Re: Staghorns

At 09:28 AM 10/28/2003 +0200, you wrote:

I do not have the right growing conditions to grow from spore.

Spore are always an option but in this case not for me. What I have heard
from people who tried it in South Africa the success rate is not very high.

I talked to another guy from South Africa who is actually an big exporter of
orchids and he has the right conditions and he said he had given up trying.
What's your problem????? Growing from spores is easy. You can start with a plastic glass in a North facing window. There are only two thing required: adequate light and 100% humidity. This is easily achieved by putting a cling wrap over the glass and securing it with a rubber band. It makes more sense to plant duplicates rather than worry too much about contaminates. You do want the medium to be moist. The easiest way to ensure that is to water with boiling water from a tea pot (let it cool). The medium can be most anything. I have used Jiffy pots (with the netting removed), turface ( clay that has been fired), or a potting soil (preferably sterile). Mother nature does a good job without a lot of fuss. In not more than 3 months, you should see growth, whether it be sporophytes or gametophytes. This way is almost foolproof. Incidentally you don't have to water. It doesn't seem to matter how wet the medium is as long as it is not liquid.


Nancy Swell
505 Baldwin Road
Richmond, VA 23229

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