Looking for suitable germiation medium for goodyera oblongifolia

[cnarciso]

Hello,

I recently acquired some seeds of G.oblongifolia, a terrestrial orchid species native to the United States and Canada. I was wondering what would be a suitable medium for an orchid of this type. Has anyone tried germinating these or others of this genera? General or specific advice, anything is appreciated! Thanks guys (and girls).

[marydaniellesantos]

Are you looking for places to buy or make?

[cnarciso]

Preferably to make. If this is not possible and you could direct me to a place where I could buy some, that would be good too. However, being in chemistry by trade and having access to both agar and a fair number of chemicals used in fertilizers and growth solutions, I would prefer to make my own if at all possible. I have also heard of people using fruits like banana to provide the necessary nutrients. However, I am unsure if this technique is suitable for terrestrials (or what fruit would be best to use in this case).

[Royal]

It would be cheapest to just buy some. Orchid Seedbank Project sells one liter packages for just a few bucks. P668 (MS base) is a standard, and you can mix it at different strengths and/or add undefined ingredients. Potato or Raddishes are commonly used as undefined ingredients for terrestrials.

Many terrestrial orchids are tough to germinate. Some require a cold treatment, vernalization, or dark conditions. Some are very picky about the strength of the medium. Unless you can find some guidance with this genus, my advice would be to make up a few flasks with different media strengths/amendments and sow small amounts of seed in each.

[cnarciso]

Thanks! I will order some and try making it at different strengths.

[Royal]

While you're at it, you may want to get a couple different ones as well. Maybe a "terrestrial" formula or at least one that is very different than the first. Using two very different formulas side by side is another good way to hedge your bets. For example: P668 + banana and Western + coconut. Most tropical orchids come up on at least one of these, sometimes both.

Another variable you can explore is the time of seed exposure to the sterilant (chlorine, usually), and the concentration. I usually use a 10% (by volume) bleach water solution, but for some seed I cut it down to 5% or 6%.