# Flasking



## Renegayde (Jun 25, 2007)

does anyone here flask their own orchid seed? anyone flask seed for others? know of anyplace that flasks dry seed? I bought some orchid seed on ebay thinking I might do my own flasks LOL now I am scared to try just wondering if there were any flasking services out there anyone knew of or if anyone did flasking


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## Candace (Jun 25, 2007)

Where do you live?


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## Renegayde (Jun 25, 2007)

Belleville Illinois outside Saint Louis Mo


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## Roy (Jun 26, 2007)

A note to remember !! NEVER tell the person doing the flasking the name of the cross. They need to know what it is, ie Cymbidiun, Catleya etc but nothing else.


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## NYEric (Jun 26, 2007)

Sad but true, you may end up having "no they didn't take" become someone's plants getting an award a few years later!


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## Candace (Jun 26, 2007)

If you google the Orchid Mall and go to the services/supplies area there's a listing of flasking services. Most have websites with prices you can peruse through. I do know of one person who runs a mold testing lab in Nevada who's an orchid nut that is flasking orchids. He's doing it for a small fee and to be able to keep a flask of the final product. If your interested in maybe spending less and sharing the seed with him, send me a PM and I can give you his info. 

He's a microbiolist that spoke for our orchid society on orchid flasking....knows his stuff!

But, all the flasking operations listed on the Orchid Mall, I think are pretty standard. I've not heard any negatives about any of them so I think all would be pretty safe to go with.


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## charlie c (Jun 26, 2007)

NYEric said:


> Sad but true, you may end up having "no they didn't take" become someone's plants getting an award a few years later!



Even worse yet, in this age of no ID pot plants, is your capsule becoming someone's commercial crop to be wholesaled off to a box store or supermarket.

I have found Troy Meyers (http://www.troymeyers.com/) to be dependable and honest.

And someone to stay as far away from as you can is Orchid Elegance Lab Services.

There are also several on-line sites with techniques for doing flasking at home on a small scale that do not require large amounts of equiptment or resources. 

charlie c


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## Candace (Jun 26, 2007)

> And someone to stay as far away from as you can is Orchid Elegance Lab Services



What happened?


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## littlefrog (Jun 26, 2007)

Of course as the flasker, you run a substantial risk of making many replates of a 'cattleya' and the customer backing out at the last minute, leaving you with absolutely nothing but wasted time and space... Oh, do I sound bitter?:arrr: But really, any lab that resells your crosses without permission (ie. steals...) won't stay around long.

Anyway... Trust is an essential part of the relationship between breeder and flasker. Don't send valuable pods to any old schmuck with a website. Send some less critical seed, see how it goes. Check reputations, references, whatever it takes to get an idea of trustworthiness. Equally, as a flasker I have to trust you. Are you actually going to pay for the flasks you order, or get cold feet at the last minute? Are your crosses worthwhile, or am I just adding to the crap-fest on e-bay? Personally I won't bother with stupid breeding (risky breeding, sure - stupid, no).

Expect to pay some modest fee up-front just for the initial flasking of seed. Your seed may or may not be viable, and it may or may not be contaminated beyond repair. I don't think it is reasonable to expect a busy flasker to figure that out for free. I think you should expect to pay a substantial portion of the final price for replating up front if you are sending anonymous seed. I would insist on a deposit, or I won't replate it (when and if I get my lab back together, that is). 

Do assign your crosses a unique identifier of some sort. The initials of your business, yourself, your dog, whatever, plus a string of digits is a good start. So I make my crosses LFF1201, for example. Keep a record of what cross goes with what number, when you made the cross, how long it took to mature the capsule, and whatever you can think of. This number will follow your flasks around, so don't lose it (I'm not writing out your cross on every flask!).

Oh, and don't just assume that your favorite lab will have time to flask your seed. You need to communicate before sending seed! Maybe they are swamped and just won't have time to do it. Maybe you are making a cross outside of their area of comfort (I might not want to flask a cyp cross just yet, for example). If you want start breeding seriously, make sure you have two or three labs that you can trust (or better yet, your own equipment).

Just some thoughts...


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## charlie c (Jun 26, 2007)

Candace said:


> What happened?



Candace,

It's like a black hole. Capsules and front money go in and no plantlets come out. Communications stop abruptly when you push.


Of course as the flasker, you run a substantial risk of making many replates of a 'cattleya' and the customer backing out at the last minute, leaving you with absolutely nothing but wasted time and space... Oh, do I sound bitter? But really, any lab that resells your crosses without permission (ie. steals...) won't stay around long.

Rob,

Of course that's true if it is a flasking service only. But if it is also a functioning sales greenhouse, then offering flasking services can be like a spiders web. Not all, mind you, but some few. It costs next to nothing to set up and any one trapped is "found money". As you said, caveat emptor is sound advice.

charlie c


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## Candace (Jul 2, 2007)

I moved this thread to the Breeding and Production area.


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## gore42 (Jul 2, 2007)

I flask my own seed, but not from dry seed... I stick with green pod for Paphs. I'm still too much of a novice to flask seed for others (at least, at a professional level), but maybe someday....

- Matt


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## Ellen (Jul 6, 2007)

I'm glad to read your comments about Orchid Elegance. At one point I was actually thinking about sending some hybrid seed there - I'm glad I didn't. Has anyone out there used Kelsey Creek lab?


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