On 30/08/2014 20:51, Bertie Doe wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message ...

I think if you love orchids, then you put up with their sometimes
untidy nature, lopsidedness and aerial roots being the main gripe.

Yes I love them, even though I only have 2' I know phals are unfairly
called the 'supermarket orchid. Space is a bit limited and come late
Autumn the porch is home for my carnivores.

I read some forum posts about propagation from seed using flasks etc.
Problem is, what happens if you end up with 200 Phalenopsis :-)

There may be case for propping the more exotic types. You could aim for
200 and end up with 2 or 3. A much more manageable number :-

http://www.orchidforum.eu/

I'll leave propagation to the geeks :-)





Propagation by seed does seem to be an uphill challenge. I can just
about manage division and keikis, but I doubt I have space to grow on
200 Phals or any other orchid type, for that matter. I did once get
seed from one of my Paphodedilums, but didn't know at that stage that I
needed agar, amongst other things, so it came to nothing.

Interesting forum. I may take a look at that another time. Thanks.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

"Spider" wrote

Bertie Doe wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message ...

I think if you love orchids, then you put up with their sometimes
untidy nature, lopsidedness and aerial roots being the main gripe.

Yes I love them, even though I only have 2' I know phals are unfairly
called the 'supermarket orchid. Space is a bit limited and come late
Autumn the porch is home for my carnivores.

I read some forum posts about propagation from seed using flasks etc.
Problem is, what happens if you end up with 200 Phalenopsis :-)

There may be case for propping the more exotic types. You could aim for
200 and end up with 2 or 3. A much more manageable number :-

http://www.orchidforum.eu/

I'll leave propagation to the geeks :-)





Propagation by seed does seem to be an uphill challenge. I can just about
manage division and keikis, but I doubt I have space to grow on 200 Phals
or any other orchid type, for that matter. I did once get seed from one of
my Paphodedilums, but didn't know at that stage that I needed agar, amongst
other things, so it came to nothing.

Interesting forum. I may take a look at that another time. Thanks.

You could have just tried sprinkling the seed on the damp compost of an
existing orchid where they could make contact with the correct fungus, you
just might have got a few plants.
Out in our garden pond as a marginal I have Dactylorhiza fuchsii and every
time I repot my Pleiones I find two or three baby D. fuchsii amongst them
which I then pot up in the old Pleione compost. They only die if I try to
plant them in our normal garden soil, unfortunately even after a few years
of growing on.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 30/08/2014 22:48, Bob Hobden wrote:
"Spider" wrote

Bertie Doe wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message ...

I think if you love orchids, then you put up with their sometimes
untidy nature, lopsidedness and aerial roots being the main gripe.

Yes I love them, even though I only have 2' I know phals are unfairly
called the 'supermarket orchid. Space is a bit limited and come late
Autumn the porch is home for my carnivores.

I read some forum posts about propagation from seed using flasks etc.
Problem is, what happens if you end up with 200 Phalenopsis :-)

There may be case for propping the more exotic types. You could aim for
200 and end up with 2 or 3. A much more manageable number :-

http://www.orchidforum.eu/

I'll leave propagation to the geeks :-)





Propagation by seed does seem to be an uphill challenge. I can just
about manage division and keikis, but I doubt I have space to grow on
200 Phals or any other orchid type, for that matter. I did once get
seed from one of my Paphodedilums, but didn't know at that stage that
I needed agar, amongst other things, so it came to nothing.

Interesting forum. I may take a look at that another time. Thanks.

You could have just tried sprinkling the seed on the damp compost of an
existing orchid where they could make contact with the correct fungus,
you just might have got a few plants.


I know, but I didn't know it *then*! Next time, that's exactly what
I'll try.


Out in our garden pond as a marginal I have Dactylorhiza fuchsii and
every time I repot my Pleiones I find two or three baby D. fuchsii
amongst them which I then pot up in the old Pleione compost. They only
die if I try to plant them in our normal garden soil, unfortunately even
after a few years of growing on.


Oh, lucky you! I managed to lose my only D. fuchsii:~(. I've not done
very well with my Pleiones, either. I'd like to grow them outdoors, but
we have slugs and snails as big as Tyranosaurus rex, so it's simply not
on. They even climb into my mini greenhouse and suck the life out of
everything, so I'm constantly checking for the blighters.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay