Bletilla Striata seed pod advice
 

My bletilla striata has a seed pod for the first time this year. When can I remove it from the plant? I'm afraid to leave it too long else it split and I lose all the seeds. Plus, its getting cooler and quite windy here so if it does crack....well...
Any help?

Mine has seed pods too. My plant has pods that are ready to bust open any time within the month.

I'd keep an extremely close eye on them. Particularly when the pods turn reddish or maroon with some beige and green.

The seeds you can sow yourself. They're ridiculously easy to sow.

Unlike many other orchids, the seeds do not need to be sown in-vitro. There are many ex-vitro techniques that have been tried and true.

Germination takes roughly 2 weeks in light.

The pod was dark maroon/brown on half of it and green turning brown on the other side. I picked it. Probably shouldn't have done that but it was in a location that wasn't easy to monitor. Can I open it and the seeds be okay?

Sterilize the pod with a 10% bleach solution for about 10 min first.

Then cut open the front end of the pod with a sterile knife.

Place the pod in coffee filter paper and seal.

Wait a few days and check for dry seeds.

Store seeds in dry and cool conditions, like in a dry compartment of the fridge, until spring.

Or you may choose to sow right away.

Thanks. Will do.

I also have a bletilla striata pod. Can you tell me how to sow them exvitro? Do they need to be stratified first? or can I grow them indoors?

That sounds interesting! if someone has a seed pod or a small division of Bletilla woudl be great! the squirrels chomped and killed mine off... Before I started sprinkling my outside pots with habanero and garlic smoothies.

how long does it take from seed to blooming size?

It may take around 3 yrs to get to blooming size from seed.

If you like, I'll see if anything comes out of the pods I harvest.

1 pod is more than enough to get a ton of these.

Thanks Philip- it would be great. Or if you have an extra bulb from a plant that spread a lot. Do you have squirrels or raccoons digging your garden?

No squirrels in my neighborhood. If I grow them where I have them now, there are no nasty surprises like what happened to the Cyp plectrochilum.

The Cyp is doing well btw, it has 3 new shoots coming up.

The plants I own do not make very many offshoots very quickly. Therefore I'm not certain if there is anything to divide.

They reproduce much faster via seed rather than asexually through vegetative means.

If I sold you one of my adult BS plants, I'd have to send them to you when they go dormant. That won't be until another month or so.