I'm curious what exactly does the professional media have that the home hobbyist cannot duplicate? Is it he micro/macro nutrients?

@roby btw that blog link you posted is pretty nice. There is a plethora of information about orchids and both in vitro and ex vitro propagation on there.

I mean medium homemade done in a manner not exactly scientific (bananas, tomatoes, various npk)

Obviously if you can find all the components of professional mediums, you can do that too :D

Thanks for the link Roby, that site has so much information. I liked the post about orchids being alcoholics! :rofl:

I will try one of those other recipes when I'm sowing seed again.

My Dendrobium bellatulum seeds have finally germinated! I'm so pleased! Thanks Roby for all your advice!

NatalieS, thanks to you for trying my system: D

:bump:

I am desperate to know how it is all going and if anyone's attempts have yielded any pleasant or unpleasant results yet?

Hi
all goes well

other experiences :D

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ilization.html

any update ?

They are still just very tiny and green. I had absolutely no contamination though. It might be that my home-made media just doesn't have the right mix of nutrients etc. for the seeds/protocorms to develop properly. I don't know how they should look after only two and a bit months though.

I did a cross with two of my phal hybrids to try to get some seed of my own to experiment with. The pod has been developing for a few months now and this morning I noticed it had turned yellow and was starting to split underneath so I quickly removed it and put it in a container. It seems a bit early for this to have happened so I hope it simply hasn't aborted the pod. Anyway, if it looks like there is some seed I will be experimenting with sowing again this weekend. Fun fun fun! :)

Protocorms can be very slow to grow after germination. Depending on your medi, you may need to replate into something most suited for growing. What sort of light and temp are the flasks getting? They do great under fluorescent lights, temp around 22-24C for ideal growth.