Intensive care for premature babies

[pychou77]

When orchid seedlings are deflasked, there are always a few premature babies (orchid babies they are.. .) that are too small to be potted for further growth.

Here are a few premature babies that I am caring for now. ..

- Pot. Congaree 'Mendenhall' (x self. photo 1)
- Phalaenopsis (dark pink x light pink, photo 2)
- Paph. venustum (from purchased flask, photo 3 & 4)

The Pot. Congaree and the Phalaenopsis were so tiny that the only option that I had was to plant them in a hole (1/8" ID) drilled into a large piece of bark as the "incubator." To water feed the babies, the bark is soaked in water.

I lost a few from leaf rotting due to constant contact with the wet bark. A piece of plastic and netting was then placed between the bark and the leaf to prevent the rotting.

The paph babies were large enough to be potted, but it's hard to water. Semi-water culture didn't work well.

So, here is my third attempt. The babies were "sewed" onto a piece of plastic sheet, and then, the sheet was taped on to a piece of small plastic tubing. Small pieces of bark were put into the tubing from the bottom and held in place with plastic netting inserted into the tube. To water feed the baby, the tube is dipped into a water bath. Another advantage is that the condition underneath the plant can be monitored if a clear tube is used.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by pychou77

When orchid seedlings are deflasked, there are always a few premature babies (orchid babies they are.. .) that are too small to be potted for further growth.

Here are a few premature babies that I am caring for now. ..

- Pot. Congaree 'Mendenhall' (x self. photo 1)
- Phalaenopsis (dark pink x light pink, photo 2)
- Paph. venustum (from purchased flask, photo 3 & 4)

The Pot. Congaree and the Phalaenopsis were so tiny that the only option that I had was to plant them in a hole (1/8" ID) drilled into a large piece of bark as the "incubator." To water feed the babies, the bark is soaked in water.

I lost a few from leaf rotting due to constant contact with the wet bark. A piece of plastic and netting was then placed between the bark and the leaf to prevent the rotting.

The paph babies were large enough to be potted, but it's hard to water. Semi-water culture didn't work well.

So, here is my third attempt. The babies were "sewed" onto a piece of plastic sheet, and then, the sheet was taped on to a piece of small plastic tubing. Small pieces of bark were put into the tubing from the bottom and held in place with plastic netting inserted into the tube. To water feed the baby, the tube is dipped into a water bath. Another advantage is that the condition underneath the plant can be monitored if a clear tube is used.

Are you sure about the identity of the first one? It looks like a Phalaenopsis.

Seedlings do not need to be soaked. I have some much smaller plants (Cattleya schilleriana, 2 Encyclia hybrids) doing well in shallow pots inside of various terrarium-like enclosures. Medium bark media is kept barely moist, misted just a little when it seems too dry.

For the smallest plants, the seedlings are just laying on the medium, I make no attempt to cover the roots. So far, I've lost very few Encyclias, and no Cattleyas. Roots and new shoots are growing on most of the plants, a little over a month out of flask.

[pychou77]

The first two are my first trial of growing orchids from seeds. I had no idea how the seedling would look like, but I believe I did not mislabel the Pot. Congaree. However, the “Pot. Congaree” seedlings do have thinner roots and much elongated and lighter-colored leaves than the other one (Phal).

All the seedlings, less than 3/8” at most, had to be deflasked as the growth in flask deteriorated (turned yellowish). A terrarium-like enclosure, being closest to the natural habitat, would be ideal as you suggested. Unfortunately, I didn’t have experience of setting up one. The hole-in-bark was just an easy setup for the emergent need, and the bark is soaked in water only few hours when it’s too dry.

BTW, thanks for the comments and suggestions.

[Orchid Whisperer]

The terrarium-like enclosures are mostly things like re-purposed food containers that have a clear lid, or similar bakery or deli clamshells or containers:

[pychou77]

Here are few more pictures might be interesting to share here.

#1 Phal - 2017-04 right after deflasked (growths "fused" together)
#2 Phal - 2017-11 lost a few to leaf rotting and root grew well when exposed. Algae growth on bark could be a problem, as the bark were dipped in water most of the time.
#3 Pot Congaree - 2017-11 Some "babies" did not even have any root developed, but wetness or wet feet did not bother them so long as they sit upright.

In retrospect, the bark should not be soaking wet all the time, and the set up be kept in a high humidity environment.