosses and some of these new crosses will even be better than the old crosses.
I've taken a few pictures of the reed-stem protcorms/seedlings and have been meaning to share them.
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