That's interesting, Lee.

I was told that mashing the pollinia on a piece of waxed paper also helped.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies. Books, Artwork, and lots of Free Info!


"Savor" wrote in message
...
Larry,
I'm still a 'student' of hybridizing but a few things come to mind.
This may be elementary info for ya'll.
If you repeat that cross, try soaking the pollinia in *enzymatic*
contact lens cleaner for about 5 minutes. No need to rinse. The
solution removes the protein covering making the pollen more
available.
Use a bloom for the parent side that has opened between 24 and 48
hours.
Leave the pollen intact on the receiving bloom. The bloom stays
receptive longer.
I cannot share a formula for Epi media but of course that could be the
problem.
Use 'people' temps 65-75F to maintain the flasks. (Although some use
higher fluctuations).
In the primary/mother flask I put them in low light on an eight hour
timer.

Thanks for asking the question. I hope many with experience do
contribute.
I'll be reading... and learning,
Lee (in HHI, SC)


On May 14, 5:22 pm, Larry Dighera wrote:
What causes low germination rates of flasked orchid seed?

Is a low seed germination rate most often due to too little pollen in
contact with the stigmatic surface at pollination time?

I would suspect that different media formulae would produce different
results for a given cross. Has anyone had any experience with this
phenomenon? Any specific media recommendations for reed-stem
Epidendrums?

How big a factor are temperature, day-length and light levels?

Are intergeneric crosses more likely to have low germination rates?

It is a ~10% germination rate of Epidendrum atacazoicum (bifalce)
selfed that prompts my question.

It's a simple question, but I suspect the answer will be complex.