Cattleya aurantiaca breeding

[DKkenn]

Hi,

I have a cattleya aurantiaca in full flower.
I want to experiment with making my own seeds, so i was wondering if you guys have any knowledge on the matter.
Can i self it and if so, how long does a flowerpod take?

Thanks!

 

[Tony]

It should self assuming that it is not a triplod clone. Figuring out time to harvest comes with a bit of trial and error. Are you planning to flask them yourself or send them off to a lab? If you're using a lab establish your relationship with them now so you're not having to scramble when your pods are ripening. The AOS has a good guide to green pod harvest times, your plants may be a bit faster or slower based on your growing conditions but you'll at least have an idea of when to start watching closely. If you see the blossom end start to yellow harvest the pod right away and send it off, they can go from a bit yellow to popped open very quickly.

https://www.aos.org/orchids/orchid-...ed-capsules-for-the-green-pod-culture-process

 

[DKkenn]

Hi tony,

Thanks for the input! Its just a normal plant.
I will give it a try. I have a lab that can do the germination..

 

[big923cattleya]

Making your own seeds. I think what you mean is sowing your own seeds. The orchid will take care of making the seeds. You can do ‘green pod culture’ or wait until the pod starts to burst open. Either method can be used successfully.
Then once you have established the fact in your own mind that you can get seedlings to germinate and grow, then what?
You’ll need motherflasks, smaller flasks etc. read and plan ahead.

 

[DKkenn]

Making your own seeds. I think what you mean is sowing your own seeds. The orchid will take care of making the seeds. You can do ‘green pod culture’ or wait until the pod starts to burst open. Either method can be used successfully.
Then once you have established the fact in your own mind that you can get seedlings to germinate and grow, then what?
You’ll need motherflasks, smaller flasks etc. read and plan ahead.

As I said I have a guy with a lab that will do the germination.
I will pollinate the plant and leave the plant to make the seeds, then

 

[David B]

So making seed just for fun. Hmm, good idea or not? Think about the strength from the plant that is used to make a pod. It can be substantial. Effects all the way from killing the plant to delaying future bloom for a full season. I lost an awarded jenmanii to a pod and am slowly nursing a backbulb division. Pods ripening to full term easily take 9 months. Once you create a pod, flask the seeds, deflask and compot, 2 years to plants in a single pot. 2/3 years to blooming. And now you have a standard plant available for sale. I only buy champion plants with awarded parents. Same applies to dogs, horses and livestock. Cheers.

 

[DKkenn]

So making seed just for fun. Hmm, good idea or not?. And now you have a standard plant available for sale.

Thanks for the input. I am not elitist and i think standard plants will be fine. You got to start somewhere

 

[David B]

Thanks for the reply, part of my process, is that it takes the same exact amount of effort and cost to create flasks and seedlings from a standard plant as it does a from plants with awarded parents. As a person who attends many many orchid shows and functions, I am continually disappointed at the quality of plants available to growers on these sales tables. Part of what I enjoy doing is securing plants that will contribute to my society display and give the public something to remember. In orchid breeding, I am being quite successful and have had many species cattleya awarded. Pollen is available from these awarded plants to anyone who asks. I will mail pollen with no conditions. This past weekend I had 7 plants in my society display, including trianae,mendelii, and intermedia, I also received the Cattleya hybrid trophy, as the small red cattleya Circle of Nine received an AM/AOS award. If I did not put forth the effort to secure quality plants then my contributions to my orchid society would be considerably less. Cheers.

 

[DKkenn]

Hi David,
Thanks for your response. I totally understand what you mean.
I am just not in any position to have, find or pay for any awarded plants.
Also, I am not sure any kind of award quality flower is worth much more around my area. from what I can see, it is not something people have much interest in..