Dendrobium Magnification

In my continuing quest for Orchid seed pods to practice culture techniques on, I am still pollinating anything that blooms in the Orchid Zone.  Today, that means Dendrobium Hamana Smile 'Autumn Splendor' is up.

Den. Hamana Smile 'Autumn Splendor'
© 2011 ColinFraser

This is a lovely pinkish/purplish Australian Dendrobium Hybrid (with kingianum and speciosum in its background).

It is a compact growing plant with the fragrant sprays of small flowers typical of this group.  Pollination of these is fairly straightforward, even for my first attempt with this genus, but the small blooms mean some difficulty in seeing what you're doing.

Bigger is Better!
© 2011 ColinFraser

I found that using a "helping hands" magnifying glass, which I picked up inexpensively at Harbor Freight Tools, was indeed helpful.  Since none of my other Dendrobiums are blooming, this one is a "selfing;" that is, I pollinated it with its own pollinia.  That means any offspring would still be considered Hamana Smile, but they would no longer be 'Autumn Splendor'.

Here is a helpful video from youtube that shows, in up close detail, how to pollinate this type of Orchid: