Oh, thank you! I was lucky enough to receive some big green pods and a few of tiny lavender fairy seedpods, of which two are already open. I was hoping to get going before the green pods that I do have have turned brown!! After two days on the net, all I had for my troubles was an headache!! I took a break and came directly to your site. I shall be following up with your video on the green pods, as you make it so I can understand, and this isn't my first day! IPA and Peroxide are things I know and feel comfortable handling! Thank you so much for an excellent primer. I have no idea which orchid it is that I have, and since they are not anything like my six Phaeleonopsis orchids, which I treasure, for me, this is a new thrill after at least 40 years gardening. I don't know why it took me so long... I'm like that. Thank you.
As I'm learning about this process now, I kind of ask myself "What did I get myself into?" LOL Feels intimidating, but boy, would be amazing to succeed! So much to learn though - while the seedpods are forming! :) Thanks for the video - subscribed now!
Hi Maharika, Water wont sterilize the seed though and they will not germinate. You must sterilize the seed if it's from a dry split pod otherwise it's a waste of time. If you can't sterilize the seed you will get better results (from Dactylorhiza anyway) by just sprinkling the seed on a few pots of compost with gravel/grit on top and let them germinate naturally - works for me and there's orchids all over the place here... in tubs, planters even hanging baskets all seeded by just sowing on the surface
hiya pal, I'm a amateur gardener who has begun a cycle of collecting streptocarpus and other weird plants which I've heard the leaf cuttings are better to be sterilised (as in other RU-vid clips). I was wondering is it the same peroxide solution they use to dip the cuttings in first? I'm really intreaged into the benefits of sterilisation and wondering could you help as your obviously an extremely devout and intelligent gardener✔✔✔✔ and Northern also!!!!! (I'm from Wigan) lol 😁 😁 😁
Hi. Would you please elaborate on the care routine for just sprinkling the seeds on top of compost? I'd like to try just as a hobbyist. Thank you so much! Great video!
Is there any benefit to flasking in tubes or bottles versus petri dishes? I worked in a plant lab and we always plated seeds, embryos, and explants in dishes. Much easier to handle.
Hi, You are insisting on decontamination. I tried several times but I never succeeded to get my media clean and uncontaminated in the tubes. Last week, new trial with about 10 tubes but 3 to 5 days all are full of mold. All help is welcome. Daniel from France
Hello Les, Thankyou for a very informative video. I have watched it several times (along with another dozen or so others) and am patiently waiting for my orchid seed media to arrive in the post so I can sow my first batch of seeds. How did the seeds go in the transplant media?
Great video. Very inspiring. I would like to try this same method with fern spore and orchid seed. You mentioned something about airflow. Could you please elaborate? Kind regards Steve
Do you know how long sobennikoffia robusta capsules take to mature? I want to have it green podded and I have exactly one shot at this. Thanks so much.
+Orchid Species can I used agar sowing media for phalaenopsis seed pods seeds? Also i want to know what is the difference between orchid sowing media and orchid multiplication medium, and which one is better for phalaenopsis pollination seeds?
I want to ask if , there is any difference using glass jar or plastic container, which is the best way to do it and it should be completely seal , or leave it little lose ?
Hi there, I was just wondering if this guide would be good to follow on how to sow seeds of a Racinaea Crispa? If not, do you know where I may find the info? Regards
Doesn't Isopropyl alcohol just disinfect? Not sterilize? It has no known sporicidal capacities I'm pretty sure? You would suspect bleach would be better in this capacity? I assume us must still have success with IPA though so..?
I have a funny but serious question. Have you ever had any sort of fungus or diseases growing in your viles? Also, is the small amount of hydrogen peroxide and Isopropyl alcohol that is sitting on the seeds bad for it at all?
Yes you get all sorts of things in there somehow, maybe seals on filters go or something. Usually if anything has gone wrong you know within 2 - 5 days as mold and what not take advantage of the nutrient jelly in quick time! The hydrogen peroxide just breaks down in to water on exposure to the light and atmosphere and there's so little IPA that it's not an issue.
I don't know if there are ready sterilized flasks? You need to sterilize them before use, even if they're brand new... Look up flasks on eBay, for instance! That's a great place to find everything. Including the agar mixtures! You have to do that process yourself, put the agar mixture inside the sterilized flasks - can't be bought ready..
You need to wait for them to start showing signs of a change in colour from green to just starting to yellow in areas - not all over as this is too far. Just wait for them to start to change colour which is anything from 2 - 24 months depending on the breeding
Orchid Species That's great thanks. I have an interesting one though, which didn't go green on formation at all, in fact it's purple! (My others are green) Is that normal?
In some videos I've seen, the seed surfaces were sanitized in a couple different methods, generally either with isopropanol, which kills microbes by disrupting their plasma membranes, or a solution of an oxidizer like hydrogen peroxide or a hypochlorite. Both of those are apparently effective at sanitization of the seed surfaces, and, when utilized properly, spare most of the seeds, if not all of them. But I was wondering, could a solution of a cationic surfactant (like the antimicrobial benzalkonium chloride component of Lysol) be a viable alternative to those other chemicals? It can be used in much higher dilution than IPA, and would seem to be more predictable and selective than an oxidant. As a surfactant, it may even be able to help with the layer of air trapped on the surfaces of the seeds.
