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Re: Germination requirements of Bletilla striata

Wow!  Thank you Michael....I'm going to try this again.  First of all I
didn't chop the moss and secondly I didn't sterilize it!  Plus I think I
had that pod sitting around for at least a couple of weeks.  No wonder I
got no results.  You've got my hopes up again.  I'd just given up because I
know I'll never get around to the petri dish method.

When you chop the moss, how fine do you chop it?  That which I can find
readily is very coarse; comes in mats.  Does it need to be as find as the
peat bought in bales for use in the garden?

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Michael Wilton <mw@home.net.nz>
> Date: Sunday, February 22, 1998 11:46 AM
> 
> Mycorhizal fungi are of benefit to germinating orchid seeds but they 
> are not absolutely nessesary.
> 
> I used the following method to grow several hundred B striata 
> seedlings to flowering:
> Chopped sphagnum moss was sterilized by pouring boiling water over it and

> then bringing it back to the boil, then allowed to cool, and drain, then 
> packed  softly into a pot. Fresh Bletilla seed was then sprinkled on 
> the surface of the moss. The pot was then placed on a saucer in a 
> window which received direct sunlight for most of the day. Watering 
> was by capillary action from the saucer which was always kept topped 
> up. The temperature would have been normal room temp. around 20-25C
> The seed turned green after about a week and after about 12 weeks had 
> small single leaves but no roots. At this stage the seedlings were 
> transplanted to a fresh pots of moss prepared as above and were allowed 
> to grow to the end of the season. The following spring the resulting 
> small tubers were planted in trays of potting mix and placed outside 
> for the entire growing period. From there they were planted out and 
> began flowering 3-4 years from sowwing, which is remarkably quick 
> compared to most other orchids.
> Growing Bletilla using laboratory methods would probably cut a year 
> off the time to flowering.
> 
> Just a point- Seed should be from a freshly split pod or one about to 
> split and should be sown immediately to get really good germination. I 
> found that seed which had been stored only for a few weeks in the 
> refrigerator gave dramatically reduced germination.
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