Starting Dactylohiza from seed

[rob krejzl]

David,

Thank you for this.

[Giles]

I have successfully grown Disa from seed on moss, so guess that might be worth a try too.

[Gerhard Raschun]

Disa ssp. is one of the view which is possible to raise on moss and peat.

For Dactylorhiza it`s necessary to raise them in laboratory with in vitro culture vessels, on sterile medium (see pict, 1 year in flasks) or with symbiotic funghi (see pict 2, symb. raised seedlings, fresh on soil).

But I have obtained germination in the garden on the bank of ponds.If there grew Dactylorhiza some years, the symbiotic funghi are distributed in the soil, so it is possible for seeds to germinate.While mature plants dissappear after the second or third flower, new seedling appear on different places at the bank.

So repotting every year of the Dactylorhiza in the garden -and remove of old, dead parts, refresh the soil-is very important for a long preservation of this plants.

[Tony Willis]

I grew a couple of species in pots in an open frame for several years where they flowered and seeded  and now many come up every year in our hosta pots of which we have quite a lot and also to a lesser extent in other pots..I dig them out and put them in the garden.I think the seed around potted plants is in perhaps less hostile environment than the open garden.

Now I have ophrys lutea seeding around in the greenhouse.

[Paul T]

Tony,

Ophrys seeding around?    Wow!! (to put it mildly).  Any of that genus are rare as rocking horse droppings here in Aus.    The idea of them seeding around is almost mind boggling!!!!!! 

[Hjalmar]

In the Winter 2006 issue of the Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia Bulletin http://www.agc-bc.ca/bulletin.asp there is an interesting article on germinating orchid seed on cardboard.

This is very interesting! It makes sowing orchids seem very easy. If some forumist has more experience with this method I would love to hear about it.

[Ulla Hansson]

On one side of my property is a slope facing the north, above the slope is the municipality's lawn. In the slope, I have both Daktylorhiza and Platanthera, both seeding plentiful on the grass above me. In the spring I may be quick to pick home escapees, before the municipal staff mows the lawn.
Ulla

[Tony Willis]

During this last summer three flowering plants of Listera ovata have appeared in the garden presumably self seeding from a plant I have in the frame. Ugly but interesting and I have resisted my wifes desire to weed them out. More may appear this year as they were only noticed when they flowered.

[Otto Fauser]

Lauren , my clumps of Dactylorhiza elata and fuchsii [or is it d. maculata ssp. fuchsii ? ],are in bloom at the moment , nice, so I could send you a few in autumn , please let me have your address in due time ,
    Otto.
  Tony Willis, should you ever have a few seeds of Ophrys lutea and /or any other Ophrys species to spare , they would be much appreciated,
     otto.

[Paul T]

Howdy All,

Did this inspire anyone to try from seed since this topic was last posted in?  If so, how have the results been?  Tony, your Ophrys lutea still seeding around in the glasshouse?  Details everyone, details!! 

[Hristo]

There's a discussion in The Terrestrial Orchid Forum on germinating orchid seed using the 'Cardboard Method'.
Increasing reports of success using this cheap and non-technical methodology!!
http://forum.terrorchid.org/viewtopic.php?p=8319#8319

[Paul T]

Out of interest, how long does orchid seed last for un-sown?  My understanding was that it had no reserves and had to be sown immediately, but I was talking to someone recently who said that orchid seed received from the northern hemisphere should be kept until the time of year that our plants are surfacing here, rather than sowing them immediately on arrival.  This indicates that there must be some storage capability and I am now wondering how long it can be stored for?

I'll go and have a look at that link when I get the chance.  It may very well mean I start asking people for Dact seed when they have it, to at least have an experiment.    It would be so cool to be successful.

[mark smyth]

I applied this cardboard method to seed sowing in 2010.
1) cardboard cut into strips and placed into a take away cake container
2) The addition of 'juice' from my compost heap
3) The addition of lignin consuming fungi from beech woodlands
4) The addition of root samples from target orchid species
Sow the Seed
5) Left to get frosted for a couple of days
6) Moved indoors to temps 3 to 9c and in the dark

The joy of this system is that aseptic conditions are not required!!!!

Lignin or lignen is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants and some algae.

What does lignin look like? There is a beech wood near me

[Maggi Young]

There's a difference between lignin, a substance derived mostly from wood and Lignum (Lignum vitae) a type of wood........


http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/abbey/ap/ap04/ap04-4/ap04-402.html

[Hristo]

Mark,
Essentially lignin along with cellulose is what makes up trees. So the organic matter on the woodland floor that is not fully decomposed is comprised of lignin and cellulose ( and other compounds ). Many woodland orchids have been found to require treatments to modify the cell wall of the seed to allow germination. Possibly the use of a fungus that makes its living from digesting lignin may be of assistance in germinating such species of orchid by digesting the tough cell wall.