There's more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes. You can use whatever you find suitable and if you have access to these chemicals then I would say have a go and do some 'normal' and some variations but just remember to keep notes so you can compare the results to see if any works better than others. There are lots of sterilizing chemicals but most are toxic at some point or other
seems I was too late in endeavoring to grow my own orchids from seed! nobody I have contacted in the USA seems to provide lab services anymore, and now I see your website and apparently business is closed!
Buon pomeriggio , sono una nonna di 72 anni , mi piacciono molto le orchidee da anni , il problema è solo che non conosco la sua lingua inglese credo !! Io non lo conosco le sarei grato se parlasse tutto questo in italiano.grazie mille .
It's because in the wild only 1 in 10's or 100's of thousands of seeds will germinate and only a tiny proportion of those will survive. In the lab we aim to get around 80 - 90% of the seed to germinate and then a great proportion to survive to flowering. Hence the long faff
Ahhhh thats awesome :D fair enough. i want to try growing some from seed myself because orchids are 1 of my favorite plants and ive only ever bought them already potted. do you recommend a start up kit for noobs ?
Jamie Tuckey Hi Jamie, There's no start up kit as there are so many variables and it depends on your budget. The main thing you need is sterile air so not to contaminate the growing medium or seeds, a clean working environment and some sterilizing liquid (I use IPA) to sterilize surfaces and tools
Hello Orchid Species, I have tried to make new orchid plants by seeds and sometimes goes well but sometimes the jars are infected. While I used to sterilize seeds (which I had for second year) with hyperchlorite calcium 2% for about 12 minutes, now I doing the same with fresh orchid seeds and they are infected. I will try to let them into the hyperchlorite calcium 2% for about 15minutes. I am telling this because, where I put the seeds, there it begins the infection, so the problem is the sterilization on the seeds. What is your opinion?
Anton Tripalis Try gather pods BEFORE they split and they are already sterile. If using dry seed you could try other sterilants like hydrogen peroxide but also you may want to look in to antibiotics to put in your medium to combat agrobacteria. Older seeds loose viability quickly once desiccated
Orchid Species Thank you for the immediate response. At this video, which is the solution that you use in order to sterilize the seeds? I think is difficult to gather pods before they split because orchids are on the mountain. :) Also, I have to tell you that the second year that I used the seeds I had good results, but there was not the same germination as the first year. There is nothing to do with the first year. Most of the seed didn't germinate and was growing very slowly. And about hydrogen peroxide, how % ?? Thank you in advance PS: Except from gloves, when you are at work at your laboratory do you wear eye goggles and mask with charcoal filter, for protection?
You should not need to sterilise seeds from a green pod, they are already sterile. If you get infections you may need to add antibiotics to the medium (different ones for different infections and I can not tell you) to help combat it. Here's a useful link that shows different types of sterilising, what to use, some basic instructions etc www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/molecular-biology/plant-biotechnology/tissue-culture-protocols/explant-sterilization.html Enjoy
Orchid Species Thank you Orchid Species for the answer and for the useful link. I think that the hyperchlorite calcium 2% was not being mixed (it was not in use for many months) and when I was dropping the solution, I was dropping maybe just water. :) So, the orchid seeds weren't sterilized (from just "water"). I will mix the solution, so the hyperchlorite calcium 2% (goes everywhere) and I believe that the seeds will be sterilized. But what about the protection. Except from gloves, when you are at work at your laboratory do you wear eye goggles and mask with charcoal filter, for protection? Thank you in advance
Did anyone hear what he put in the H2O2 to get the air out? Did he say detergent? It bubbles afterwards as well but I can't believe he put a drop of detergent in there. Anyone?
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15 KJV Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exodus 20:8-9 KJV Saturday is the day of the Lord The claim that Christ by his death abolished his Father’s law, is without foundation. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or set aside, then Christ need not have died to save man from the penalty of sin. The death of Christ, so far from abolishing the law, proves that it is immutable. The Son of God came to “magnify the law, and make it honorable.” [Isaiah 42:21.] He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law;” “till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.” [Matthew 5:17, 18.] And concerning himself he declares, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” [Psalm 40:8.] GC88 466.3 Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
I think, that, the hydrogen peroxide with water will "destroy" the seeds, therefore I like to put them in a "jar", with just a sprinkle of water and cover it with a lid!
Wow, that's new and cool! However Pardon me, but this seems like an incredibly unnatural waste of time and effort? We don't see Wild Monkey's in the Rainforest using Lab Materials and Sterilization Protocols to transplant Orchid Seeds from one host tree to the next or to whatever be the growing requirements for the Orchid Species, no, this is all of human invention? Why do you need to do this, doesn't that signify that Orchids are as hopeless and helpless as Pandas?
These procedures are needed if you want to buy more. Try setting up a greenhouse with lots of orchids amd see how many you actually get to breed (and how many out of 1000s of seed actually live to blooming) in the usa, uk, russia, etc. In the tropical forest native temps and humidity, they have all sorts of pollinators especially for that type of plant, wind, rain, etc that facilitates breeding, however we would never get the millions for folks who want plants in their greenhouses. A plant in nature might breed but only maybe a couple of plants will come of it. These sterie conditions encourage many more to make it. Orchids bred from seeds can take up to 7-8 years to get to mature size and then to blooming size. Gosh they can be in flasks for 1-2 years depending in type before you unflask 25-50 plants more or less depending on type and then into community pots and on and on. Today most you buy are meristem grown (I think there is another word similiar might not have right form - mericlone?). Can’t look it right now but when you buy new orchids, it will state whether a seedling or mericlone.
