Orchid sex!

[swords]

I figured you'd look!

Actually what I'm wondering is if any of you have ever successfully polinated any of your orchids? I've tried a few times and always end up with duds and lost blooms.

Is there a specific time to polinate, say 2 days after opening and at dawn while singing Ave Maria...?

Please post any and all experiments you've done (selfing and crosses) and how they worked out!  

 

[shokuchuu]

I've successfully self-pollinated Phalaenopsis, but this in the end put blooming to a halt, and I discarded the seed because I had no means of locating the appropriate fungus needed for germination. Very easy nonetheless.

Cheers
Amori

 

[elgecko]

I have an orchid book, and a section showed how to pollinate orchids. I'm not going to look up the info, but go by what I believe it said.
After pollinating the flower, it will die. Then after some time the seed pod should start to swell.
I never payed much attention to the pollination of orchids because of the difficult and specialized way that most seed needs to germinate.

 

[swords]

Yes, I followed steps in the orchid books I have too but the flower and the ovary fell off each past time I did it, I know that's not supposed to happen!

I've just selfed my very wide Miltonia this morning. If I get a seed pod this time I will get a beginers epiphyte orchid seed flasking kit from Phytotek labs. I just wonder how the hell I could hybridize my Pleurothallid Orchids without a microscopic monkey to climb in there and do it for me!? I know people cross them but they're so small I've no idea how they get in there without detroying the flower. I've seen slippers cut off of crossed paphs and phrags so perhaps dissection during human pollination is how it's done on these ultra small species?

 

[Bugweed]

ARGH!!!!! ORCHID PORNO!!!!!! Hey! Where are the pics?