pollinating a phalaenopsis

[Chris147]

A new story entry has been added:

[drupal=353]pollinating a phalaenopsis[/drupal]

I just crossed my dendrobium with my phalaeonpsis and the other way around. When and how will i be able to tell if the plant has been successfully pollinated? The phalaenopsis bloom that i pollinated looks like it is dying, but the den. is still fully open.

[WhiteRabbit]

I don't think Dens and Phals can be cross pollinated - sorry There may be some confusion caused by the term 'Den-phal' - which is actually a Dendrobium from the phalaenthe section, whose blooms somewhat resemble Phalaenopsis

[digitalgate]

ditto, U can try nevertheless

[OrchidSue]

Sure, you can try, but they are not related closely enough to successfully breed.

Susan

[lambelkip]

you can't cross the two. the blooms you pollinated will eventually drop off.
usually, orchids can only be crossed within their own alliance, for example a Dendrobium might be crossed with an Epigenium or a Diplocaulobium. Phalaenopsis is usually treated as its own alliance, but there have been many successful crosses with the Vanda alliance.

again, the member articles section is not the place for questions. Any questions you may have can be posted as a new thread in the appropriate forum.
for information on making hybrids and growing plants from seed, check the propagation forum.
for a complete list of forums here, check the forums section.

[Paul Mc]

I will admit up front that I am a newbie, but I also tend to be good at research. My research indicates that when bees or other insects pollinate an orchid flower they typically begin to wither in a few days. This is supposed to be one of the reasons that a lot of orchid enthusiasts don't leave their orchids outside - pollination causing flower drop. I know nothing about the ability to cross bread though I will admit.