Failure is Always an Option

Well the point of this blog is, at least partly, to keep track of my Orchid culture progress, so I would be remiss not to include the occasional failure.  Here are a few things that have not gone according to plan lately.

These first few photos are of flowers that were pollinated, but then withered away without developing a seed pod.  I am willing to give up enjoyment of the flower in return for a seed pod, but when you lose both it really stinks!

Cattleya flowers that were pollinated, but never went anywhere
©2011 MadOrchidist.com

Another Orchid Dud!
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Laelia anceps that never developed pods - bummer, I had high hopes for these . . .
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These next few pictures are of the Dendrobium nodes that I flasked up in this post.  All three of them developed contamination.

contaminated Dendrobium node flask
©2011 MadOrchidist.com

The same flask as above, a few days earlier - that stuff grows fast!
©2011 MadOrchidist.com

The other two flasks developed fuzzy fungus
©2011 MadOrchidist.com

I had acknowledged previously that stems are tough to get completely sterile for this type of culture; now I know first-hand.  I could try to clean and replate them, but they were really just for practice and I'll probably let them go.

So, with some failures under my belt, I feel like I am making progress.  Next, on to some seed sowing . . .