Pollination?

[Becca]

I am curious how this pollination thingy works with orchids. I tried pollinating an oncidium hybrid a while back ago by taking the pollen from one of it's flowers and pollinating one of it's other flowers. Is this considered self-ling if it were to work? The flower closed immediately and then fell off after a few days I tried it. Then more recently, I tried pollinating my Amesiella (Angraecum) - monticola with pollen from a phal. Yep keep laughing...lol...I know I shouldn't be trying to pollinate things when I don't understand the science and chemistry behind it all. Anyways, the flower closed up right away and then fell off, just like my other attempt.

My questions are:

Why does this happen, the flower closing quickly and then dying and falling off?
and
Would an orchid close-up from being pollinated by pollen that isn't compatible and how would it know the pollen isn't capatible?

Sorry for my terminology, like I said, I have some learning to do.

[HPS Chris]

I have a lot of practice with this. Oncidiums are tempermental in that they usually need or tend to like being pollinated by a separate oncidium. If it were the same species...it may work well for you. Ihave had great success with self pollinating my phal mannii, paph species, phaius and other terrestrial cypripediums that I grow here in Washington state. Let me know if you have more questions.

[BikerDoc5968]

I used to do this with phals...they are easy and at the time I wanted to see just what happens and "could I even do it". Well, I guess I was successful...the ovary became swollen and the flower soon died leaving behind this fat mass on the spike. With time this matured and I had to ask myself, "Now what?" Am I going to get jars and media and sterile conditions and well, on and on and on. So I stopped and just enjoyed my flowers. That was then, now I may get back into it because I have several phals that, through my carelessness, have crown rot but are otherwise health and flower. They won't grow basal keikis so my other choice is to self them and try to grow them from seed....
I guess you have to have some purpose for doing all of this, whatever that purpose be, otherwise why?

[Royal]

Originally Posted by HPS Chris

...and other terrestrial cypripediums that I grow here in Washington state....

Chris, What kind of Cyps do you grow? Are you propagating them? I'm working on some right now, but I'm just getting them going.



Sorry Becca -->

[cowboy51278]

Originally Posted by Becca

I am curious how this pollination thingy works with orchids. I tried pollinating an oncidium hybrid a while back ago by taking the pollen from one of it's flowers and pollinating one of it's other flowers. Is this considered self-ling if it were to work? The flower closed immediately and then fell off after a few days I tried it. Then more recently, I tried pollinating my Amesiella (Angraecum) - monticola with pollen from a phal. Yep keep laughing...lol...I know I shouldn't be trying to pollinate things when I don't understand the science and chemistry behind it all. Anyways, the flower closed up right away and then fell off, just like my other attempt.

My questions are:

Why does this happen, the flower closing quickly and then dying and falling off?
and
Would an orchid close-up from being pollinated by pollen that isn't compatible and how would it know the pollen isn't capatible?

Sorry for my terminology, like I said, I have some learning to do.

each species will hybridize with only certain others. there are few books that will list those that are available to cross with a certain species. For the angraecums there is a big list that will hybridize, ill quickly give you some of the more common ones......

aerangis, aeranthes, ascocentrum, neofinetia, and rhynchostylis

im just starting out trying my hand at pollinating. i crossed a zygosepalum with a cochleanthes and a
keferollea with a galeottia. in theory the second one shouldn't have worked because a couple of the parent plants won't cross with eachother. but the ovary is swollen and the flower is drying up so im guessing that it took. its kind of a whole new exciting chapter in my orchid experience.

[Becca]

Hi Paul! Could you provide me with the names of these books and any other books you think might help to aid me in understanding who, what, where, when, and why?

[cowboy51278]

the book that ive been using the gives names of species that will hybridize is 'orchids to know and grow' by tom sheehan and robert black

[HPS Chris]

Becca,
I have a few different species that I have done well with and produced seed with. I went with the most "challenging" species first: cyp acale, then japonicum, parviflorium var pubescens. All of which have done well here in Kirkland Washington. I also just recently started with cyp reginea. Great fun plants.