There are those who say some of the runty Phals and Cattleya, the ones which
are slower to grow to develop, are the 4n plants among the group. 3n plants
are suppose to grow faster than normal plants. Don't know if this is just
more orchid lore or if there is some truth to it.

If you were growing orchids from seed you might have to toss some out
because of the shear number of plants you can find in a flask. I used to be
startled by the billions of orchid seed dust that never got planted or the
thousands of protocorms I let wash down the drain but now I don't even think
about it. I do, however, worry still about the hundreds of 2 and 3 inch
seedlings that never make into compots because there just isn't room. I
have some of the most exotic compost in Leesburg. I wonder if any of these
is actually the one I want, but I can't keep them all and way over 75% of
everything I grow sells before I see it bloom anyway.

Currently I have a greenhouse full of flowering plants in 4 and 5 inch pots.
I may end up throwing some of these out to make room for some of the plants
which must come out of compot and 2.5" pots this spring or get tossed for
lack of room. At least with the 4 and 5 inch pots, I have some idea of
which ones I don't need to keep or try to sell because I have seen them
bloom and they are not worth keeping or selling. Shortly after Mother's Day
I will be making some more of my special compost.

The scary thing I notice is that there are plants which haven't been tossed
yet because I am busy with other things and then a customer comes in and
bypasses the nicely shaped heavily pigmented one with the long spike and
high flower count and buys that runty pale one with the reflexed back
flowers and the torn leaf and tells me it is the prettiest one in the
greenhouse and wonders why I am letting it go so cheep. I'm not kidding.
It happens all the time. I used to try to adjust their point of view as
gently as I could but... Oh well. "It's too FLAT!"

It is a very different perspective now than when I started collecting
compots years ago and every plant was a potential winning lottery ticket.
You can only stuff so many lottery tickets in your pocket before it starts
to cost more to carry them around than you will ever win. As if I can tell
a winning lottery ticket when I am holding it! The judges keep reminding me
that my pocket are stuffed with nothing but paper.

Have a good afternoon everyone. I gotta go pollinate something...

Al


"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
news
Just reading the Paph sanderianum thread someone mentioned that it is
recommended that the runts in a flask should be thrown away.

When I grow garden plants I do this because the seed is cheap and I don't
care to find the special new petunia that happens to be the tiny plant.

If I were growing orchids from seed and wanted that new breakthrough plant
that was smaller, or a different color, or bloomed on a naturally smaller
plant, etc. could it be found among these runts?

What do some of you folks who grow from seed think about this?


Good Growing,
Gene