Curious about natural outdoor pollination

[lotis146]

So I'm just curious since spring is "technically" here. When the weather warms and I can put my Orchids outside, is it common for those with blooms to be pollinated by birds and insects?

How do you know if this happens? What's the best way to handle this?

Thank you!
Lotis

[Orchid Whisperer]

I have not had orchids naturally pollinated outdoors. With some species/hybrids, it potentially could happen, though. Many orchids are pollinated by very specific insects in nature, so if you are growing tropical orchids, I would not expect it to happen, since their pollinators do not live here.

Whether pollinated by insects or hand-pollinated by man, the stem at the base of the flower (which is actually the ovary) will swell. Eventually it will look like this example (Cattleya alliance; other orchids will be somewhat different):



[Added later: the above photo shows a mature seed pod that was about 10 months old and which had just split open. I hand pollinated this plant so that I could harvest these seeds]

Unless you are planning to grow orchids from seed, cut off any seed pods that develop. Growing orchids from seed is a very long and involved process; could easily take years to get blooming-size plants. I have some very tiny seedlings from the pod in the photo. It took nearly a year for the seed in the pod to ripen, it has taken about 6 months from sowing seeds on sterile agar medium to get tiny seedlings that are mostly under 1/4 inch right now.

[WhiteRabbit]

I've only had a few get pollinated - my small Epidendrum species got a couple seed pods last year (out of a lot of blooms); and I recently found a pod on a species Cym.

As OrchidWhisperer said, it does happen, but probably doesn't happen a lot. I imagine some species and hybrids are more likely than others to get pollinated by our native pollinators.

First pic is the recently discovered pod on Cym dayanum, second is several months old pod on Epi ellipticum. I presume these were pollinated by bees ...

[Fairorchids]

There are a few species, which self-pollinate very easily (Cattleya aurantiaca is one of them). A few plants actually self-pollinate before the flowers open, so in effect the flowers never open!

With the majority of orchids it takes intervention, since the natural pollinators are not where we grow the plants. Having said that, my Dendrobium speciosum threw 6 spikes with 70-100 flowers each, and on one spike a pod developed!

[cbuchman]

Every year I end up with one or more seed pods on my Prosthechea cochleata which is summered outdoors. I usually just pinch them off since I don't want to the plant to expend its energies into seed making.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

Every year I end up with one or more seed pods on my Prosthechea cochleata which is summered outdoors. I usually just pinch them off since I don't want to the plant to expend its energies into seed making.

It makes sense that P.c. sometimes gets pollinated in the USA, it's natural range extends into southern Florida. Maybe the pollinators range as far north as New Jersey? Not sure though.

I agree with pinching off the unwanted pods. No need to waste the energy on production of seeds you don't need.

[rcb]

I have a different experience, too many of my orchids get pollinated in my back yard. I've had Dendrobiums, Bulbophyllums, Cymbidium, many Catt alliance plants etc. get pollinated. Even have two seed pods on a Schoenorchis right now. I also disagree you should cut them off, if the plant is healthy. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, it depends on how curious I am.

[Bud]

My Paphiopedilum Ron Williamson bloomed end of summer last year and by the time I took it indoors I noticed its got a pod. I live in the 7th floor and maybe the fire escape can be reached by bees or some flying insects. I saw some hummingbirds on the big garden a few blocks away but I highly doubt it that it pollinated my plant.

[lotis146]

Wow, thanks for all your replies everyone!

From what I hear I won't expect any natural pollination but I'll just know that sometimes... things happen. I think, pollination aside, it would be cool to provide the wildlife with a little extra flower love and I only mean those that don't want to hurt my plants!!

Thanks again!
Lotis