First Time Flasker Here--a few questions

[Bloomin_Aussie]

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

Hi TreeBear

I am relatively new to sewing seed myself. For a seed-sewing method that is easy and needs only minimal equipment, see this link: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...seedlings.html. I have used this successfully with Cattleya alliance seeds. My recommendation is to use small (less than 8 ounce) screw-top glass jars with metal lids. I use jars saved from foods like marinated artichokes, pimientos, etc. for this purpose.

BTW, I tried the above method, and also tried the more conventional means of sterilizing seed recommended in the link in the next paragraph. I got germination by both methods, but less contamination using the method given above.

I know there are commercial sources for growing medium, and hope you get some good recommendations. I used a do-it-yourself recipe from Dokmai Gardens How to grow orchids from seeds – kitchen style | Dokmai Dogma. A key ingredient is agar flakes, sold in oriental groceries, also in natural foods groceries (Earthfare, Whole Foods, etc.) as a replacement for gelatin. My one suggestion would be to use just slightly less water (maybe 90% to 95% of what they recommend). Germination seems fine using regular cane sugar from the grocery, but next time, I may want to try using glucose instead to see what happens.

The seeds from your split seed pods should be fine. remove them from the pod, allow to dry, and store in a cool, dry place until you are ready to use them. I think I will always prefer using fully-mature seeds if I sew seed again.

Good luck

It can depend on the seeds but in general I prefer to sow dry seed because at least you know they are mature enough to germinate. With green pods there's always a chance you pick them before they are ready and you lose all that time spent ripening them.