update -One of two flasks have become contaminated ,i am waiting for a couple of seed pods to ripen so i can sow into the 5 flasks i have left.

Keith, what pods do you have on the go at the moment?

Two Massies

I should have guessed

No more pics of the seedlings yet but today I decided to get rid of the remaining protocorms/smalll plantlets in the original mother flask that I had. The plants were obviously way overcrowded and starting to turn yellow so there were heading for the bin.

Instead I just decided to continue experimenting and, having washed them free of any agar, I have poured some onto damp sphagnum moss and others onto a bit of old bark just to see if any would grow. I expect them all to dry out and die but you never know. I will report back

some perforated clingfilm on top might get you a better "report"

With adequate humidity those little protocorms will grow! I have had to do some emergency deflasking with protocorms and they did take. They do grow much slower though...

I'm very impressed with what you have achieved at home, Terry. Your make shift hood is pretty inspirational. Surely, anyone, thanks to your detailed reporting, should be able to flask orchids at home.

tt

Kate I have covered the containers so that the protocorms will not dry out too quickly, I just took the pics before they were covered.

Tyrone thanks for the comments, the only problem with this system actually working is that I am tending to do more sowing and therefore getting more flasks to look after. Space is at a premium but I do enjoy just doing it and getting a sense of achievement from it.

You could always move flasks on to 'carers' (Not me!) to look after for you.
Or do you want to try and grow the lot

Just a few more pics of the flasks now 9 months from sowing. Also the next lot that I replated a few weeks ago.

You sure do eat a lot of curry in your house Terry

Third jar along in the 4 monthers looks like there is a plantlet stuck on the side of the glass near the top.
What are the little white spots near the base of the jars in the same photo?

The first lot are growing realy well, will you eventually set them up in thier own flasks, or will the stay as they are untill ready to go to the next stage?

Tanis you are quite right there is a plant stuck at the top, I have tried to 'bump' it down but no luck yet. The white spots you can see is light reflecting off air bubbles in the agar.



They will never go into individual flasks if that is what you meant. In a couple of months I will probably open one flask and pot them up either individually in very small pots or in larger community pots (comopts). If they do ok I will then do the same to others.

Oh good, I was worried there I did think it was light reflection but couldn't tell

I read that compots are better for keeping the humidity up but also good for space saving. individual pots are better in that damping off is less likely ... Choices, choices

I thought I was seeing things with the seedling, it looks as if it is trying to escape

I'm really enjoying this thread Terry!

Can I ask what medium are you using to germinate these seeds and where did you buy it from?

Thanks,
Paul.

Paul I am very pleased you are finding it usefull . After looking at various concoctions made at home and reading around the subject I eventually decided to use a bought in medium.

I use Phytamax P6668 Orchid Maintenance Medium and Agar Agar both bought from Sigma. The same type for both sowing and re-plating but a different amount of P6668.

Terry did you have the pay tax for it?

it gave me a big surprise last time.....

Terry, can anyone buy P6668 from Sigma or does the order need to go through a professional lab?

Paul.

Paul I am not sure who Sigma will sell to but I do remember that there were a lot of forms to fill in and they did want to know exactly who you were. In the end I bought it through my work that has a lab so there were happy.

I am quite prepared to sell small quantities of the stuff I have to other members at cost + P&P if you do find it difficult to get your own, just send me a PM.

Wolverine if you mean vat then yes it is charged at 17.5% by Sigma and of course they charge p&p.

Thanks Terry. Managed to buy some P6668 today from Sigma (via my local lab). Quite cheap at £3.50 per litre (+ VAT) and free postage, although P&P is increasing from Monday to £12.50 for all orders. Will add to the Agar that I already have. Any pointers to a good online protocol would be greatly appreciated... Would like to try with Pleione and Dactylorhiza and maybe wild collected seed from a bee orchid. More into hardy orchids than tropicals at the moment...

Cheers,
Paul.

HI Terry

It was import tax I think, what a cheek , I bought it from the USA btw. maybe thats why


I might have to ask you for medium in the future if you happened to have some spare ones.

Hello folks I am not sure if anyone is still reading this thread but just in case here is another update. I am trying to do two things in this post.

One is just a general update to show how my original seedlings are growing, you can see this on the first pic. They are looking fine to me, I think they could now survive out of the flask but my intention is to keep them in there for a couple more months until they either run out of space ot start looking distressed.

The second pic is showing how my very small seedlings have responded to re-plating compared to the mother flasks. The size difference is very apparent and just shows how the minute plants can take off when put into the new flasks.

Well I for one am still following this thread avidly, The first flask is most impressive and they look well grown with good roots forming but I do think you are right to leave them as long as possible before decanting them (but what do I know )

The plant size difference is surprising between the other 2 flasks, you would have thought that thining them out for re-planting would have given the original seedlings more space to grow, what you do get though is a staggered but growing selection of healthy seedlings to grow on if a flask fails.

I still think its an amazing process and thank you for letting us see your hard work come to fruition

Cat

Better results are had by leaving the seedlings in the flask until the medium is replaced by roots and you can actually see "cracks" in the medium. The better the root development the better the chance that the seedlings will survive. I haven't lost a single Renanthera Tom Thumb seedling (which was mostly roots with a few leaves) while the lesser developed Phal seedlings (where mostly leaves with few thick roots) have faired less well.

Tyrone I certainly do not intend to take them out of the flask until I really need to. Like you I believe they stand a better chance the bigger the plant and the attached root system.

Well-done Terry...... although I'm not sure I'll have room for all the spare ones you may have ......