Phalaenopsis Stem Propagation or Seed Pod

[Ki6bud]

Hi, I have an older Big Lip Phalaenopsis that I need to reproduce quickly. The plant is in spike with beautiful large white flowers. Question: Given the time constraint, would you harvest and store the pollen sacks of each flower for future cross pollination and then clone the nodes on the flower spike, or self pollinate to obtain the seed pod?

[james j]

If you go the seed route you will not end up with the same plant, like a litter of puppies they will be similar but a little different.
I think it’s difficult to store pollen and keep it viable. You may get a seed pod but the seeds could be sterile. It would take months to find out. Then there is quite a hurdle to overcome going from germination to plant.

If you are looking for a few copies of the same plant try some keiki paste on the flower stem nodes

[Ki6bud]

I've tried keiki paste before with no luck; all have started new flower spikes. I have set up a sterile box to clone the nodes. Has anyone studied the best time to collect the pollen for storage?

[Ray]

Collect pollinia about 2 days after the flower opens fully. Keep it clean, dry, and refrigerated, and it ought to be viable for a year or so.

Cloning is the way to go, if you want an identical plant.

[dansyr]

Cloning is definitely the way to go. If you're doing stem props the tissue culture way (the most efficient and predictable way), make sure you read up on everything, don't skimp on the autoclaving steps or sterility measures (not sure what your background is, sorry if you know this already), and make sure to keep the node prop flasks warm when first developing - around 27 or 28 deg C.

[Ki6bud]

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate it.

[Ki6bud]

OK. I completed the stem propagation last week. I used Phytotechlab multiplication media without charcoal. No signs of contamination from spores for the past week. The dormant nodes are growing, however the stem is deteriorating. The top is a little black and there seems to be a dark discharge in the clear media. Is this normal or will it continue until the nodes are lost?

[orchidsarefun]

Ask Sean for advice too.
BTW I have read that big lip selfings ( ie seeds ) give less than 50% big lip progeny.

Orchid Origins

[dansyr]

The dark discharges you're seeing are phenolic exudates building up in the medium from stressed plantlets (which is normal, sterilization and cutting is rough treatment). High concentrations inhibit growth and development (in my experience and from what I've read). So it's best to pass the node(s) into fresh media when buildup gets high. Eventually they get adjusted and produce less, and/or you can add charcoal in the media to scavenge the exudates (though this may affect your working hormone concentration). I've passed in regular, charcoal-less media for like 3-4 times (1.5-4 weeks between passes) and then + 0.005-0.01% activated charcoal with good results. You likely can switch to media with AC sooner, and pass less frequently, but this is what I've had success with.

Edit: forgot to mention - deteriorating flower stalk tissue is fine (in my limited experience, though it may be a sign), it's the exudates in the media you should keep an eye on.

[Ki6bud]

Thanks for the information. This is the first time with this process and I feel like I'm flying in the dark. The internet provides a lot of information, but not all. How dark do you allow the media to get before replating?

Any good inexpensive books on stem propagation? Also I read that once the shoot grows to about 1 inch, you can remove it from the stem and transfer it to a new flask with multiplication media. Any advice on this?