|
Yes, but this is no hobby for the faint of heart, or those short on time or money. We found a primer on Creating New Orchids at Orchids Magazine, a monthly publication of the American Orchid Society. First, you'll need a couple of healthy flowering orchids, careful hands, and a toothpick to create a new seed capsule. Once the seed is extracted and set, the riskier work of raising the seedlings begins -- either in a protected flask at home, or in a laboratory run by professional cultivators. The process gets even more difficult. Ask yourself, "Are
you sure you want to do this?" Orchid seeds require the presence of a special fungus in order to germinate. Expect three to five years from successful germination until you see a blooming plant. From pollination to maturity takes roughly eight months. When the capsule is ready to harvest, it's time for flasking and sowing. Don't even attempt this process at home, unless you can replicate a sterile, lab-like environment. Germination and reflasking generally take 16 months. Figure on another year, until the surviving progeny of your experiment are ready to repot into 4- or 5-inch pots. Most professional labs charge fees both for sowing, and then, after germination, for the final seedlings, or reflasks. If the prospect of all that work hasn't cramped your green
thumb, don't miss Linda Fortner's (aka the Orchid Lady) articles: Bottle Babies, and, as an alternative, Orchid Stem Propagation.
|
