I’m stoked you recommended these LED lights! Purchased based on this video and I have been using them a month. I see a noticeable difference in my plants already 🌱
I’ve been watching your series and reading your blogs. I’ve wanted to start a side business/hobby since I was 20. I’m 47 now and finally jumped in. I got my first flask from Hawaii today and am so exited to get started. I was stoked to see that the plants are near perfect and have been grown to a larger size. Thanks for passing along knowledge and experience!
That's awesome and thanks for the feedback! How did the seedlings make out? Going on well? I know it can be a steep learning curve at the start getting the watering tempo down. Hope things are going well!
you have one of the best orchid channels. I hate when somebody with a paph or phrag with one fan give advice, you really know your plants and even though i have grown orchids for 40 years, your projects inspire me and I learn a lot from you. thank you
Great video and series, thanks for documenting this process right from the start! 🙂 I really hope the phrag variegation carries through to new growths!
Thanks Annabel! I will keep a close eye on that phrag. Will probably give it its own video in the future (assuming it is indeed variegated and I don’t kill it) 😬
I looked into this about 10 yrs ago, but they said you had to have an expensive box that pumped in sterile filtered air from the top, into the box, using the air flow to keep bacteria from getting in the box and near the seeds and media while you work them. This is the first time I have seen a gove box, now I am building one. You make it look too easy, and you have had great success. Good job!
Great job, Dustin! Enjoyed and learned a lot from this series. It also inspires me to try the entire process myself from orchid pollination to flasking to potting seedlings.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this four part series. I’ve learned so much and can appreciate the effort that goes into these amazing plants. Well done. Oh, and don’t be so hard on yourself - have fun, we/I are/am.
An absolute Thank you Dustin! As always, you provide an utmost information in growing orchids. Just in time as I’m planning to deflask my phrag kovachii flask ;).
amazing the only person on youtube that can actually germinate and grow orchid seedling, What do you do when you go on holiday, kind regard from florida
What’s a “holiday”? 😂 - seriously though, I typically only taken 7-10 day vacations. The plants that are smaller like this, I put into a humidity dome, but it’s a bit of a process. They need to be watered, then left to dry for 24h so the leaves and roots have no standing water-then I pop them into the humidity domes. The larger plants just go 10 days without water and I’m sure to give them a good solid watering before I go.
I just graduated with a bs in horticulture and I’m planning to go into plant breeding, came across your blog article online while perusing around for orchid info and now I’m genuinely inspired to work with orchids. I wish I still had access to my university’s greenhouses and lab because I definitely don’t own an autoclave at home lol
Thanks for all the information you have given over the series.....just wish I’d found you 2 years ago when I bought 3 flasks. I now know I should have replated several times!!! Oh well, still managed to grow on a few seedlings from each flask. Mmmmm, you’ve got me thinking about doing my own seed germination 🤔
Had contaminations problem but fixed it. I figured out what was missing in the media and i try new seeds. But fails are always rudes. And by the way, the lights you advised me did a super great job, thank you verry much ! 👍👏
Loved this ... thank you for giving us a show of the beautiful fur baby at the end. Just would have liked more specific info on the lights -- I hail from South Africa .. Otherwise this was a very pleasant viewing ..don't worry about the imperfections, that is part of the fun
WOW a variegated(?) one, you are so lucky. I do hope it grow up and flower(maybe you can sell some dry seeds, I love that white "make-up"! Good luck, and I really liked the 4 part video you just made.
Your orchid collection is amazing! I hope mine matches your collection one day. I just expanded out to my 4th orchid, a Beallara syn aliceara 'Hilo Spaceship', standing at a massive 101cm from bottom of pot to tip of spike! And I also just put my very first orchid into a kokedama this past weekend. I'm intrigued by the Butterwort! We have a fungas gnat issue too, but my Nepenthes loves them too...
