It is impossible to be indifferent to these delicate and graceful flowers, which are often called "aristocrats of the plant world". They fascinate with their exquisite beauty, variety of colors and shapes. The flowers of exotic beauties can resemble birds, butterflies, even lizards or shoes in shape.
Many houseplant lovers dream of having an orchid in their collection. However, many have heard about the exacting care and difficulties in propagating these flowers at home. Indeed, it is difficult for a beginner in indoor floriculture to grow such a plant. More recently, it was believed that it was impossible to grow an orchid from seeds at home. But in recent years, the chances of success of this method of reproduction have increased. At the same time, it should be recognized that the technology is complex, requiring its exact observance.
Today, the main supplier of seeds of these plants are manufacturers from China. How to plant orchid seeds at home?How to take care of them? What conditions need to be created for seedlings? We will try to answer these questions in this article.
How do orchids grow in nature?
Orchids or Orchids (Orchidaceae) are herbaceous perennials that occur naturally in various climatic conditions - from the tropics to the forest tundra. The most spectacular varieties, admire the amazing color and shape of flowers, grow in tropical forests. Even experts find it difficult to name the exact number of representatives of the family - today the existence of about 35 thousand different orchids has been officially confirmed, including natural hybrids - plants that have the ability to cross, including interspecific, as well as varieties bred by breeders around the world.
It's hard to imagine, but the 800 genera that make up the family make up about 10% of all plants on our planet. The vast majority of them lead an epiphytic lifestyle, growing on trees that they use as a support, while not parasitizing them. Plants get all the nutrients and moisture from the air with the help of well-developed aerial roots. They are covered with a thick layer of special fabric - velamina.
What do seeds look like?
Before talking about how to plant orchid seeds at home, you should find out how they look. The seeds of these plants are so small that they can easily be mistaken for dust. They are 15 thousand times smaller than wheat grains. Unlike the seeds of most crops, which have a supply of endosperm or nutrients, the planting material of theseflowers has a minimum number of them. How does such vulnerable seeds allow orchids to reproduce in natural conditions?
It's all about their numbers. One flower produces 3 to 5 million seeds. Due to their small size and weight, they are carried by the wind and settle on the bark of trees and shrubs. True, not all of them will turn into beautiful flowers - these will be only a few. This is natural selection.
How to collect seeds?
You will need two orchids blooming at the same time for manual pollination. Pollen is removed from the stamens of one of them with a soft brush or cotton swab and transferred to the pistil of another plant. A flower pollinated in this way will wither and this is a completely normal reaction. If it fell off, then the procedure was successful. After two weeks, you will notice the beginning of the formation of the fetus.
Each box or pod of an orchid contains over a million seeds. They are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye - you need a microscope. At home, it is very problematic to collect seeds, although with artificial pollination (including interspecific), boxes and pods are tied pretty quickly. For this reason, many flower growers use orchid seeds from China. How to plant them, we will tell further. It is important to strictly follow all recommendations.
How to germinate seeds?
Most growers propagate orchids vegetatively. Many of them do not know how to plant orchid seeds at home. After all,quite recently it was believed that the reproduction of these exotic beauties is possible only with special equipment and in laboratory conditions. However, time does not stand still, and today amateur flower growers can gain a unique experience by trying to conduct such an experiment in their home. We will tell you how to plant indoor orchid seeds, but we want to warn you that the slightest deviation from the instructions can nullify all your efforts.
Equipment required
Anyone who is interested in how to plant orchid seeds needs to know that ordinary containers or pots will not work for these flowers. It is necessary to purchase special glass flasks or containers with a narrow neck for chemical reagents, with a volume of about 300 ml. A conical Erlenmeyer flask, for example, will do. If it is not possible to purchase such dishes, use glass jars with tight-fitting lids. Containers must be hermetically sealed.
As a rule, corks are also sold complete with flasks. If you don't have any, make your own by twisting a tight piece of gauze or cotton swab and wrapping it in aluminum foil. Four holes with a diameter of several millimeters are drilled in the lids of the jars and they are tightly clogged with cotton wool.
What should the soil be like?
Even a special soil for orchids, which is sold in specialized stores, is not suitable in our case. The question arises: “In what soil should orchid seeds be planted?” Some flower growers sow them in finely chopped wet sphagnum moss,but it is more expedient to use a special nutrient mixture. The fact is that when using moss, it is difficult, and often impossible, to maintain complete sterility, the required level of acidity and at the same time provide nutrition.
