FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I want to grow some orchids from seed. Anyone have any recommendations on what species to try and get? what media would you use? Has anyone here grown orchid seed in vitro successfully? Thanks in advance !

I've been an orchid grower for a long time now, so maybe I can suggest a few things. I like the Angraecum and Aerangis species. They are mostly compact or miniature growing, most all bloom with multiple blooms open at one time, and many of them smell absolutely amazing. Charles Darwin wrote about the species Angraecum sesquipedale. My personal favorites are Angraecum magdalenae and Aerangis fastuosa.

I am currently growing a terrestrial orchid from Japan called Habenaria radiata. The Japanese call it Sagi sou, or "egret flower" because the flower looks like an egret in flight.



Mine should bloom sometime in the next two or three months. I can try to pollinate some for you. Might take until next fall to get seed.

Thank you very much CPfanatic! Those are def some beautiful flowers. I'd very much like some seed whenever theyre available. Thank you for the recommendations and the offer!

be afraid
orchid seeds need either a special fungus or tissue culture to germinate or they will do what mine did (rot into a black sludge)

I'm going to TC them stitz...or try too . Thanks for letting me know though !

gd luck and i hope u get some good results

I thought of a couple more ideas. Since it's your first time trying orchid propagation, you might want to try several different batches of seed until you get the hang of it. A good way to get multiple batches of seed might be to buy some orchids. If you have a Lowes or Walmart near you, I would check them for blooming orchids. Mother's day is coming, and I was at Walmart last night and they had dozens of blooming Phalaenopsis orchids. You could buy a couple and pollinate them. It would also allow you to learn to keep an orchid alive. They are challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it they really reward you.

I don't know if this is allowed here, but I will delete it if it's not. I operate an orchid forum when I am not obsessing over carnivorous plants. http://www.slippertalk.com It's a forum for slipper orchid growers, but we talk about all kinds of other orchids. Some of the top orchid breeders in the world post there regularly. Feel free to poke around in the breeding and propagation sections. You don't have to be a member to read.

And because I am a proud papa, my Habenaria orchids reached their one month birthday today...

I actually bought my first orchid from Lowes...a cattleya(correct me if its spelled wrong). When I got home i divided it into 3 divisions and planted them. I have them in with my cephs and heli. Lowes has a much better selection then Walmart, though I did see those at walmart and they are bigger and cheaper than Lowes. I'll prob go and pick up a few more before the season is over.

I'll stop by and give your forum a look. Thanks again for the help.

I am working on setting up a Heliamphora growing area, so when Matt sells me one I will be ready. Hrm...might be time for me to start looking for a nice cattleya species or two.

They're very beautiful and I was shocked at how thick and fragrant the flowers are. I bought a smaller one that wasn't flowering to see if I could get it to flower myself. I like to do things the hard way and dive in head first. I might kill a few but imo you learn faster just going all in on something rather than starting off slow. Thanks again for the pics and info and link!

Dionae,
You have been successfully micropropagated carnivorous explants (VFT, Cephalotus ...) then you can micropropagate orchid: Cat. and Phal. You do exactly like you work with CP explants. Medium and hormones may be a little different. Google for medium that work well with the specie, ask people in listserv. Some professors and experts such as professor Arditti, Fossard.. will help you.
If you can wait for 5 more months I will give you fresh and clean seeds of Phal. It's a hybrid Phal, not special but look beautiful. I got three capsules this years. They are for tcers who want to practice orchid seeds.

Thank you cvlover. I'll def do some research before I start. I really appreciate the suggestions. I'd love some fresh orchid seed when you have them available. Thanks again!

Another question....I see flasks of orchids for sale. Are they worth buying?

Orchid flasks are definitely worth buying...if you can get them to survive. Flasklings are very susceptible to rot, because they have no immune system, if you will. There are chemicals you pretty much have to use on the seedlings out of flask to keep them healthy. I tried a deflasking one time and the plants turned brown and slimy within days. That's what happens if you don't read and be prepared before hand.

Have you looked up Troy Meyer's flasking page yet? He sells orchids on a reservation system. He gets seed in, flasks it, and based on how well it does he takes reservations for future replatings. Several months later if all goes well, he contacts you for payment and you get a small flask of 25 or so plants. It's a great way to build up a massive collection of orchids, and get your hands on some rare species.

cvlover wrote:I got three capsules this years. They are for tcers who want to practice orchid seeds.

I want to try again cvlover Keep me in mind for some orchid seed.

Dionae & Matt,
You're on the top of my list to send seeds. If there's nothing wrong capsules will burst in early October. It's fun to work together.