Hello Dustin, love your videos and your orchid blog. I have been on RU-vid since early this year, trying to learn a bit more about orchids. I found a lot of good people and appreciate their knowledge about orchids. But to my surprise you did not come up then. Can’t remember how I found your video today, but the best part is......I live in CALGARY too. I’m just so so excited and happy, found someone who understands the weather issues and will be able to help me. For now,I’ll wait to hear from you and then have along list of questions 😊, I’m hoping to get in contact with you. PLEASE
Ukulele Universe - just goes to show you that sometimes prevailing opinions on horticulture aren’t always totally accurate. Heh heh - because my climate is so dry, the pot helps keep moisture around a bit longer. It’s still very airy in there though. I use wine corks and lots of gaps to keep them oxygenated.
Hello Dustin, just wondering if you have any baby orchids that you are thinking of giving away, hehe, I would‘not mind grabbing it from you. Also, question, where did you get your Vanda orchid from? I can’t seem to find one, for long now., unless you have a keki for me😬
this seems hella profitable ngl. maybe i should start doing this once i move out of my parents home ‘cause there’s no way they’d let me use their house to grow orchids. 😭😭😭 and since they’re a pricey flower where i live i’d probably make a whole lotta cash off them which help in this economy.
never had alot if interest in flasking until now, thanks.🙄like i need another thing to add to my list, NOT! But thinkin probably will b in my future🤪😂😊 wish we were in the same country so i could try n beg one of those kovichii from you, lol seriously can't wait to see what the cross of the green and pink phal's looks like WONDERFUL info, thanks!!
also, forgot to ask, what do you have your vanda potted in?? Mine are all getting the leaves soooo beat up from putting them (craming) into the bug bucket to soak every day.
Hi, I wanna grow my own orchids and all the information has been very useful. I really appreciate what you are doing. Thank you. Just a quick one , Where can I find The black colored liquid that u were using for the seeds germination? ,. Regards
Hı. Could you preper MS medium for dendrobium orchid step by step? Suppose I am deaf, and I can understand you just by watching. If you think like that, even if they don't understand your language, everyone can understand you and reach more people. Because you make useful videos. Thank you so much.
Hi Dustin. I really enjoyed this video. You make it all look easy. Your flasks of seedlings look so healthy. Would you consider at some point selling any plants a little further east? Take care! I can’t get over that huge phal. It is stunning!! 😻 PS Clyde is looking pretty cool as well!
I love it flowers like orchid but you make a video step by step to how to grow from seed and pot the name of materials mix thank you..bec I buying seed orchid from China but I don't know how to grow from seed
I am considering hybridising orchids some day. So far I see no limits to what genetic crossing you can do other than natural things like bloom time, prefered pollinators, etc., but are there any orchids that don't polinate with others from a genetic standpoint?
I believe we talked about this on the seed sowing group, but in case others are wondering the same thing...Yes, there are lots of incompatible crosses; the complexities of genetic compatibility include chromosome count, chromosome size, chromosome pairings (some are paired (2n) others are tetraploid (4n) and it can go between and beyond that). All of those things work together or against each other to result in embryos or sterility. You also need general compatibility of the specific genes (which I don't know a great detail about)-so at what point two different species become incompatible entirely? Example: Mexipedium and Phragmipedium look pretty similar and have similar growth traits, however, no one has ever made a successful Mexipedium x Phargmipedium cross (likely because their genetics are too incompatible).
Hello, I have looked at a number of your orchid videos, and after I saw this one I was wonder if it is possible that you will be will to help me out? I have a dendrobium seed pod.