The basis of the mixture is agar-agar, which is a mixture of polysaccharides, which is obtained from some varieties of red and brown seaweed. White or yellowish powder, turns into a jelly-like mass, dissolving in hot water. You can make your own mixture. For this you will need:
- 10-15 g agar-agar;
- 200ml distilled water;
- 10 g each of glucose and fructose;
- solution of potash or potassium carbonate;
- phosphoric acid.
The last two ingredients are used to create the necessary acidity. For orchid seeds, the optimal indicator is pH - 4, 8–5, 2. You can check its value using special litmus paper indicator strips. They are sold in chemical stores. Alkali and acid are added a few drops at a time and the acidity of the mixture is immediately checked.
Preparing the mixture
Pour agar-agar with a glass of ordinary tap water and leave to swell for several hours. Boil distilled water, pour fructose, glucose and swollen agar-agar into it. Stir the mixture constantly in one direction while heating in a water bath, until the powder dissolves and the mass thickens.
Preparing for planting seeds
It is to createabsolute sterility. Utensils, seeds and nutritional formula must be disinfected. In laboratory conditions, special autoclaves are used for this, at home they use a pressure cooker or a conventional oven.
Flasks and jars must be ignited for half an hour at a temperature of about 150 °C. Homemade corks are heated in boiling water. The containers are re-sterilized together with the nutrient mixture. It is poured into each of them hot at the rate of 30–40 g per 100 ml of volume and tightly closed. Re-sterilization will take the same amount of time.
Processed containers are left closed for five days. This is necessary in order to check how the sterilization was carried out. If during this period the nutrient mixture did not become moldy, the procedure was carried out successfully. Do not tilt the containers until the jelly has set.
Seeds must be sterilized for a quarter of an hour in a solution of calcium hypochloride (chlorine). They are poured with a composition of 10 g of lime and distilled water (100 ml). Shake the container continuously. After that, the seeds are sown in a nutrient mixture.
How to plant orchid seeds: step by step instructions
Compared to the preparatory work, sowing is a simple procedure. It is important to maintain complete sterility. Attach a net or grate over a wide bowl of boiling water. Fix a vessel with a nutrient mixture on it. With a special chemical pipette or a sterile syringe, remove the seeds in which they were sterilized in small portions from the solution and distribute them over the surface of the mixture, but do nottouch her. Manipulations must be carried out as quickly as possible.
Shake the flasks gently to distribute the seeds evenly. Close the containers tightly and place them in a home mini-greenhouse, homemade greenhouse or florarium. Depending on the type of orchid, seedling emergence varies from one and a half weeks to six months.
Seedling care
We told you how to plant orchid seeds correctly. Now you need to learn how to care for seedlings so that your labors are not in vain. Orchids need to provide bright, but diffused lighting. The light source is placed at a slight angle of 30 cm above the plantings. Daylight hours should be at least 14 hours, the air temperature is about + 25 ° C with a humidity of at least 70%.
Sprouting
Knowing how to plant orchid seeds, you need to be patient and wait for seedlings. At first, very small green balls appear. A little later, they form rhizoids, allowing the plant to absorb nutrients. They are like hairs. After that, leaves appear and, last but not least, roots. This happens when the plant already has at least three true leaves.
After a year, the seedlings are removed from the container using tongs or tweezers, in a circular motion, as if twisting them. Rinse off the nutrient mixture very carefully. You can use an alternative method - pour warm water into the container, shake it gently in a circular motion. Pour the mixture with sprouts into a wide shallow container, add 0.5%solution "Fundazol" (2-3 ml). Leave for 10 minutes, remove the seedlings with a thin soft brush.
Fill plastic cups with drainage. The height of the containers should match or slightly exceed the diameter of the roots. It is desirable that they be transparent - this will allow you to monitor the state of the root system. Transplant orchids into a substrate of fern rhizomes, crushed sphagnum moss and pine roots in equal proportions. The more uniform it is, the better. To prevent mold growth, add powdered activated charcoal (10 tablets per liter of mixture).
All components of the substrate are preliminarily poured with boiling water for half an hour. Seedlings should not be watered - they are regularly sprayed with settled water at room temperature. The substrate must not dry out completely.
A few words in conclusion
We told you how to plant orchid seeds. As you can see, the process is complex, requiring accuracy from the grower, strict adherence to all the rules, a certain skill and patience. If these conditions are met, you will be rewarded with the appearance of luxurious flowers in your collection.
