Pod Maturity/Dehiscence

[orchidsarefun]

wow, I searched the word dehiscence on Bing.....and the results.......yeeeuch ! Don't ! Who knew that a wound could dehisce, very few would want to know.

Anyway, a couple of photos :
1) Both pods are from a zygonisia cynosure, pollinated on same day. Pods are just over 8 months old.
2) One still looks green, the other has dehisced. They were both green yesterday, so the process is fast. The ribbing around the pod detaches, releasing the seed. I have seen this happen with a cattleya pod, cymbidium and other zygos. A couple of phals too, not all hybrids.
3) Pods are both green. Stems are green. Pod yellowing is one indicator only and not a substitute for vigilance.
4) These will be labeled, bagged and mailed to my propagator in a padded envelope.


Mother plant - a good breeder and very floriferous

[Daethen]

Well, thanks for putting a name to it. This happened to my son (at 6 years old) when he had to have both hips reconstructed. It healed up on it's own and we kept it very clean, but it did leave a nasty scar.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Daethen

Well, thanks for putting a name to it. This happened to my son (at 6 years old) when he had to have both hips reconstructed. It healed up on it's own and we kept it very clean, but it did leave a nasty scar.

I think the surprise for me was that it had another meaning. Glad to hear he is better and hope everything else is going OK too. No disrespect intended as I didn't know that this was what he had endured.

[lotis146]

Daethen, wow that sounds a bit frightening. Very glad to hear he healed well.

Orchidsarefun, I wasn't aware of it having another meaning so I think you've educated a number of us here.

Thank you for sharing what they look like. As we've talked about elsewhere my Zns. pod is far from maturity but I would have been looking for yellowing on either end not something like this. I will certainly keep this in mind.

I do want to ask you about the position of your pods. I've seen other pics, perhaps it was younger pics of these, that seem to show yours are hanging pendulate (spelling?). Both Zygo hybrid pods I currently have are at maybe a 70 degree angle, perpendicular to the spike. Of course as the Zglm pod has swollen it begins to hang a bit more on this very upright spike. Without any prior experience I wonder and worry if this will become a problem especially given I see some twisting at the base of the pod. I imagine in the wild the spikes themselves may hang more horizontally. Do you have any experience with what I'm talking about? Would you adjust them in any way?

Thanks!!

[orchidsarefun]

As the pod gets bigger and heavier it should naturally droop. Well that's what's happened to all mine anyway, Inc the wcz discolor pod I have currently. That one started out about 70 deg but has ended up pendulent...if that's the word. I would just leave as it's a natural process. I wouldn't move the plant around though.

[Daethen]

No offense taken at all. I was glad to have something to call it. He is a tough little guy who has survived 13 different surgeries of varying degrees and is healthy and happy and has rarely lost his smile.