The Art of Propagating Orchids

In most cases, houseplants are not difficult to divide or plant new seeds to grow new plants

. The challenge in propagating an orchid plant begins with the very small size of the orchid seed. And while an orchid pod may contain more than 3 million seeds, the survival rate is dismal. The seeds have virtually no food reserves to sustain them and newly propagated plants are highly susceptible to various diseases that can kill them.

To improve the odds of germination success, orchid seeds are placed in glass flasks in a sterile environment and bathed in specially developed nutrient rich solutions that nurture the early growth of the seeds. Even then, the harvest of orchids from the numerous seeds of a single pod varies significantly.

Consequently, most orchid growers with limited scale conduct their propagation by dividing their existing plant inventory. For large scale production facilities, professional people grow new orchids from seed or they are multiplied using the culture of meristem tissue.

Utilizing meristem culture, orchid cells are harvested from existing and growing orchids and then placed in a suitable growing environment until new plants are grown. Orchids grown using the meristem process are identical to the parent plant where the original cells were taken.

Large commercial growers seeking orchid hybrids often outsource to large commercial labs the seed germination and propagation of their favorite or best selling orchid plants using the meristem culture approach.

The specific orchid species and variety of orchids drives the time requirements of the entire process and the appropriate method of propagation.

In addition to commercial methods of propagation, orchid owners at home can get the job done using a safe and proven technique.

The best home based method is done by simply dividing or splitting the plant. This method intimidates many orchid enthusiasts for fear of damaging the plant in the process of splitting it. In reality, splitting an orchid plant stimulates the plant to grow new shoots and often with better health and vitality than if nothing was done.

Finally, there are some types of orchid plants that produce a small plantlet known as a keikis. These small plantlets or keikis are a way certain orchid types propagate and the new plants are exact replicas or clones of the parent plant. The orchid types that commonly produce keikis are Oncidiums, Dendrobiums, Epidendrums and Phalaenopsis.

Keikis plants tend to bloom much faster than orchid seedlings of a comparable size because much of their initial growth occurred using the strength and resources of the mother plant. These types of plants can be expected to bloom in one or two years

Developing the art of propagating your orchids is an endearing investment that will bring even more pride and joy from the effort and open new doors for special gifts to friends and family.

Take the time and get the details, tools and necessary education to take a confident step toward growing your own personal orchid garden.

The Art of Propagating Orchids

By: Janet

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