Adventures in Flasking

[Dorchid]

Germination all around was pretty poor, probably around 1-5% but there are several plates with lots coming along. The medium with the higher pH with coconut water had the lowest rate of germination so far. Couple pics of progress.

[orchidman77]

Hey, small success at the beginning is still success! I'm sure you'll narrow down the variables and have better germination the next time you try.

David

[Dorchid]

Thanks, David! I recently read that seed germination for phals and cattleya are greater on medium with a lower pH, ~5.2, though it is a very old paper and details weren't very clear. I've seen good success for both those on pH of 5.7 so will likely shoot for around 5.4-5.5 on my next batch. Temps could also be a factor as it's a bit cool in my space with a high of only 73-74F. At the end of the day, even with such a low germ rate, there are still hundreds of seeds developing so still a success for sure.

[orchidman77]

It's fascinating how a change in pH can have such a drastic effect on seed germination. I'm going to eventually get into flasking, but I want to get settled for a bit longer just keeping the plants thriving before I take those next steps ah, the inevitable path! In the meantime, I will simply appreciate your work!

[Dorchid]

Received a Sophronitis brevipedunculata capsule from a fellow member; Thank you! The capsule busted open in transport so the seeds were sterilized in 10% bleach for 25 min, transferred to a sterile coffee filter and rinsed multiple times with sterile water. The paper was transferred to 10ml of sterile water and plated up on 4 petris of P723 pH 5.5. I also plated remnant unsterilized seed on an additional plate to test the efficacy of the PPM biocide used in the medium as well as some of the phalaenopsis seed that has been in solution in the fridge since 7/29 to check viability.

Couple plates of the phalaenopsis at day 36.

[Roberta]

Eagerly waiting...

[Dorchid]

Me too! I may have oversterilized the seed which could be detrimental or beneficial in that it could have fried them or on the other hand increased germination probability by removing the outer seed layer. Moving forward I’m going to use a 5% Clorox solution for a much shorter time. But hey, this is a learning process!

[Dorchid]

Starting to see some chlorophyl development in the sophronitis plates but it’s been slow going. I just got a new inkbird and heating element so will maintain a temp of 76F in the tent with the hopes that germination will pick up. The phal seed that was stored in sterile water in the fridge for 30 days and then plated has germinated quite well. I’ll plate up the rest at 6 months to check viability. Here’s one of those plates:

[Dorchid]

Phal plbs slowly moving along. I’ll probably replate them in the next month or so. Unfortunately, I only see 2 germinations on the soph plates.

[orchidman77]

Nice. I hope more of the Sophronitis seeds germinate!
The Encyclia capsules I planned to send to you both aborted - not quite sure why - but I'll continue pollinating and sent you seeds as I can.

David