Christopher J Barown wrote:
If I am interested in crossing orchids, would I be
better off starting at the end and working backwards
to get the experience? for example: buy compots and
raise those, then buy flasks, then buy seeds (can
you even buy seeds?), then ultimatelly try to cross
my own orchids and produce my own seeds?
Chris,
This is indeed the best way to go about the whole thing. Of course
if you can do it you have more willpower than I.
I would start a few steps back from that, even. Visit (or at least
talk to) some good growers of the plants you like. Find a mentor who
you can trust to answer your questions. See how they grow. See some of
their plants in bloom. Ask questions about what might make one plant
more desirable than another plant. The main goal of this process is to
figure out a) what is current in breeding, and more importantly b) what
you like. It doesn't matter one bit how fashionable it is if you don't
like the breeding enough to want to grow any...
Go to shows in your area (if you tell us where you are, we will tell
you where to go - to shows, that is). Look at as many plants as you
can. Buy some of the ones you like the best. Grow them for a while.
Buy a few unbloomed seedlings and bloom them out. Then buy a few
compots, bloom them out. It is more difficult to establish flasks, you
should make sure you can do that successfully on some inexpensive
crosses before buying the expensive stuff. If you are still up to it,
you can try your hand at flasking. Make your own cross and flask it
out. It doesn't have to be good, but if you don't think it is good
don't try to pawn off the seedlings on people, just think of it as a
learning experience.
To be a good hybridizer you need to know a whole lot about the group
of plants you are hybridizing. The only way to do that is to spend time
with them, and keep your eyes and ears open. We are talking decades,
not weeks, to become a true 'expert' (whatever that is - I still think
of myself as a newbie and I've been growing paphs for 15 years), but
even the longest journey starts with a single step.
Good luck
Rob
--
Rob's Rules:
http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
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