Is flasking the only way or is there an easier way?

[Bulbopedilum]

Originally Posted by jcec1

Do you have any local wild plants?

I've seen a wild dendrobium and phalaenopsis.

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by Bulbopedilum

I've seen a wild dendrobium and phalaenopsis.

I don't really know a lot about seed growing other than the need for symbiotic fungi, but if you have seen wild phalaenopsis then if would suggest there are local fungi. Can you leave a pot of substrate outside, maybe enough fungi could colonize it?

Do you grow your orchids outdoors the fungi may already be present and you could sow around the mother plant?

[Bulbopedilum]

Originally Posted by jcec1

Can you leave a pot of substrate outside, maybe enough fungi could colonize it?

Do you grow your orchids outdoors the fungi may already be present and you could sow around the mother plant?

I'm leaving a whole bunch of sticks outdoors in the hopes that something will pop up on one of them but I guess it would also be a good experiment to see if I can germinate anything on them.

I left a bag of soggy sphagnum outside for like a year or so. I'll try to spread some phal seeds on them. (Most of the sphagnum is being used for Nepenthes now but I still have enough for a small pot.

I will also try spreading seeds around the mother plant, yes.

[Bulbopedilum]

A few guys chopped a stump of a dead tree and I noticed it was taken over by fungus so I took a few bits.

I wonder if I can sow orchid seeds on this stuff? A piece of bark I got has mycelia on the inside.

I guess I will try!
I also pollinated my tiny dendrobium pachyphyllum and it inflated the ovary really fast (I guess because it's tiny?) so I will also try with this species.

What if I sow seeds on oats or some other kind of food with high nutrient contents?

[slarm]

It's unlikely it is a symbiotic fungus with orchids and would probably just consume the seeds as if they were more cellulosic detritus. I tried a similar experiment after reading about how they germinated cymbidiums back in the early days of orchid collecting on pieces of bark. There were a variety of molds, algae, but no apparent germination.

It's worth a try though! Save some seeds for conventional means though, and consider sowing some seeds onto medium pulled from the base of the parent plant.

[SG in CR]

I've been interested in natural germination of orchids for a year or so now and I've started having some success with a few. By success I mean maybe a few dozen small plants that showed up on branches where I blew the seeds onto.
Here's a few things that I've noticed.
1.Most seed pods open during the beginning of the dry season, which coincidentally tends to be very windy. So most of these seeds will blow maybe 10-100 meters and get caught on random surfaces that will remain dry for the next month or 2.
2. Many species seem to have a pretty strong preference for the substrate they germinate on.
Catasetum will often be found growing on long dead wood, even fence posts. Many seem to to germinate on shaded recently dead branches that haven't started to noticibly decompose, like Oncidium cebolleta and Trichocentrum carthagenense both of which seem to be fairly easy to germinate. Psygmorchis pusilla only seems to germinate on small twigs on the outer edge of trees. And some like Gongora, Stanhopea and Sobralia seem to like moss and decomposing debris. My guess is that their symbiotic partner is only found in those environments.

[Bulbopedilum]

A tiny seed pod of Dendrobium pachyphyllum has cracked open a bit and I snapped it off.

Here is a picture with a ruler showing centimeters.


I have dabbed it around the mother plant, around Dendro. Crumenatum, around Phal. NoID, and around Dendro/Dockrill. Rigida. I also saved some of it for future in-vitro germination attempts. I have no idea if the seed is "sterile" or not.

My question is, can I still water the mother plant and rigida (both mounted) normally (I dip them in a fishpond) or will that make the orchid seeds detach from the mount?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The probability of orchid seeds germinating when they are put on a random piece of bark where they are growing in the orchid's respective native countries is slightly higher than if this was done outside of their native countries, (which the probability for it happening is very, very low).

Even though the probability of orchid seeds that come from orchids that originate from the country you're residing in germinating on a piece of bark is higher, it is still not a guarantee that they will germinate, and the yield will generally be low if they do.

Yields are usually the highest when they are being sown in-vitro.

In-vitro asymbiotic seed sowing techniques also offer more control over the seed sowing process.

In-vitro asymbiotic seed sowing of orchids does not necessarily guarantee 100% or even very high percentages of success in germination. Sometimes, the probability of orchid seeds germinating in-vitro can be pretty low too.

[Optimist]

It seems that food grade Agar-Agar powder (a "vegan" gelatin made with seaweed) is available in Indonesia. This is the stuff that is on the bottom of the flask. Just saying-- the grocery store!!! Other things needed for sanitary condition, gloves, bleach to clean, should not be that hard to find. Clean boiled canning jars, plastic lids instead of metal lids.

[slarm]

I just recently did a new batch of flasks, my most successful so far in terms of not contaminating. The actual flasking of seeds is very not demanding. Make and fill the jars with your medium of choice, and pressure cook them.

Then sowing the seed; soak the seed in 3% H2O2 for half an hour approximately with a drop of detergent to make sure the solution contacts the seeds. Syringes are ideal but basters can be used. Open the ready flasks over a pot of about 1" boiling water and make sure the lid likewise stays in the steam column. Quickly move to disperse your seeds onto the surface and close and remove the jar before it gets too hot.

I am curious why you're opposed to metal lids?