forcing a bloom with gas?

[armagedon48]

i have heard that greenhouses will use a gas to intoxicate bromeliads into blooming before they reach their mature size. which is why you see "mini" bromeliads with a bloom at lowes or home depot. i have also heard of this method to force other ornamental plants into bloom. i forget what gas is used as well.

my question is if we can force orchids into bloom using some sort of gas. i can easily create an atmosphere of near pure CO2 around the orchid, would this intoxicate the plant into forcing it to try and reproduce? would a recovery time of about 3-4 months between blooms be fine (IF the method would work)?

can anyone further expand on this idea and give more info or other methods?

[Tindomul]

The gas I've heard the use is not CO2 but ethylene??? Not sure, whatever gas rotting apples give off. And it works for Aroids as well as Bromeliads, so maybe Orchids too?? They are all monocots afterall.

[armagedon48]

CO2 came to mind because it can easily be made with yeast and sugar. i wouldnt know how to get ethylene without spending more than 2$...

[Tindomul]

Rotten apples in a sealed off area???? Hehe, yea, I wouldn't know either.

[smartie2000]

An atmosphere with pure CO2 would not be good for any plants because they not only photosynthesize, but use cellular respiration which requires O2 to utilize their stored energy.
I know some people increase the CO2 in their greenhouses to aid in photosynthesis, but that makes sense because the plant matter is very dense, and that extra O2 needs to be converted back into CO2 by burning a gas(I don't remember which one).

Ethylene causes bud blast and flowers to drop in high concentrations, I don't know how it would work

[Ray]

Forcing bromeliads with ethylene gas is not "intoxication", it's "poisoning". It is (was?) common with pineapple crops.

The concept is - and anyone with enough orchid experience has done this in other ways - that you make the plant think it's going to die, so in response it blooms in a primeval effort to continue its genetic pool.

[littlefrog]

And to further that... Don't do it to your orchids. Ethylene will take your flowers right off, and it might even damage more sensitive plants in moderate concentration.

Yes, I believe ethylene is used to force bromeliads. You aren't growing bromeliads... CO2 is often used to increase the growth rate of various crops, most especially ones that aren't legal to grow in the US. The profit margin is such that you could afford to add CO2. For orchids, which aren't terribly fast growing to begin with, I think CO2 supplementation would give you a very marginal benefit at best. I really doubt it is worth the effort. I'd invest in water quality, good fertilizer, and more lights, myself.