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My reed orchid has a pod.
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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My reed orchid has a pod.
I saw this today- and it looked like a pitcher on a pitcher plant. If Carlos or other Orchid people are out there- what next?
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Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:02 pm |
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Epiphyte
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:41 pm Posts: 134 Location: Glendale, CA, USA
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
Nice! . But I'm pretty sure that the common reed-stem Epidendrums are an exception to this rule.
Keep inspecting the pod every day. It will slowly start to open on the end with the old flower. Once the pod starts opening you can harvest it. Usually I'll soak the seeds for a few days in some water with a bit of orchid fertilizer. Once or twice a day I'll give them a stir. Not sure if soaking makes a difference though.
While the seeds are soaking I'll prepare some small pots. For pots I use plastic water bottles. Three of them fit nicely in a gallon zip lock bag. I remove the labels from the water bottles, cut the tops off and cut a few smallish drainage holes. Small pots will also work of course.
As far as medium, most well drained mediums should work... smallish bark, pumice, maybe a bit of peat mixed in. As a rule, I try and hedge my bets by using different mixes for each batch of seeds. Sometimes I'll place a 1/2" thick layer of good quality sphagnum moss on top.
I place the medium in the pots and thoroughly water them. Then I'll place the pots in gallon zip lock bags. Once most of the soaking seeds start settling on the bottom I figure they are ready to be sown. I've used a regular straw to sow the seeds. I put the straw in the seed "soup"... stir... place my finger over the top of the straw... lift it out and over the pot and slowly remove my finger which allows the seeds and water to fall on the medium. I've also used an eye dropper and a horse syringe. I try not to sow too many seeds in one pot.
Once the seeds are sown, I partially seal the bags and place them under a grow light and also by a bright window.
The challenge is keeping the seeds humid and moist enough... but not too wet. If the medium stays too wet then slime will form and will eventually kill the seeds. I'll open the bag more if I suspect the medium is too wet. The seeds/seedlings can handle brief periods of dryness but they prefer to stay fairly evenly humid and moist. If the seeds/seedlings need water I'll use a very fine spray bottle.
What's great about the reed-stem Epi seeds is that you can see them as soon as they've soaked for a day or two. After you sow the seeds you can watch them slowly get larger and larger until they start forming leaves and then roots. So you quickly see action... but it is pretty slow action. I'm sure that a bit of bottom heat and weak weekly fertilizer would speed things up. I keep the pots in my unheated garage though during winter because I want the seedlings with the widest growing temp range to have an advantage.
Most of the time I'll include a couple companion epiphyte or succulent seeds (ie Rhipsalis, Gesneriads, Anthurium, Echeveria) in the pots with the orchid seeds. I don't put too many companion seeds but, if something goes wrong with the orchid seeds then at least I'll get something for my time/effort. One time I sowed some Golden Barrel Cactus seeds together with the reed stem Epis.
Coincidentally, my plant friend Michelle just came over today and got some "pots" and epiphyte seeds for her class of 4th graders to sow. I gave her 90 prepared "pots" (3 per student) and some seeds from Anthurium scandens, Rhipsalis, Columnea Elmer Lorenz, Hylocereus costaricensis and various orchid seeds including some reed-stem Epi seeds. Shucks, I sure wish that I could have been in her class when I was a kid! It's pretty amazing that nearly all her students are super enthusiastic about plants because of her.
_________________ Carlos -
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Mon Oct 31, 2016 2:22 am |
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
Will do..the catch is that we are having a record WET October and November they say might be the same. Would it be safe to put the pod in a plastic bag while on the plant?. Thanks Carlos. This has been a good year for my starter Orchids...the big Cat bloomed and the Lae-Cat I bought in May has a spike on it. Its loving the warm rains- mid 70's- and long soakings from it. The Pseudostems had started to shrivel in July. It took all these months of watering every day to get them to plump up. Outdoors,Orchids on bark or trees? Can never be overwatered here.
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Mon Oct 31, 2016 4:01 am |
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Epiphyte
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:41 pm Posts: 134 Location: Glendale, CA, USA
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
I really don't know if it would be safe to put a plastic bag around the pod. I probably wouldn't risk it. Generally the pods open relatively slowly. Many orchids seem to prefer to hedge their bets by releasing their seeds over several weeks. It increases the chances that some of the seeds will be released when the climate is optimal.
You were watering your orchids every day? During summer I water most of my orchids twice a week at night. Newer orchids can be thirstier though. Once they have an extensive root system on a tree then they can go longer between waterings.
It helps to pay attention to . Once they are no longer green (or some other non-white color)... then it generally means that they are going into rest mode and need less frequent water. Unfortunately, most of my orchids start going into rest mode at the beginning of our "rainy season". In other words, they aren't really cool growers. They are cool/cold tolerant... but not cool growers. Unlike Aeoniums which are happiest during winter.
Prosthechea vitellina is theoretically a cooler grower and one of my hybrids with it had active root tips throughout last winter. I've acquired a few more vitellina crosses and will try and keep track of which ones maintain active root tips the longest this winter. For me it makes sense to have orchids which are able to take advantage of winter rains.
_________________ Carlos -
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Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:21 am |
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
Heres the Lae-Cat. I didnt expect a long stem flower spike. With rootage. Its liking the rains.
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Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:25 pm |
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Epiphyte
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:41 pm Posts: 134 Location: Glendale, CA, USA
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
I see a few green root tips. Keep on eye on them. When they disappear, either they were eaten by slugs/snails... or the orchid has gone into rest mode. You really don't want slugs/snails eating the active root tips. It really sets the orchid back because epiphytic orchids are all about the roots. ! So nice!
_________________ Carlos -
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Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:12 pm |
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Stan
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:52 pm Posts: 10687 Location: Hayward- S.F. Bay area Ca.
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
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Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:19 pm |
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Epiphyte
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:41 pm Posts: 134 Location: Glendale, CA, USA
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Re: My reed orchid has a pod.
Looks good! I've attached quite a few different plants to my Pygmy Date Palms... ferns, Peperomias, Kalanchoes and so on. I've found that they really appreciate the palm's fiber... it retains moisture but drains well.
I don't have Polypodium aureum growing on my Pygmy Date Palm... but I do have it growing on my Cyathea cooperis and Cedar Tree.
_________________ Carlos -
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Sat Nov 05, 2016 7:21 pm |
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