Does the seed parent matter more than the pollen parent?
 

Hello all,

I am wanting to understand more about how the seed / pollen parents of orchids contribute to their overall culture. I recall this being mentioned on another thread I made, but I cannot find it now..I have 2 questions.

1. Which parent matters more, if any? Between the seed parent and the pollen parent?

2. Do the seed grandparents matter as much as the parents?

Any other information pertaining to this particular subject will be extremely useful. Thank you so much! <3

I don't think that you can generalize. In a particular cross and its reverse, there may well be differences, but it's confounded by the fact that there are individual differences within a cross. (Two siblings with the same parents in a family are different, that happens with plants too.) The seed parent can, of course, pass mitochondrial DNA as well as nuclear DNA since the former comes from the female side, but what the influence may be, can vary a lot. The more complex a hybrid, the more variables are introduced by the various ancestors, on both sides, leading to even more variation between siblings.

How interesting! THanks Roberta!! :D

Mitochondria are involved with energy production. Many hybrids have general vigor, and leaves and pseudobulbs more like the female parents than the male parents. Sometimes flowers are very different depending on which way the cross is made. As an example, I have been told Vanda (Vandafinetia) White Crane (Vanda/Neofinetia falcata x Vanda sanderiana) produces much larger flowers when V. sanderiana is the pod parent.

Also, botanists tell me stray mitochondria do get into pollen cells on rare occasions.

Thank you Estación!!! ^_^ Just curious..what happens when the stray mitochondria get into the pollen cells? A more vigorous crossing occurs than normal?

It's unpredictable, but people who study evolution based on mitochondrial DNA need to take the possibility into account.

I believe chloroplasts are passed from the pod parent. very likely a generalization but one example might be breeding green and white "alba" Maudiae type paphs. It has been reported that the pod parent is potentially more impactful on the color. another paph example is with parvi x roth. plants seem to be easier to bloom with the parvi as pod parent (from a reliable paph breeder source). I am sure there are countless more nuances across many different orchids, perhaps one component why certain hybridizers garner a reputation for producing high quality progeny

Nice!!!! Thank you. 😊

According to one professional orchid grower I know, the seed producing plant influences the growth habit of the resulting offspring more than the pollen parent. For example, B. nodosa crosses will look more like B. nodosa plants if the seed parent was B. nodosa than if it were the other way around.
As I'm germinating my seeds outdoors naturally I try to use a species that I've had success with germinating outdoors as the seed parent because the seed parent is going to be responsible for seed's outer sheath, which I'm guessing might play a role in how successfully it can form a symbiotic relationship with the mycorrhizal fungus it needs to provide it with it's initial resources to germinate and grow.

Interesting..How do you germinate the seeds outdoors without contamination? Err..are they past the easy contamination phase after they germinate?