Hullo there! I was wondering, did you make the glove box yourself? Like attaching the gloves to it etc. if so, could you explain how you did it and what you used? I would like to make one and hopefully be able to do this lol
I would buy the varigated fragmapedium from you lol, my area has little in regards to orchids. Mostly Phalinopsis and Stalk Dendrobium, maybe one Vanda (to be honest I might have dreamed that one up)
Hi Mario - it is still on my list of things to do. In the meantime it really is as simple as following instructions like baking a cake. Here are are the instructions on my blog: herebutnot.com/how-to-breed-flask-phalaenopsis-orchids-steps-for-dry-seeds-green-pod-propagation-methods/#orchid-flask-media
Most people ask for flowers... me... I want more technical orchid stuff... the propagating, the deflasking, the replating etc... for this ASD [Aspie] brain, that is far more interesting. Only criticism... if it can even be called that... okay, whinge then, is that I would love to see a pop-up tree of the cross you make... as I said... that is just me though. ...better clarify "tree"... the genealogy tree of the cross back to parents and grandparents...
Those pop-up trees aren’t easy to make. So I’ll take the feedback, but editing videos like this already takes about 3-4 hours. So it’s more about time feasibility than anything.
I love your videos. I just received my first orchid flask today. How much light do you give them/ as much as an adult Phalaenopsis would get or much lower? Thanks!
Angela losavio , i baccelli li faccio però non riesco ad comporre tutti i prodotti x preparare la gelatina x la semina delle orchidee. È scritto in inglese io non lo conosco se x lei non è un problema scriverebbe in italiano gli ingredienti necessari.Grazie mille .
Sorry, no I don't speak italian. Perhaps an option would be to copy and paste sections of text into "Google Translate"? That is how I wrote this comment.
Mi dispiace, no, non parlo italiano. Forse un'opzione sarebbe quella di copiare e incollare sezioni di testo in "Google Translate"? È così che ho scritto questo commento.
Hi Dustin, I was just watching ( or re-watching ) your video and saw that varigated phrag seedling. What happened to it? Has it grown big? Can you do an update on your seedlings please?
Oyi-so one of the siblings bloomed and it turned out that it was just a selfing of the pod parent. The variegated plant is still alive and growing but I moved it to lower light and the variegation is much less pronounced. I have yet to see any new growths to know of it will be carried on as the plant spreads out
Thanks so much! Your video series and blog have been a huge motivation and source of information for me to consider starting orchids from seed. Its something i want to take a go at even if not super successful. Ive found a source of culture medium (phytotechnology labs in the us) but im having difficulty finding reputable sources of seed (i want to grow from seed to increase the diversity of my collection, not necessarily to breed hybrids of the orchids i already have)...if you dont mind me asking, other then the ones youve pollinated, where do you get your seeds - are the seeds on amazon, ebay and wish worth trying?
Hi Irtaza - sourcing seeds can be difficult. eBay used to be a source for that (and you may still find real ones) but many/most of the orchid seeds listed there now are scams. For me - all of my seeds have come from my own plants except for the Ophrys which i got from a friend. It can be very hard to secure seeds but there is a trading group on facebook - Orchid seed sowing group I think is what it's called. I wish you the best of luck starting your project - also try talking to local growers. Many have orchids that they may not want to deal with flasking, but will be happy to give you a seed pod (especially if it means you give them back a flask of seedlings in exchange down the road).
Hey! thanks for the video! I have a few seedlings I just deflated myself. I am just curious how much light do you provide for your seedlings. I am doing about 8 to 12 hr and they are doing great so far.
Teresa Ruiz D - I target 12h w/ 12-18w of LED light per square foot. Not a great measurement (using watts), but the goal is as bright as possible before the seedlings show signs of light stress (chlorosis). I covered some of that in the article-I know I didn’t get to the after care in this video though. herebutnot.com/orchid-seedling-care-deflasking-potting-watering/
How the frick do orchid seedlings survive in the wild. Whoops i forgot, they don't even if Florida their are barely any wild orchids and the ironic thing is the only orchid i ever found in the wild was eulophia grammenia which was invasive lol
Hi, I'd like to know where I can buy/ order the specific culture media for orchid seeds to germinate?? Please let me know thanks in advance and best regards! ✌️
No, not yet. The process takes 2 years and there is a level of quality and size expected on flasks. I decided I’d rather enjoy the process and learn for myself rather than turn it into a side hustle. I may sell them one day in the far distant future once I have some plants going in a breeding program, but for now, it’s just for fun. I also don’t have the species you’re looking for, but maybe you’ll be able to track it down from a nursery in your area or at an orchid show when they resume eventually.
