Tetraloid and breeding

[orchidsarefun]

yes, to be 100% sure.........or

- generally species are 2N, but many are or have been colchicine treated
- the majority of phal hybrids are 3N
- 4N plants do arise spontaneously in a seedling population occasionally but most are chemically induced.
- basically the only way to propagate 3N plants is through mericloning. If your plant is a clone, then its likely its 3N
Another way - which I use extensively - but it is not foolproof, is to investigate if the potential parents have separately any registered progeny. I use OrchidWiz for this. But I have found that many progeny are not registered - I know because I have the plant !
If you really like the parents, I would encourage you to attempt a cross. Who knows, you may be successful....

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

- the majority of phal hybrids are 3N

I'd like to pop in here and say this is a pretty large overstatement. If anything, maybe about 15 - 20% of currently made and newly registered hybrids are 3n (probabily much less considering the massive Asian firms that do numerous tetraploid crosses, which could drive that closer to 5 or 10%). The great thing about them is since they are almost virtually sterile, if they are accidentally made by a breeder, they end there, and more fertile routes are taken.