My First Cross

Pollinating Orchids is not all that difficult, but it is something that most hobbyists shy away from.  Aside from the difficulties/complexities of actually growing orchids from seed, there is one major reason why: the flowers immediately begin to fade and wilt!  If the hobby is about growing beautiful ephemeral flowers, why would you want to shorten their duration as objects of beauty?  Well, for the same reason I like an ugly little brown fish as much as popular colorful aquarium species and a stinky "carrion flower" as much as a sweet rose - it's interesting!

With that attitude, I looked around my "Orchid Zone" and discovered a few things blooming.  I decided that flowers would fade in a matter of weeks either way, but a seed pod would take months (or even a year) to develop, giving me something interesting to watch.  I had been studying up on pollination methods and had stocked up on the seemingly ubiquitous wooden toothpicks, so I was ready.

LC Interceps (slug munched)
© 2011 MadOrchidist.com

One flower, LaelioCattleya Interceps, had been munched by slugs as it was opening and was not going to last, but the column and anther cap were still intact.  I grabbed a toothpick and removed the cap and then the pollinia underneath.  I separately removed the cap and pollinia from a recently acquired LaelioCattleya Schilleriana, and placed the Interceps pollen on its stigmatic surface.  The deed was done!

LC Schilleriana
© 2011 MadOrchidist.com

I folded up the Schilleriana pollen in a piece of clean printer paper and put it in the refrigerator for future use (as I had read online), and hoped for the best.

I couldn't believe my luck when my very first pollination, of a single flower, began to develop a seed pod.  The ovary began to swell, and the beautiful purple and magenta flower began to fade.  I could care less about the flower at that point - I was breaking new ground!!

Initial Seed Pod Development
© 2011 MadOrchidist.com

Since these first couple of posts are retroactively dated, I can also include a picture of the developing pod several months along:

Maturing Schilleriana Sed Pod (to the left)
© 2011 MadOrchidist.com

It isn't a purple flower, but to me, it's beautiful!  Even if you don't plan on flasking orchid seeds or making new hybrids, I highly recommend pollinating a flower occasionally, just so you can see your plant do something new!

Branching Out

As a Biologist, I have enjoyed keeping and cultivating a wide variety of representatives of life on earth.  Both my employment (when Biology related) and my academic studies have centered on Zoology (reptiles, amphibians, and fish in particular), but i have long had a plant hobby.

Years ago, while working toward my B.S. in Zoology, I took a plant biology class that was taught by a Mycologist (a fungi guy), and the connection to Orchids was inescapable.  That class, and my many conversations with the professor, rekindled the dormant obsession with Orchids that started as a kid in my Grandfather's greenhouse.

I soon joined a local orchid society and was collecting plants and information as fast as I could.  For years, I was happy with accumulating Orchids, Keeping them alive, and hopefully re-blooming them.

As I got more into the hobby, I learned more about orchid culture and propagation.  Things like "Clones" and "Flasks", which seemed like science-fiction before, started to make more sense, and I began wondering what else I could do with my plants.  When I kept reptiles, my aim had usually been to breed them, and I started to wonder why the same wasn't true of my orchids.  Buying orchids at a nursery or online is great, and growing and blooming them can be very satisfying, but I started to think of it as growing "someone else's plants."  Why could't I make my own?

So, I am beginning a foray into Orchid Propagation that will at least yield interest and experience, if not some great new plants.  I am building a small home laboratory set-up, pollinating Orchids from my collection, and crossing my fingers!

In the beginning . . .

Well, here we go.  This blog is a place for me to collect my Orchid thoughts, share my Orchid ideas, and track my Orchid progress.  I grow Cattleyas, Laelias, some Vandacious things, assorted hybrids, minor genera, and other random stuff outdoors (mostly) in coastal California.  I am currently the president of the small Coastal Valley Orchid Society (CVOS), and also occasionally attend meetings at the Orchid Society of Santa Barbara (OSSB).

My grandfather grew Orchids, so I think it's in my blood.  As a kid, I used to just stand in his greenhouse and breathe deep the humid 'green' smell that is orchid culture.  I still find myself occasionally mesmerized while standing amongst my plants, and many an hour has passed while I "zoned out" in what I now call my "Orchid Zone."

This post is just the start of what I hope will become an online archive of my Orchid activities.  I have grown dissatisfied with simply growing other people's plants, so I am beginning a foray into more advanced Orchid culture and propagation . . . wish me luck!