Bletilla and seeds
Joyce Miller (Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:14:23 PDT)

Dear All,

Snip...> Bletilla is apparently one of the few orchid species that can be

I have successfully sown Bletilla striata seed on agar. On agar,
Bletilla seed germinates as though rocket propelled. The seedlings even
made it through the transition from flask to potting mix. The key to agar
success aka asymbiotic germination is that the nutrients, sucrose, salts et
al replace the function of the mycorrhiza (fungus)required in
nature. Without the fungus, sowing on peat or other media is not likely to
be successful.

One writer reported successfully germinating orchid seed using
damp bark taken from a mother plant container. The report is not at hand
this morning. The underlying theory was that the bark would have been
inoculated with the correct mycorrhiza (fungus) for the specific genus. In
the early history of orchid cultivation in England, plantsmen sowed seed
into the base of the mother pot. This methodology did work but the yield
was very poor.

Good luck. Tissue culture of seeds and plant tissue is tedious
and lots of work. After finally perfecting my sterile techniques, I was
able to raise a number of different orchid genera. Except for the
Bletilla, most of the seedlings failed to survive unflasking.

Kind regards, Joyce Miller

Joyce E. Miller mailto:onager@midtown.net
Zone USDA 9A Summer highs 100+degrees F for several to many days. Winter
lows 27 degrees F