Deflasking Seedlings

While waiting for some of my own orchid seeds to germinate and grow, I have been busy shopping.  Recently, I ordered flasks of several Schomburgkia (Laelia) hybrids from a grower on eBay:

Schomburgkia hybrid flasks from eBay
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

Flasks often get a little "scrambled" in shipping, so the seedlings usually need to come out fairly quickly.  One of these four was exceptionally jumbled, so it's where I'll start.

Orchid Seedlings and Agar in a Scrambled Flask
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

I had some nice New Zealand sphagnum moss on hand, so I decided to try it for potting these new seedlings.  I used some lava rocks in the bottom of the pots to bring the level up - no need to fill the whole pot with expensive moss!

Deflasking Materials
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

When the delicate little orchid seedlings first come out of the flask, conditions in the "real world" can be shocking to them; especially the lower humidity.  Many growers use plastic tubs or bags to maintain high humidity, and then "harden off" the seedlings by gradually introducing them to regular growing conditions.  I decided to use an old aquarium  I had in the garage to this effect.  It already had a nice compact fluorescent lamp in the hood too - bonus!

Seedling Humidity Chamber
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

OK, so it's time to get the little guys out of glass.  Rather than breaking the bottle, I simply ran some lukewarm water into it and swirled it around a bit.  Because this particular flask was already pretty jumbled up (and had a wide mouth), it was not difficult to flush all of the agar and plant material out into a large pyrex bowl.  The others I will probably have to break.

So here is what I got:

Flask Contents Rinsed into Bowl
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

I then began the arduous task of teasing the seedlings apart and rinsing as much agar media as possible off of them.  As expected, there were a handful of "heroes" (nice big growing seedlings) and also many smaller plants.  Here are the largest of the group separated out:

©2012 MadOrchidist.com

 After picking out everything that looked like it was worth trying to save, I was left with a bowl of media, broken roots and shoots, and some plants too tiny to bother with . . . the whole mess went right down the disposal in the kitchen sink.

Deflasking Leftovers
©2012 MadOrchidist.com 

The remaining plants went into Community Pots, or "compots."  I very carefully tried to get all of the roots covered in moss and then placed the pots into the humidity chamber.  There is a layer of lava rock on the bottom of the aquarium so that I can pour water in it to maintain high humidity.  I also tossed in a length of heat cable I had laying around; If I like how it works, I'll bury it in the lava.

Seedlings in Community Pots ("compots")
©2012 MadOrchidist.com

So there you have it.  Buying flasks is not only an economical (although patience requiring) way to get a lot of plants, it is the best way to get in on the "ground floor" with new hybrids.

One flask done, three more to go . . . .maybe tomorrow . . .