How long for seed maturation?

[grubea]

So I tried my hand at pollinating a phrag. (Phrag. sargentianum x Cape Sunset) and it appears to have been a success, the seed pod is swelling. How long before the seeds are mature.
thanks
Aaron

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hi Aaron!

You are looking at about 6 months before maturity, but it completely depends on the conditions and the enviroment. Others here may have different experience.

Cheers!
BD

[ATester]

It also depends on what you are planning on doing with it. Most who flask seed use what they refer to as 'green pod' or 'green seed' meaning that they wait until the pod is nearly mature, but the pod is still green before they remove the seed. The reason for this is that it is thought that the seed inside is sterile and has not been introduced to pathogens that could reduce the viability of the seed. The other method is to wait until the pod has dried out and then removing the pod befor it has burst open, or to catch it once it splits.

The maturation rate of the pod depends upon the conditions and the species. The people I have talked to remove their seed when the pod is about 2/3 ripe. When I removed my Epidendrum seed pods, I removed them when they had been maturing for about 100 days (my books said 65 days would be good enough, but I like to err on the side of caution).

There are a few rescources online that suggest when to harvest depending upon the species.