growing orchids from flask......

[maria1971]

I want to try to grow orchids from flask. Primarily cattleya and schomburgkia hybrids. So, I have several questions. 1) what type of medium is best? (I am in Miami) 2) what size pots do I need? 3) any other special equipment? 4) how much light do I give them? 5) do I fertilize? 6) how much watering do they require?

Anything else I should know???

[SeanHoutman]

I got a flask of Myrmecophila christinae, which is basically a Schomburgkia. I have done flasks of a few other plants, and based on those, you can expect to lose about 50% of your little plants, but your flask is going to come with twice as many as the seller says, so that isn't bad. My Myrmecophila has only lost a couple. I grow them in moss until they are big enough to go to a bigger pot. There are lots of suggestions about that first couple of months. Some people just put the puck of medium on top of moss in the compot, and let the agar degrade on its own, others carefully layer the plantlets in the moss.

The most critical time seems to be the first month or 3 out of flask. Be liberal with fungicide at first, your plants have been grown in a sterile environment, and good fungi arent in their roots yet. If you can innoculate the medium with some medium from the same type of plant as well.

Use small pots, not more that 4".

They will need almost as much light as the adult plants will need.

Hold off on the fertilizer for a while, the medium from the flask provided them with lots of fertilizer, and you want the plants to get a bit hungry, so they grow roots.

Don't let them get soggy, and avoid drying them out completely.

[Zozzl]

I've killed a lot of babies by overwatering so ditto on the soggy, and the over fertilizing.

[orchid-man]

I have done a large amount of de-flasking over the years and this is the process that I use.

Get some number two bark,some small shallow pots about 4inch (shallow for me is about 1.5inch) I use clear plastic containers that I get from the deli section of the supermarket with food in them.
Wet the bark and let it sit damp for about 2-3 days to obsorb the moisture.

When you are going to de-flask make-up a solution of fungicide(normal strength according to the manufacturer) I use a systemic form and use water about 68degrees F.

I another container I get some water @ about 68degrees F -this is used to help break the agar and aid its removal from the roots.
As the plants are removed from the agar they are placed in the fungicide solution.When all plant are removed from the agar and they are in the fungicide, I leave them there for about 15 mins.

I then remove the plants from the fungicide and put them into the dampened bark with no more than 8-10 plants around the outside of the pot , burying the roots but keeping the ryszome level or just below the bark.

From there the plants are place in the same growing aera as the mature plants . I do not water the plants.

As I have a misting system that comes on at 7am for 40 seconds each morning, I continue to not water or fertilize for about one week, and from then on they get the same treatment as the established plants.

Good luck on your deflasking and if you get the chance to choose the flask that you purchase - look for onethat has NO fungus or bacterial growth , plenty of live roots visible on the bottom of the flask . Not able to see roots the the flask is not ready to de-flask.