Pollen ripening

[Royal]

Originally Posted by moria0672

Hi Steven,
you probably aready know, but there is also the possibility that one or both your plants are sterile, so in this case the pollination isn't possible.

This is probably true more often than we think. Many modern hybrids (especially Phals) are the result of haphazard breeding without regard to ploidy. Catalogues and collections are wrought with 3N and presumed 4N plants. Breeding just to breed often yields results that make matters worse. Ploidy, or the number of copies of chromosomes a plant has, is the main factor in fertility. This is why crossing the Dend with an Onc. just doesn't work - the chromosomes don't match up. Crossing a 3N with anything is similar, it probably won't take. If it does, it might yeild some mutations, maybe a few 3N plants in the mix, or maybe (probably) all 3N. The few that actually survive might be deformed, peloric, and all will most certainly be sterile.

[Sanne]

I have a couple of questions on pollinating flowers from the Phalaenopsis.
I would like to get soms seed from my orchids, but I offcourse I like the flowers a lot. So these are my questions:

- When I use the male part of a flower to pollinate another flower, will the first flower (the one I used the male part from) also fade?

- When I pollinate a couple of flowers from the same plant will all the flowers fade (also the ones that I didn't touch?) Or maybe only the flowers from the same stem?

- How long should I wait before pollinating? I read something about a day after opening, but that would be a pity for the nice flower. What are the chances of succesfull polinating a flower which is almost at it's end?

- Is it okay to move the plant 2 months after pollinating? (because I will go on holiday and the plants will be moved to someone else)

- I read that when the flowers start to fade by itself after a couple of monts I should cut the stem below the first flower to get a new stem. When I pollinate the flower it has to stay on for 6 months. Does that mean it will take longer before it will have flowers again? And that there will not be a new stem?

Greetings,
Sanne

p.s. english is not my first language, so if I translated some of the orchid terms incorrectly, pleas correct me

[gixrj18]

Originally Posted by Sanne

I have a couple of questions on pollinating flowers from the Phalaenopsis.
I would like to get soms seed from my orchids, but I offcourse I like the flowers a lot. So these are my questions:

- When I use the male part of a flower to pollinate another flower, will the first flower (the one I used the male part from) also fade?

- When I pollinate a couple of flowers from the same plant will all the flowers fade (also the ones that I didn't touch?) Or maybe only the flowers from the same stem?

- How long should I wait before pollinating? I read something about a day after opening, but that would be a pity for the nice flower. What are the chances of succesfull polinating a flower which is almost at it's end?

- Is it okay to move the plant 2 months after pollinating? (because I will go on holiday and the plants will be moved to someone else)

- I read that when the flowers start to fade by itself after a couple of monts I should cut the stem below the first flower to get a new stem. When I pollinate the flower it has to stay on for 6 months. Does that mean it will take longer before it will have flowers again? And that there will not be a new stem?

Greetings,
Sanne

p.s. english is not my first language, so if I translated some of the orchid terms incorrectly, pleas correct me

Okay....
-As soon as you remove the pollinia from the pollen bearing plant, it has done it's job...the flower from which the pollen came from will die. The receiving flower will last a little longer, as long as you don't disturb it's pollinia.

-The flowers that you do not disturb, will be fine also.

-Successful pollination involves many factors, it is about a 50/50 chance that it will take, then another 50/50 chance whether the seed will contain embryo. Pollination can take place at the end of the flowering cycle, but it lessens your odds.

-It is fine to move the plant while it's bearing seed....the most it should do is go dormant for a little while.

-As long as the seed is there, the spike will stay green to feed the seed. If it wants to bloom, it will send out a new spike.

[Sanne]

Thanx a lot for your answers!!

I will enjoy my flowers a little longer and then try to pollinate some flowers