I would be interested in Tolumnias, I don’t have any of those yet
A Sophronitis cocciniea would be awesome if I could find a 4n for less than $60.... I’m not spending $60 on an orchid I’ll probably kill:lol:

Why a 4N? They're not usually as sturdy as 2N plants, and often grow much more slowly. 3N tend to grow very well and bloom more since they aren't going to be setting seed.

There are quite a few places to get Tolumnias in the US. What's it like elsewhere?

I don't know, but seeing how wide the choice is (e.g. any Sophronitis, any Tolumnia...) I can't imagine it being difficult to find in the main regions/countries. I've often come across Tolumnia while shopping at various vendors in the past year, so they're not a problem in Europe.

What I had read about the 4n’s is that they had a greater tolerance of heat. It would probably still need to be grown indoors from June though October, but I would still feel more comfortable trying a more heat tolerant variety than not. I wouldn’t be opposed to trying a 2n but even those seem a bit difficult to find and still expensive. I have not seen a 3n for sale. I might just have to stick to some hybrids like the Sl. Minipet

Okay, you guys. For those of us not in the know, will you tell us what 2N, 3N, 4N, etc. all mean? This is the first I've heard that kind of terminology. :blushing:

If you go back to basic genetics, you learned that you have 2 copies of each chromosome (diploid), one inherited from your mother, and the other from your father. 1 copy of a set of chromosomes is called n (or haploid). 2 copies is 2n, 3 copies is 3n, and so on. Gamete cells are n, and the resulting offspring are then 2n (2 copies). In the case of the Sophronitis example above, the plant is naturally 2n. However, when the ploidy is doubled to 4 copies of the chromosomes (4n), the plants are usually bigger, more vigorous and produce larger flowers and fruits. Chromosomes are usually doubled artificially, by treating cells with a potent chemical that causes the chromosomes to double.

2n plants are fertile, as are 4n plants, since both a divisible by 2 (to create the gamete cells). You can breed a 2n to a 4n, with the gamete of the first giving 1 copy of the chromosomes, and the second one giving 2 copies. The resulting offspring is then 3n, and is usually sterile because the odd number prevents pairing during meiosis. Ploidy changes can also happen naturally via mutations, but it's rare.

Just for information, ploidy levels can vary A LOT between species and organisms. Potatoes are 4n, spinach is 12n, carrots are 18n, corn is 20n and some plants go as high as 300n+. In micro-organisms and animals you see the same.

Thank you, Camille -- I think. :scratchhead: I have what I guess might be a decent layperson's understanding of genetics, and your explanation prompts a couple more questions from me, but for now, I'm going to take some time to try to digest this. ;)

only just seen this post! yes’ count me in please!
I have lost my gastrocillus and would love to start again....

would like to participate as well!

I'd be interested too, especially in Gastrochilus or Tolumnia, both groups I like and with compact representatives. I'm moving to a slightly smaller place this year so I think I need to at least verbalize that I'm going to try and respect growing space constraints or else my partner might leave me... But we all know there's always room for just one more orchid :)