Germination of Bletilla!

[Zozzl]

[IMG][/IMG]This is one of two flasks that germinated for me, my first attempts! The little plants are actually on the glass because I guess I moved it around too much, but I did swirl it around and get them back on the media. They germinated in 10 days, Bletilla striata, on OSP1, a homemade media using banana baby food. (These seeds were given to me by a generous OB'er).

The other flask is Cattleya grossi which took 28 days to germinate on the same media. They are still too small to photograph well, but maybe soon

I used a homemade glove box from an acrylic storage box w/lid with holes cut in it for the gloves which were duct taped in place. Used an old piece of glass for the top of the box so I could see in the box and I duct taped that to the top of the box also. Gotta love that duct tape!

I collected jars w/lids from folks on Freecycle so they were free. Some seeds were given to me from another OB member and some I purchased from the Orchid Seed Bank Project very cheaply.

I did not spend a lot of money at all and many of the things you would need you probably already have in your home, and much of the information I used was collected on this site as well as 'Google' info.

Pat

[Zoi2]

Joann

[SP2340]

Very cool, I would love to try this!

[Royal]

Allright Pat! Congrats on the babies.

[Zozzl]

Thanks you guys!!

[Royal]

Pat, What protocol did you use to sterilize the seed? Sterilant? Concentration? Exposure time?

Any tips for us?

[Zozzl]

Royal,

To sterilize the seeds I used a too strong solution and I think that is why the other flasks have not germinated. I used 25% clorox/distilled water when it should have been 5 or 10%. Live and learn. I did not sterilize them for more than a minute or two but that appears to have been too strong anyway. I have since then gone to a 10% clorox solution. I am using test tubes for the initial sterilization with clorox. I am doing that for a few minutes of swirling around then then I let the seeds settle to the bottom of the tube so I can pour off most of the solution and then transfer the seeds to a tube of distilled water to rinse, settle and pour into the flasks. So far that is my protocol, such as it is

[Royal]

Sounds a lot like mine. Hey, if it works - it works.

Switching to 10% was a good move. That still could be high for sensitive seed like some Phals, but it's a good starting point and my standard.

Anyway, nice job. We'll be trading seedlings in no time.

[Zozzl]

Good to know about the Phal seeds. How long does it take on the average for most of the seeds everyone is flasking to germinate? My fastest have been the Bletilla at 10 days. So far my others took 28 days for catts.

[Royal]

4-6 weeks, sometimes longer.