Deflasking--What to do with these?

[Dorsetman]

Yes they are protocorms - all orchid seedlings go through this stage, and the growth promoters used in the agar encourage it. The ideal way - what a pro' outfit would do, is replate them ,i.e. put them on the surface of new agar in a new flask and grow them on. I find that seedlings a couple of inches tall grow best when deflasked, smaller ones are always difficut.
But if you don't have flasking facilities, then I would suggest chopped sphagnum moss as a compost, but they will need to be in a propagator - high humidity, never totally drying put for long, to stand any chance.

[King Kjeldz]

no one has told u but be careful with the moisture level and may i suggest a fungicide of some sort periodically

[shirleycox]

Remove the seedlings from the bottle, either by washing them out or breaking the bottle. You need to wash the seedlings in warm water not in cold one, so that all the agar gel is removed. Place the seedlings on a clean sheet of newspaper and allow to dry to dampness. Plant them in a potting media. water the pot well and allow to drain. Get 'Envy' this product can be sprayed onto the seedlings so that it wont dry out the seedlings. Use a humidity crib to protect your seedlings.

[Kassie]

It's funny how this thread bubbles back to the surface periodically. Every time it does, I think about posting some updated pictures of my flasklings; if I get time later this week, I'll try to take a few photos.

Its been just over a year since i deflasked these. There's nothing tremendous to report, and I can safely say that my phal seedlings will not be blooming at the 18 month optimal time that some growers can produce. Almost all of the strange tiny babies died early on. I nursed a few of those along until spring when they got hit with another round of rot. I finally conceded then that I don't do well with sphag and repotted what was left into a small coconut chip mix. There are probably around a dozen phals left, only one E. cordigera x Toshie Aoki, and who knows how many encyclia cross (they are clumped tightly together and look more like the cup of bluegrass my son brought home from kindergarten then orchids.) They are growing, but. . .

The gigantor seedling has stayed about the same. Others from that flask have almost caught up to it. I have them in a 5 gal aquarium, but it is still tough to keep the humidity high enough. All my orchids have suffered the past months. Normally, you need to be part amphibian to survive iowa's 90% humidity summers. This summer, it was extraordinary to stay above 50% all day and we had several days where humidity fell into the single digits.

Thank you to all who have participated in this thread. I learn something new every time I revisit it. I'm off to research "Envy" now, I could still use a product that can keep things from drying out!