Pollinating Cattleya

[bournem]

I have this driving ambition to pollinate, and have one of my cattelyas produce a seed pod. Does anyone have any information on how to best pollinate a Cattleya? Pictures? Informational website? Anything that helps would be much appreciated! I just don't want to go in blind.

[Anglo]

Here are some good instructions with pictures: https://lab.troymeyers.com/flasking/....php?number=19 Check out the rest of the site for more stuff.

[bournem]

Thanks there is some useful information on that site. Hopefully all goes well. Do you have any suggestions when the best time to pollinate would be, after the flower opens?

[Anglo]

It's best to wait until about the fourth or fifth day after the flower opens because it probably won't be fully mature until then. Just after becoming fully mature is the optimum time. Fragrant Cattleyas will indicate this by beginning to emit their scent.

And according to some people, the intensity of the fragrance coincides with receptivity to pollination. If fragrance is emitted only during the day, for example, that's when they would pollinate the flower, and if it's fragrant or most fragrant during a particular part of the day, they would pollinate it at that time. You can't go wrong with this strategy, even though a plant doesn't really use fragrance to indicate when it most wants to be pollinated. It puts out the stronest scent when natural pollinators are most active, and doesn't waste the energy when they are not active.

Usually within a day or so after being successfully pollinated, the flower will begin to collapse and the ovary, the part of the stem behind the the flower, will begin to swell. If you would like to delay a pollination in order to enjoy a flower a little longer than just a few days after it opens, you can wait longer, but don't wait too long. A flower will pass its reproductive peak as it ages.