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#1
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Growing Dactylorhiza from seed pods ??
Any body have any experiences of successfully growing Dactylorhiza
(Common spotted Orchid) from fresh seed pods. Without using petri dishes and agar. I am told you need some of the local soil ??? but how much ?? Any advice please. |
#2
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Growing Dactylorhiza from seed pods ??
"boyoboyo" wrote ... Any body have any experiences of successfully growing Dactylorhiza (Common spotted Orchid) from fresh seed pods. Without using petri dishes and agar. I am told you need some of the local soil ??? but how much ?? Any advice please. Yes, I've done it but more by luck than judgement though. There was an old pot of turks cap lilies that was next to the Dactylorhiza fuchsii and D. maculata at the edge of my pond. I always sprinkle the tiny dust like seed about each year and one spring noticed some small orchid plants coming up in the lily pot. That autumn I repotted the lilies, the first time in years, and took out all the baby orchids I could find and potted them up in the old lily pot soil, they are thriving and are flowering better each year. I wonder if the lilies use the same fungi as the orchids. Anyway, they look like hybrids to me, all with spotted leaves, but some much taller than the original species. Others have since turned up in my Bonsai pots, which is a pain, and my large pot of Hostas but none in the normal garden soil. So if you have some pots of plants that you haven't repotted for some years sprinkle the seed on that and wait & see. -- Regards Bob Hobden 17mls W. of London.UK |
#3
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Growing Dactylorhiza from seed pods ??
In message , Bob Hobden
writes "boyoboyo" wrote ... Any body have any experiences of successfully growing Dactylorhiza (Common spotted Orchid) from fresh seed pods. Without using petri dishes and agar. Sterile media like agar are what you need to avoid, as the orchid spores germinate in symbiosis with soil fungi. They're produced in huge numbers but they're so small they can't germinate without help. I am told you need some of the local soil ??? but how much ?? If you can get some soil from a place where the orchids grow already, try a seed tray full or a scattering on the surface. It's only needed for germination, but if you want to naturalise them you'll need the same fungi in your garden, so if they do germinate, add some soil from the seed tray to each pot when you pot on. D maculata is so widespread that its needs may not be very exotic, your normal garden soil might have the fungi it needs. Less usual orchids are more likely to need unusual fungi. Yes, I've done it but more by luck than judgement though. There was an old pot of turks cap lilies that was next to the Dactylorhiza fuchsii and D. maculata at the edge of my pond. I always sprinkle the tiny dust like seed about each year and one spring noticed some small orchid plants coming up in the lily pot. That autumn I repotted the lilies, the first time in years, and took out all the baby orchids I could find and potted them up in the old lily pot soil, they are thriving and are flowering better each year. I wonder if the lilies use the same fungi as the orchids. Do lilies do this? It's years since I grew any from seed but aren't the seeds large enough to handle individually? Anyway, they look like hybrids to me, all with spotted leaves, but some much taller than the original species. Others have since turned up in my Bonsai pots, which is a pain, Could you surgically remove them during the winter while they're dormant? and my large pot of Hostas but none in the normal garden soil. My experience leads me to suspect the soil or compost needs to be continuously damp while the seeds germinate and grow large enough to form an underground storage organ, or they just die. My mother moved a few D maculata from a garden where they grew wild to one where they didn't, and their seedlings occasionally turned up in flower beds but more often in pots. The pots were filled with garden compost and kept watered, while the flower beds got a lower standard of care. So if you have some pots of plants that you haven't repotted for some years sprinkle the seed on that and wait & see. That's not a bad suggestion, as you're looking after the pots anyway and you'd be likely to see the orchid seedlings there (look for a single glossy leaf the length and width of a matchstick). -- Sue ] |
#4
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Growing Dactylorhiza from seed pods ??
Sue wrote after .. Bob Hobden replied to "boyoboyo" ((SNIP))... I wonder if the lilies use the same fungi as the orchids. Do lilies do this? It's years since I grew any from seed but aren't the seeds large enough to handle individually? Probably, even trees do it. Anyway, they look like hybrids to me, all with spotted leaves, but some much taller than the original species. Others have since turned up in my Bonsai pots, which is a pain, Could you surgically remove them during the winter while they're dormant? Only by doing a complete repot if I wanted to save the orchids. -- Regards Bob Hobden 17mls W. of London.UK |
#5
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Growing Dactylorhiza from seed pods ??
Bob Hobden wrote: Sue wrote after .. Bob Hobden replied to "boyoboyo" ((SNIP))... I wonder if the lilies use the same fungi as the orchids. Do lilies do this? It's years since I grew any from seed but aren't the seeds large enough to handle individually? Probably, even trees do it. Why does this make me hum a dire ole ditty from some musical .... I can only half remember it (thank God) ... .... let's do it let's fall in loovvvvvvvvvve. bugger; I will not be able to get that out of my head for hours. Des Anyway, they look like hybrids to me, all with spotted leaves, but some much taller than the original species. Others have since turned up in my Bonsai pots, which is a pain, Could you surgically remove them during the winter while they're dormant? Only by doing a complete repot if I wanted to save the orchids. -- Regards Bob Hobden 17mls W. of London.UK |
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