Zygolum cross going bad at 3 months

[lotis146]

October 10, 2014 I pollinated several flowers on this plant. All but this one succeeded. As you can see it's a large pod (or I'm just inexperienced ), and at least it is relative to my Zygonisia pod.

It's about 3 months old. I've been quite pleased. Then I'd guess a couple weeks ago it started looking like it was hanging down more on the spike as opposed to sticking out horizontally. I thought maybe this was just part of its normal development. Then this last week I got a closer look at it and noticed that the stem, or petiole (i think that's right), of the pod (capsule) was turning brown. I'm not sure if I got water on it or what happened, maybe this is a natural part of failure.

Now today I see that the whole petiole is brown and starting to yellow. This obviously has failed. Here's what I'm looking at. Oh and unlike Zygonisia a good deal of the flower itself is intact though not so bright and lively.

[orchidsarefun]

under 3 months is an issue and probable there is no viable seed. I would say try for green-podding but the fact that its not receiving nourishment ( through stem ) is a problem. If it can hang on, literally, for another month, then try green-podding. My propagator only charges a flasking fee if he finds viable seed in the pod. It my be worth discussing this with him if you really want to propagate this cross.

[lotis146]

Thank you. It's strange to me that this happened because the "browning" is not coming from the base of the spike as it did when I lost a Zygonisia cross. I wonder if water got stuck in that little crevice and caused it to rot...? I am going to reach out and see if there's any hope. Looking at it today I can see that the rot/brown has increased, even some down the spike.

I'm going to leave it there for now and will keep this updated as to what happens. I've got a stake propping it up for the time being.

[lotis146]

The brown on the stem continued to spread both towards the pod itself and down the spike. I contacted my propagator describing the situation and he said much of what you said OrchidsAreFun, that 120 would be a more promising age but if I wanted to spend the postage I could send it and he'd have a look.

So I did.

He said there was definitely seed but he wasn't sure if it was mature enough to germinate. He flasked it up anyways. I guess I'll know in 4-6 weeks, keeping my fingers crossed!

Wouldn't that be wonderful if they germinate after only three months! I'll be happy even if only a handful or so germinate. Some are better than none.

[orchidsarefun]

the waiting game with orchids........waiting to see them spike, waiting to see them bloom, waiting to see if the pod survives, waiting to see the seeds germinate and if they do, waiting for them to grow up.....spike and waiting to see the blooms. The good thing is you can spread all the waiting around if you have a lot going on at the same time !

[lotis146]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

the waiting game with orchids........waiting to see them spike, waiting to see them bloom, waiting to see if the pod survives, waiting to see the seeds germinate and if they do, waiting for them to grow up.....spike and waiting to see the blooms. The good thing is you can spread all the waiting around if you have a lot going on at the same time !

Fabulous reasoning!

The wait for my seedlings - I sent out a mini Catt pod a little bit ago - gives me more than enough time to set up and prepare a grow space for this new venture. When I first learned how time intensive breeding Orchids is I thought No Way, No Way, not gonna go down that road. YEARS? And then I just couldn't help myself. Now I'm just waiting for plants to flower together......

I learned quickly that multiple Orchids are a must, or else I would go mad watching and waiting.

[orchidsarefun]

this place is pretty good.....but do shop around
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[lotis146]

Hey thanks much! I'll check it out.

[lotis146]

So I contacted the lab a couple weeks ago just to see if anything had germinated. Nope. And he said with this genus normally they're fairly quick to germinate. He said he wouldn't give up on it just yet, but still not exactly what I was hoping to hear.

[Romeomffn]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

the waiting game with orchids........waiting to see them spike, waiting to see them bloom, waiting to see if the pod survives, waiting to see the seeds germinate and if they do, waiting for them to grow up.....spike and waiting to see the blooms. The good thing is you can spread all the waiting around if you have a lot going on at the same time !

I suppose that is the tactical approach I am doing with my collection. I get impatient by nature. Waiting around kills me. I'm trying to find the right balance to occupy my attention and not be a neglectful orchid parent. :