Cardboard germination of Calopogon tuberosus
 

I started this container of seed last fall. The medium is a mix of sand, peat, Sphagnum moss, and a bit of soil collected from the root zone of a local orchid colony, surrounding strips of cardboard previously soaked for two weeks in rain water. These pics show a progression from initial protocorm develop to the greening up of the protocorms to seedlings with well developed leaves. Seeds were sown on the medium in September, the container was placed in a sealed Ziploc bag and left outside in a shaded area until a freeze was forecast. It was then brought into my basement and kept under 10 hrs of light until March, when the photoperiod was increased to 12 hours. Development commenced at that point. Lighting was increased to 18 hours as soon as leaves started developing.

I just reduced the photoperiod to 14 hours. Next step will be to put them outside in early September to experience a more natural transition to fall. Once a freeze is predicted they'll come inside under 10 hours of light. Once the foliage has died back they'll come out of the Ziploc permanently. I'll keep them moist through the winter, and in March I'll up the photoperiod to 12 hours. Then we'll see how successful I was! Any seedlings that do come back will be put outside in a propagation bog once the danger of frost is past.

What a great result! I really love reading about all the experiments you are doing. Your bog and your orchids are pretty amazing. And....
I really think baby orchids are so cute...no idea why. :) Those are just adorable. Thanks for sharing.