Winter hardy orchids?

[Roberta]

I don't know what it might require to get from wild orchid seeds to plants to tubers (which is how I get them, so already 2-3 years from seed). I know that local mycorrhizae are involved, it must be difficult or likely more would do it. In fact, when I repot them, I put the old mix back into the pot, hoping that any mycorrhizae that might have grown (from innoculation of the original tuber) will propagate. So by the time I get them, somebody else has already done the hard technical work.

[Kittyfrex]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I don't know what it might require to get from wild orchid seeds to plants to tubers (which is how I get them, so already 2-3 years from seed). I know that local mycorrhizae are involved, it must be difficult or likely more would do it. In fact, when I repot them, I put the old mix back into the pot, hoping that any mycorrhizae that might have grown (from innoculation of the original tuber) will propagate. So by the time I get them, somebody else has already done the hard technical work.

That shouldn't be entiraly undoable, i just haven't tought of it. Think collecting a small sample of soil from near a wild plant would boost the odds? After all, we are talking about plants that naturally germinate here.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Kittyfrex

That shouldn't be entiraly undoable, i just haven't tought of it. Think collecting a small sample of soil from near a wild plant would boost the odds? After all, we are talking about plants that naturally germinate here.

Are you on Facebook? If so, I would suggest you look into a group "Cardboard Orchid Sowing Group". It's dedicated to the technique of using the cellulose in cardboard as a food source for the fungi necessary for germination and early development of orchids. A majority of members are based in Europe, and the list of native terrestrial orchids they grow this way is pretty extensive.

[Kittyfrex]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

Are you on Facebook? If so, I would suggest you look into a group "Cardboard Orchid Sowing Group". It's dedicated to the technique of using the cellulose in cardboard as a food source for the fungi necessary for germination and early development of orchids. A majority of members are based in Europe, and the list of native terrestrial orchids they grow this way is pretty extensive.

Is the process similar to plating in agar?

[Roberta]

I do think that a bit of soil from near the plant would help getting seeds to grow.

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by Kittyfrex

Think collecting a small sample of soil from near a wild plant would boost the odds? After all, we are talking about plants that naturally germinate here.

I haven't read the complete thread but this paragraph caught my attention... I have tried to do this with some Oprhys (lots of them growing near my old home) and it didn't work.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Kittyfrex

Is the process similar to plating in agar?

Not at all. It's a non-sterile method that mimics nature. In a nutshell, you prepare a substrate suitable for the species you're sowing, and incorporate cardboard which has been soaked in rainwater for a week or 2. This can either be as strips woven through the substrate or you can make mush in a blender and mix it in. Then you sow your seed and mimic nature as closely as possible. I do my sowing in the fall and leave the containers outside until a hard freeze is forecast, then bring them into an unheated basement. But the life cycle of your intended species would determine all that. I do incorporate some soil from the root zones of several wild colonies of different species near my home. I usually get a few seedlings from one of those species as "weeds" in containers of other species.

[Kittyfrex]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I haven't read the complete thread but this paragraph caught my attention... I have tried to do this with some Oprhys (lots of them growing near my old home) and it didn't work.

Thing is, i have some odd luck with seeds in general; the trickier they are, the more luck i seem to get. Gladiolus, tulips, most irises and freesias are not plants that spread trough seed easily here but they keep sprouting. Mangoes, papayas, citruses, plums, peaches, apricots...i have more luck with seeds than i do propagating some easier plants, like African violets.

@Subrosa you are a savior. I assume i should use a container with drainage like a pot?
I will have to do some research on preferred conditions of Ophrys bertolonii, the only species i know where to find. Sadly, there are fewer each year, as the town keeps expanding to meet the demands of tourisam.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Kittyfrex

Thing is, i have some odd luck with seeds in general; the trickier they are, the more luck i seem to get. Gladiolus, tulips, most irises and freesias are not plants that spread trough seed easily here but they keep sprouting. Mangoes, papayas, citruses, plums, peaches, apricots...i have more luck with seeds than i do propagating some easier plants, like African violets.

@Subrosa you are a savior. I assume i should use a container with drainage like a pot?
I will have to do some research on preferred conditions of Ophrys bertolonii, the only species i know where to find. Sadly, there are fewer each year, as the town keeps expanding to meet the demands of tourisam.

I normally work mostly with bog orchids, so I use containers with no drainage. For germination and early development, I think the stability of a closed system is beneficial, but if you're working with species that grow in drier conditions you might want to consider drainage.

[Roberta]

I grow my Mediterranean-climate terrestrials in a mostly-inorganic mix (about 80-85% pumice and the balance a well-drained potting soil like cactus mix) I use pumice rather than perlite since when the pots are dry during the summer, they need the extra weight to not blow over.