What is this? Growth looking thing on orchid but clearly part of the plant. - Orchid Board

Jacqmac · #1 06-10-2018, 04:27 AM

Can somebody please help me identify what this is?
This is a wild orchid we have in our garden, it’s flowered 3 to 4 times over the last 20 months since we moved in, we don’t tend to it much as it’s very warm, tropical and humid here in Hong Kong, we let nature do its thing.

I recently noticed that it had this extension from a spike/stems, it is rather thick and unlike usual spike/stems, and a flower (since dead) was attached to the end of it, but not like a regular flower on a stem. I can only describe this thing as looking like okra.

What is it? Should I just leave it be? Any info on what this is?

Thanks in advance!

AnonYMouse · #2 06-10-2018, 04:53 AM

Congratulation, you have a seed capsule!

Jacqmac · #3 06-10-2018, 05:18 AM

Oh wow! What is that??? It sounds really exciting! What should I do?

Bulbopedilum · #4 06-10-2018, 06:36 PM

A seed capsule is like the "fruit" of an orchid. It contains lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of tiny, powdery, seeds

Seeds need to be sown in sterile gel to ensure germination

Wait for a few months then you can snap it off.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #5 06-11-2018, 12:42 AM

Send it to a lab that specializes in sowing orchid seeds if you are interested in getting baby orchids.

It takes about 3 months for the seed capsule to mature.

If you're looking to seed propagate the orchid, do not try sprinkling the seeds on bark or on trees - it doesn't work well. Seed germination rates will be very low to non-existent if you sprinkle seeds on the bark or moss the mother plant is growing on as well.

Again, send the seed capsule to a lab once the pod is near maturation. Once the seed capsule bursts, you will lose most of the seeds already. The seeds are tiny and look like white or yellowish-white powder.

It'll probably take you a few months for you to get the seedlings back from the lab.

Jacqmac · #6 06-11-2018, 12:56 AM

Ok, this is really interesting. So how do I know its near time to snap off the capsule, other than counting 3 months?

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Send it to a lab that specializes in sowing orchid seeds if you are interested in getting baby orchids.

It takes about 3 months for the seed capsule to mature.

If you're looking to seed propagate the orchid, do not try sprinkling the seeds on bark or on trees - it doesn't work well. Seed germination rates will be very low to non-existent if you sprinkle seeds on the bark or moss the mother plant is growing on as well.

Again, send the seed capsule to a lab once the pod is near maturation. Once the seed capsule bursts, you will lose most of the seeds already. The seeds are tiny and look like white or yellowish-white powder.

It'll probably take you a few months for you to get the seedlings back from the lab.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #7 06-11-2018, 03:16 AM

1. Approximate the timing using the timing I gave you.

2. Wait until the capsule bursts. (Not ideal.)

If you are able to get a hold of orchid seed bags and wrap them around the capsule(s), then you've got no problems. Unfortunately, this method is not common. I've only been able to do it once because the person who developed these orchid seed bags passed away months after I tried his product out (Roger from Kelsey Creek Labs was the guy, he passed some time during late 2010). As far as I know, this product is no longer in production in the US anymore after his passing. This product was sold in the US, I don't know if the orchid seed sowing labs from other countries provides their own version of it.

---------- Post added at 11:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------

I did a search and I found that Rosin press filter bags might be able to be used to cover the seed pod just in case you wait too long to harvest them, and the pod bursts letting the seed out. This way, the seeds collect in the bag, and you don't lose a ton of seeds.

If the holes are 45 microns it should be small enough.

estación seca · #8 06-11-2018, 03:46 PM

Orchid seeds in nature need to establish a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi to sprout and grow. These fungi are native wherever orchids grow. Do you know whether this is truly a wild orchid, or whether somebody planted it? If it's wild, the fungi are probably around the base of the plant. You could sprinkle the seeds around the plant.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #9 06-11-2018, 04:32 PM

It doesn’t matter if they are native or not or whether the symbiotic fungi are present or not. Germination rates will still be low if the symbiotic fungus is present where the seeds are sown. If the symbiotic fungus is not present, then those seeds would’ve been wasted. Should the seeds germinate due to the presence of the symbiotic fungi, protocorm survivability is going to be lower than the number of protocorms that germinated. It is also a bigger gamble than needs to be taken.

Just because those seeds are sent to a lab to be sown doesn’t necessarily guarantee a large yield either, but the chances are much higher that the seeds could germinate in-vitro (inside a bottle) than if the seeds were sown ex-vitro (outside a bottle).