New Orchid Rescuer!

[Phonelady]

Hi Everyone!
I was out surfing the web looking for information on how to help the mini orchids I rescued from the local grocery.
That and I'm compulsive once I decide to take up a hobby. Now I am wondering if orchids can be grown from seed.
Thank you for making this forum available.

Smiles!

Carla

[Orchid Whisperer]

First, you should know that nearly all "orchid seed" offered online (Ebay, etc.) is fake. A pure scam.

Yes, orchids can be grown from seed. It requires sterile conditions, very specific growing medium (think back to agar that you might have used in high school or college science class), and patience to wait several years before seeing results.

Sorry to be negative, but I have tried growing from seed. This is the most difficult path to getting new plants.

[Leafmite]

Hello and welcome! It is wonderful to have you here!

I agree. Be careful. We have had people come to our Orchid Society meetings that have been scammed by vendors selling 'orchid seed.' Some of them have been packaged very well but the seeds definitely were not orchid seeds.

Orchids are quite difficult to raise from seed so most people buy them grown up a ways. If you do not mind waiting for a couple of years and want to watch them grow, try a 'compot (community pot of very young seedlings that have been hardened off after being in a flask)' or a flask (the step before the compot). Many people buy seedling orchids that are just a few years from blooming. If a person wants a bunch of the same orchid to share with friends, they might buy 'plugs' which are a number of young orchids that need planted up into pots, sort of like when you buy a pack of tomato plants.

Good luck with your new orchids and great to have you here!

[charlesf6]

Carla, glad to have you.

[rbarata]

Welcome Carla!

[dansyr]

Welcome from a fellow forum neophyte!

As the others have said, orchids can indeed be grown from seed, but it is quite difficult. Certainly not impossible - I sow/clone almost all of my orchids without using a laminar flow cabinet. Disclaimer - I'm in a lab; but fundamentally there's not that much difference between making a sterile space with a flame at a lab bench vs your kitchen counter.

So you definitely should be intimidated by the difficulty (keeps you from messing up), but don't let that stop you if you're up for the challenge and ready to learn. It's super fun!

[jkofferdahl]

Hi Carla! Welcome to the Orchid Board. I think you'll find a wealth of information here, and I look forward to hearing more from you.

Others have answered the growing from seed question. I've been growing for almost 40 years and have never tried. However, I often buy compots and seedlings. While a few years away from blooming, this allows collection expansion at a much lower price than buying mature, or blooming, plants. Often you get really exciting results! For example, about 18 months ago I bought six Phal species seedlings for next to nothing. They were very small for the species (schilleriana and stuartiana), yet bloomed, quite to my surprise, last winter. Since blooming these plants have more than doubled in size in just a year, and the largest (about a 14" leafspan, is now setting a spike for this year's blooming, which I expect to be a nice show. If I sold these now relatively mature plants I could get for one what I paid for all six.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

[Optimist]

Spathoglottis plicata is an orchid that can be grown from seed. They are small grass like orchids that grow in tropical places like Hawaii (where it is treated as an invasive weed). But, before you try, the soil medium must be exact to grow them.

It is way better to pick up a flask and grow orchid plants from seedlings. You might need a greenhouse setup for this.

[Phonelady]

Wow! Thank you all for the wonderful informative answers!
I think I will be going on to the compot or seedlings.
Sounds less disappointing and therefore, more fun for a novice.
Smiles!
Carla