Growing Neofinetia falcata from seed

[Selmo]

125 days now and still alive. We took the two jars that where overflowing with protocorms and transplanted some of them into three different jars, twenty of the more advanced ones in each jar. Some of the smaller protocorms where starting to suffer, turning yellow and not maturing. So I think it was time for a move. No molds as of yet, one week after moving them.

[Selmo]

Sad news to report, mold has taken the three remaining jars that we had transferred the biggest protocorms into. We will have to better our technique, put a better filter on our chamber and be more vigilant about keeping things more sterile. This has been a great learning experience and are willing to try again. We do have several hybrid cattleya crosses that the pods are developing nicely. And the Neofinetia is back in bloom and I noticed several seed pods all ready. So there is hope for a another try at this. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

[neophyte]

i'm sorry to hear that! your thread was very interesting to follow. i'm glad that you're not giving up... please keep us posted on all future endeavors!

edit: i was re-reading your previous posts, and i noticed that initially, two jars out of nine were contaminated, and your final three jars were contaminated. it's definitely not too discouraging that your final three were all contaminated because the sample size was too small (if you had, say, thirty jars, probably only 6 to 10 would get contaminated). contamination is always going to be a factor in these sorts of environments... it's probably beneficial to meet/anticipate this challenge by just having more jars/groups of seedlings.

[Selmo]

Thanks for the encouragement Neophyte. I thought that nine would be plenty of jars to start with. We did loose most to mold but I believe that it was do to our lack of experience in keeping things sterile enough when the jars where open and transferring protocorms from one jar to another. We can and will try to improve on that. We did loose some jars to what i believe was over heating. There are two jars that where green and doing well and then all the protocorms turned gray and quit developing without any mold being present. I think that the jars got to hot and cooked them. All part of the leaning curve.
I don’t know if you can see in the photo but all of the protocorms have turned from green to gray and no mold present. If this where easy then we all grow them from seed to start with. We will try again and thanks again for all the support.

[marli.guarino@gmail.com]

As many others, i was following your experiment and I am sorry it didn’t succeed, but fail in the first try is the rule for almost everything. If you choose to try again, we will be here to wish you luck!
Do you know how long Neofinetias take from seed to bloomming size? Many orchids take 4 to 6 years, is Neo in this range? (That was the information I was looking for when I found your very interesting post.)
Thank you!

[Carebear2]

Hi selmo, shame the mould got in in the end, you were doing great for several months.

I heard to try to keep the jars at an even temperature as temperature fluctuations every day will cause the air in the jars to contract and expand, this contraction can lead to a negative pressure sucking in spores from the outside through microscopic cracks. It is hard to get a complete seal.

Another thing I have learnt is to add cling film, one layer over the jar before screwing the lid on and then cover the thing with cling film again - and always disinfecting any areas on the lid you touch after handling them.

Good luck on your next attempt, are you going to rely on the moths again or are you going to try pollinating the pods yourself?

[My Green Pets]

That was cool, as I was reading post after post I was sure it was going to be successful, what a surprise when it all just ended like poof! Better luck next time! Sterile technique is no joke, probably very hard to achieve in a house!

[Selmo]

Thanks for the encouragement again, I am back to try flasking again. We will try Neofinetia falcata again and some cattleya crosses that we’ve made. I should be starting sometime in the next month (waiting on some supplies). Got some new ideas and hopefully my technique is a little better. I will post as things start moving

[Dorchid]

Bummer on the mold. Looking forward to your future endeavor!

[Selmo]

And the best to you and your endeavour Dorchid, with the Odcdm. Will be an interested bystander. Thanks again