Breeding with clones.
 

There seems to be a ton of information available on flasking, as well as a fair amount on the mechanics of making the crosses. I don’t need any information on those subjects.

I’ve managed to amass a decent size collection of Cattleya type hybrids, and would like to make an attempt at breeding some of them. Some are mericlone plants, others are divisions from the original “mother” plants. I know that the common wisdom/best practice for producing mericlones is to only clone from the original plant, as the potential for significant mutations increases after every generation removed from the original propagative material. Is this as much of a concern with regards to sexual reproduction of the plants? Can I expect as reasonable a predictable outcome as possible, as if I were using original divisions? Should I strive to acquire original divisions if I become more serious in this endeavor?

In theory, a clone is genetically identical to the original plant, so there should be no differences in their use in hybrids. There is always a chance of some gene shifting in the process, but it should be quite small.

However, if it is a clone of a clone of a clone (etc.), those odds increase, but from a practical perspective, if the clone look’s like’s the original, I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s all a crap-shoot anyway, as the normal bell curve distribution of traits says even top-notch parents can produce runts.

Thank you for the response Ray. You confirmed what I suspected. I assumed that breeding with mericlone plants should be substantially similar to divisions from the original plant.

The variation in seedgrown plants can be enormous. Any minute difference between a mother division and a clone is negligible when it comes to breeding.

And, while shifts in the mericloning process are possible, most are indistinguishable, and many are in the eye of the observer. My sidekick swears that he can tell the difference in George King 'Serendipity' (mother division 3-4 flowers, clones only 2, on each inflorescence). I proved him wrong by blooming a clone with 3 flowers.