Hi Everyone
I'm new to this forum, and have been experimenting with orchid seeds for about 3 years until finally early 2013 i had a high germination percentage. I'm only 18 years old, i've won gold and bronze medals and science expo's for growing orchids from seeds.
I've got Dendrochilums, cattleya's, cymbidiums and dendrobiums to germinate using one of my homemade mediums.
The medium i use is:
20 grams sugar
7 grams agar
12 grams vitamin B1 or Thaimine (12 x 100 mg tablets)
60 grams of banana pulp
30 mg coconut water
2 grams Activated charcoal
900 ml water
1.25 ml Kelp Extract fertilizer (as it has Auxins and Cytokinins- Root and growth promoters )
I have not tried paphs yet, but apparently they mustn't have any banana pulp as it deforms the growth?
I'm thinking about adding Calcium Nitrate granules to the medium to support strong growth.
I've got about 20 flasks under cool white lighting. I used to have a red light as it promotes root growth but have excluded it recently as i'm unsure if this is true?
My flasks are kept around 20-25 oC, slightly on the warm side.
Thanks
Dane from South Africa