Stem Prop....What Does That Mean?

[Yukonphal]

Yup...thats it...cut em....dust the ends with sulphur...moist potting mix...in a ziploc...alll done

[sweetjblue]

Yukon, What type of lighting and temps have you been giving these? And is there anything else someone can use besides sulphur?
I think this is great that you are getting this kind of result using this method.

Judi

[Silje]

Ok. I'm trying this. I had a couple of good looking stems that I thought I'd leave on my phal for a second round of flowering, but I've discovered that I prefer to cut them off and rather focus on new spikes rather than the secondary flowering, so...lets see how this works out.

I didn't have sulphur, I just put on cinnamon on the tips, and put it on moist sand in a ziploc.

[Yukonphal]

Judi...LOL...theyre in a whipped cream tub on my dining room table in a ziploc bag...so I guess warmish and only a little light....I didnt want them to overheat or burn (thats what happened to my seeds when the housesitter put them in the window)..they will be getting more light as i moved them once the leaves started...not too much though...I used the sulpher to disinfect the cuts,anything that you would normally use to do this would work,just make sure the cuts are dry before you put the cuttings in the media

[Yukonphal]

It looks to me that the ones that didnt work are the ones where the sheath was dried out..these are the only 2 out of 6 that worked , but I figured it took the energy burden off the mother plant to rest for the next blooming/growing cycle

[zxyqu]

Yukon, can you walk us through inside detail on your methods here? It might be a good way to propagate some stems for those who don't have the technical supplies handy. What media, sterilization, how did you 'pot/bury' them? Thanks. Really nifty.

[Yukonphal]

Jarad...I'm pretty lazy so I took the easy route
I cut the flower stem about an inch from the plant and dusted the cut end with sulphur
I cut the stem between the dormant nodes and dusted their ends too
Place the cuttings "node up" in moist potting soil
Put the whole thing in a ziploc bag
Thats it

[zxyqu]

Hey, lazy is good if it works! Thanks for the info, I might give it a shot on some of these that I need spares of...

[orchids3]

All looks ok but I have used spagnum moss instead of potting soil. In fact I find soil causes rot.
Phals can be propogated from the flower spike as can Phaius. I dont believe you can propogate any of the Cattleya tribe from flower stems or cymbidiums.
Dendrobiums can be propogaged from the canes in many species but I dont believe you can propogate from the flower spikes.

[Yukonphal]

cant hurt to try