Cramming info before Flasking...

[Orchidaholic]

I have been busy crosing and storing seeds for the past few years and researching flasking the whole time... This spring I am finally going to attempt flasking. I have done many hours of research into the processes and think I'm ready. The newest place I came across had a minor bit of info on growth hormones and inhibitors (auxins, cytokinins & Gibberellins). I'm just going to start with the PhytoTechLabs Orchid seed sowing package as is. Now that I have seen new info it means many more hours of research looking into these regulators... Here is the page if you wish. Might give some of you an area to look into for furthering you In~Vitro propagation knowledge!
Lotte & Thomas Orchids

[calvin_orchidL]

Good luck! I too will be starting flasking soon in a few months (once my order from the orchid seed bank project comes in). If you can you should take photos of the process - it will help you document it and everyone will enjoy watching your endeavors! Happy germinating!

[Oldguypops]

Good luck to you both.
I'll be looking forward to the updates and pictures.

[camille1585]

Me too, I'm looking forward to the pics and updates. Flasking is something I would love to try, but I just don't have the time (nor courage) to give it a go. What type of orchids are you flasking seed of?
Orchidaholic, how have you been storing your seeds? If some are a few years old already, viability could be an issue, especially for those kept at room temperature

[snow]

just a dumm question?
is it possible to seed directly into a pot with live orchids, like once was done in the old days?

[Orchidaholic]

Camille, don't be scared... Try it out and it may be a very enjoyable experience! I store my seeds in the vegi drawer of my fridge. They are enclosed in mini manilla envelopes inside a wooden cigar box. from the last microscope viewing(in nov 07) there were still embryos in the seeds(% varied on the crosses). Crosses are of Phals, Onc's, Catt's, Dendro's & Max. I have around 15-20 million seeds from 16 diff crosses.

Snow, I have not tried that method but heard it is possible. From what I have read, the mother plants roots can have the specific fungi needed to germinate and feed the seeds. Success in this method is very limited and nowhere near the germination rate as In Vitro, but possible.

[luckygrower]

This may be a dumb obvious question, how do the seeds germinate in nature?

[calvin_orchidL]

no dumb questions

In nature, probably about 1% (or even less) seeds actually develop into plants. That's why a single pod contains so many of them! (millions, compared to, for instance, an iris seed head which has about 3 dozen seeds max). Also, it's probably likely that there is more mychorrizal fungus found in nature compared to garden soil.

[maitaman]

In nature the seeds must lodge in a place that has a small bit of sugar. That is all you need for germination, but sugar cultures all kinds of life, so mold etc. are a problem - which is why the labs and so forth.
You can grow seed easily in soda bottles and such with a little sugar in a medium plus some basic fertilizers. I developed a method that costs about 5 cents a flask and does a good enough job that a lot of people are now registering crosses growing with the method. While you do get some mold or bacteria, you can plant several flasks of a cross for less than a dollar and one or more will make it. You simply use cornstarch as a jel and follow some easy sterilizing procedures.

[luckygrower]

Your method sounds very interesting, please share it with us.