Flasking Orchids: Success and Failures at One Month

It has been almost exactly a month since my first flasking, where I created 8 flasks of two different orchid species.

First the bad news-- two of those flasks showed contamination in the first week. Both were from the first set of four that I made, the Catasetum cross (Ctsm. Grace Dunn x Ctsm. ivanae). Mold started growing on the surface of the medium and has continued to spread. While some people report trying to save contaminated flasks, it seems unlikely to me that this would be successful, and since I flasked dry seed and the catasetum hybrid seed was plentiful, I have more seed that I can sow the next time I do a batch of flasks. 

The good news is that the other 6 are showing germination. Here is one cute little plantlet, called a PLB or "protocorm-like body" in the Phalaenopsis cross (hieroglyphica x cornu-cervi). 

PLB (Protocorm-like body) in a flask of Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica x cornu-cervi. 

While it is somewhat difficult to photograph through the glass, there is obvious growth in all six uncontaminated flasks. The Phalaenopsis hybrid plantlets seem to be a bit larger at this stage than the Catasetum hybrid plantlets.

A couple of the flasks have a couple millimeters of excess fluid, preventing the plantlets from anchoring in the media. The media seemed to have excess fluid on the surface after pressure-sterilizing, and when I noticed this I poured it off before adding the orchid seeds, but a few of the flasks were already done before I realized this might be a problem. It seems to me that there is a good chance the plantlets will grow anyway. 

It is quite exciting to see these specks of green growing larger. While they are tiny, the rate of growth from a tiny embryo is remarkable.

I'll update again in another month or two!