Merdan's Orchids - yeah, dang...I edited that out by mistake in trying to keep the video short. I have those details in my seedling care article though: herebutnot.com/orchid-seedling-care-deflasking-potting-watering/
I assume you're referring to the jars? Like how do I get the seedlings before deflasking them? You can either buy them from sellers - sometimes you can find flasks on ebay or at orchid shows for example. If you want to grow your own from seed, it's a bit of a long treck, but here's a video I put together showing how I did all of this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mPBctIDvvrA.html
Excellent, very helpful for when I take the gigantea out of their container. One question: most people recommend rinsing them in distilled water to remove all agar then a weak Physan solution (50% recommended rate). Do you feel this is an unnecessary step? And not related to the deflasking. I recently bought a Phrag Hanne Popow and the newest leaf growing when it arrived was flopping to one side so I put in a stake and tied it, the leaf grew out and hardened off in the correct position. But, it is now growing a new leaf and same problem. Is this related to the hybrid or maybe nutrient related? I am not having this problem with my other Phrags. (all are potted in a blend 2/3 orchiata 1/3 sponge rock. Currently, since they are growing new leaves and roots, the plants get a feed at 300 PPM of 20-10-20 plus 100 PPM calmag [9% N, 15% Ca, 5% Mg], two days later a flush, two days later 100 PPM CalMag, two days later a flush, then back to feed. A flush means running a ton of water through the pot and repeating 30 minutes later)
Hey Michael! Regarding your question about rinsing w/ distilled water...typically, I use the tap actually; our water is pretty alkaline (7.5-7.9pH) and they do fine. One thing that i would caution you against is deflasking into a bowl of distilled water. If the plants were green pod sown, and if the parent had a virus, then some of the seedlings could have been contaminated. I've heard that soaking in a bowl like that can spread the virus (if it exists)...whether this is true... and whether it's any worse than potting them all toegether, I can't say. But I follow that direction and just rinse them under the tap - or I don't rinse them at all and just pot them with small bits of agar attached to the roots. Both seem to do fine; however the agar does mold, so you don't want huge chunks of it in your pot.
Regarding the second part - It sounds like your conditions are all good. Hanne Popow is 50% besseae and that species has some really wonky growth traits where they grow long runners (like i showed in my phrag care video) In general they should still grow "up" but my advice is that...if your conditions are good (light, water, nutrients), then just let the plant do what it wants to and see how it grows. It's a struggle to constantly battle how a plant grows, so I find it better just to watch and adjust thereafter. BUT...if staking it is better for you, then go for it. I recognize this is an non-answer, answer :D
@@HerebutNot If you don't think it is a nutrient issue, that is actually helpful. I guess I will stake the leaves as need be and hope the plant grows out of it eventually. Right now, they flop so far I fear if they harden in that position it will impede the next new leaf emerging or cause the plant to grow at a funny angle rather than upright. It isn't like it takes long to loop a piece of twist tie around a leaf as a cradle every now and then. 😉
Beauty of orchids and plants - just by the window and under LEDs. One room has a fan, one doesn’t. I don’t use humidity trays at all. If you’re on Instagram, send me a DM @here_butnot; I can send you a couple photos of the setup so you have a better idea
It depends on the plant. For phals warmer is generally better-they will grow at cooler temps (16-20C), but they tend to be slower growing. For lights, I use LEDs (because they put out so much light), but the spectrum should really be whatever is good for most plants.
50/50 bark to perlite + a thin top-dressing of sphagnum moss around the roots. Here is more information: herebutnot.com/orchid-seedling-care-deflasking-potting-watering/
Here...but Not Thanks for your reply! I will plant my little orchids following your example! I hope it will adapt quickly to the new substrate! Greetings 🙋♀️🍀🌸
