Mericlones
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Mericlones
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Mericlones Members Mericlones Mericlones Today's PostsMericlones Mericlones Mericlones
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-06-2007, 10:43 AM
Becca Becca is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Mar 2007
Zone: 6b
Location: Meridian, ID
Age: 46
Posts: 3,610
Default Mericlones

I didn't really know what a mericlone was until I looked it up in the glossary today. Is it bad or frowned upon if a plant is a mericlone? Are there mericlones and seedlings of a plant or are there just usually one or the other? I read that mericlones are derived from tissue culture, once started, is it grown differently from seedlings in a flask? I guess I am just unsure on what the differences are other then one plant comes from a seed and one a tissue culture. TIA!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-06-2007, 11:01 AM
JMorales's Avatar
JMorales JMorales is offline
Member
 

Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Tepoztlan, Mexico
Age: 67
Posts: 75
Default

Hi Becca:
The main diference is that the mericlone is a replica of the mother plant, with seedlings you can have variations in aperance of the resulting plant. And they grow exactly in the same way.
Hope this will help
Muchos saludos desde Mexico
__________________
Juan Morales
Tepoztlan, Morelos
Mexico
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes Chemtiger liked this post
  #3  
Old 06-06-2007, 11:27 AM
ScottMcC's Avatar
ScottMcC ScottMcC is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 448
Default

I agree with what is said above. here's a few other tidbits I find interesting.

Seedlings are made by pollinating one flower with pollen from another. this can be done by taking it from the same plant ("selfing"), another plant from the same exact parents ("sib cross"), or by a completely unrelated cross ("outcross"). Outcrosses can be within the same species or other species, in which case the resultant plant is a hybrid. In any of the above cases, genes from the mother and father plants intermingle, and some are expressed more than others in the offspring, creating variability in the results.

Mericlones are made by isolating stem cells from a plant and then replicating them in the lab. The new plants are then genetically identical to the parent plant. As such, any awards bestowed on the parent plant actually carry over to the daughter plants.

Either way, the baby plants are grown in flasks until they're big enough to be potted on their own--the difference is in what happens before it gets to the flask.

As for which is more desirable, I like both a lot. With mericlones, you know exactly what you're getting, and the majority of the plants that are cloned are of exceedingly high quality or else their owners wouldn't have gone to the trouble and expense of cloning them. If you want to buy an FCC-awarded plant for under $100, this is about the only way you will ever do so.

But with seedlings, it's a certain gamble. You might have something that will be far better than the parents, and could get you an award. And you might have a brand new hybrid that is a real improvement over past plants or a new direction in breeding. But you might have something that's lackluster at best. So if you like surprises or new things, that's the way to go. I don't look at either as necessarily superior, just different.
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes Chemtiger liked this post
  #4  
Old 06-06-2007, 12:34 PM
Dorothy Dorothy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2007
Zone: 7b
Location: Long Island, NY
Age: 63
Posts: 7,321
Default

Thank you ScottMcC - I have always wondered about cloning and mericlones, crosses and hybrids. Your little synopsis is simply put and well understood.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-06-2007, 07:18 PM
Oscarman's Avatar
Oscarman Oscarman is offline
OB Admin
 

Join Date: Jun 2005
Zone: 3a
Location: Edmonton, Alberta. Canada
Posts: 2,895
Default

Nice explanation Scott. Thank you.
__________________
DaveW
"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." ~Anna Lappe

My Orchid Photos

New to forums? - Tips to Get you Started ---- Tips for posting Photos
Need to find basic care info? - Care Sheets
Need further help using this forum? - Send me a PM
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-06-2007, 08:34 PM
dave b dave b is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 327
Default

Also note that not all orchids are able (or yet known) to be meristem cloned. Phals are, and thats why you see them in grocery stores. As are Cats, Zygos, Cymbidiums, Oncidiums, and Miltonia. Paphs and Angraecoids are not. Though much research is being done in the other Genera.

Soon, China will release its vast hoards of cloned Phals (and others) onto the grocery and home improvement markets, and they will be a dime a dozen. OK, 10 bucks.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 06-06-2007, 11:29 PM
justatypn's Avatar
justatypn justatypn is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2006
Zone: 9b
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 3,069
Default

Thanks Scott, excellent explanation...tks
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 06-07-2007, 02:45 PM
Darknessdancer Darknessdancer is offline
Jr. Member
 

Join Date: May 2007
Location: Hidalgo, Mexico
Age: 39
Posts: 22
Default

Very good explanation Scott, congrats!
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 06-07-2007, 03:05 PM
Vanessa Vanessa is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Southwest Gulfcoast, Florida
Posts: 271
Default

Thank you! I was just going to ask this question and bingo! Question answered.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 06-07-2007, 07:47 PM
Dorothy Dorothy is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Apr 2007
Zone: 7b
Location: Long Island, NY
Age: 63
Posts: 7,321
Default

Are mericlones or meristems the age of the plant they are taken from? Have they been around long enough to see if they suffer any adverse effects from the way they are propagated - shorter life span? (Remember Dolly the sheep was genetically 6 yrs old at birth)
Just a curious random thought
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
culture, mericlones, plant, seedlings, tissue


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hybrids vs Mericlones DebsC Advanced Discussion 17 04-13-2007 01:11 PM
Stem Props, Mericlones, etc. weiss Beginner Discussion 9 07-18-2006 07:23 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:27 PM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.