How to grow an orchid from seeds?

Many people yearn to have beautiful flowers at home to admire them all year round. Growing and caring for some types of indoor plants can be difficult, so before choosing a flower for yourself, you should study its features well. Those flower lovers who like orchids should take an interest in the growing process and the peculiarities of the culture, so as not to have any worries in the care process, but only to enjoy the beautiful flowering of the plant.

The orchid is a flower that has been known for a long time. Many peoples were fascinated by the beauty of the orchid and tried to cultivate culture in their homeland. Thanks to its original appearance, a variety of petal colors, the orchid captivates the hearts of many people to this day. In Asian countries, this plant was considered medicinal, which can be learned even from the works of Confucius, in Europe its aesthetic properties were more appreciated. When calculating the species diversity, a figure was obtained that exceeded 30 thousand varieties.

Orchids originally grew in the wild and were difficult to grow indoors. Only thanks to the painstaking work of scientists was it possible to develop varieties that can be successfully grown at home, and at the same time they please with flowering for a long time. Experienced growers can easily get seeds and grow a new plant, but it will be more difficult for a beginner to cope with it.

The most important factor for good flower growth is the light... It should be enough - the deficit adversely affects the general state of culture. It is important to make it scattered, direct sunlight should not fall on the leaves and petals. If you put an orchid on a sunny window without any protection, then the leaves will begin to elongate, and you may not wait for flowering. If you darken the glass with tulle or something that transmits light, then the rays will be refracted, and the flower will bloom profusely and often.

The orchid can be considered a seasonal indoor plant, because from the onset of late autumn to mid-spring, the bush rests, concentrates its forces on ripening shoots and laying buds, which in the new season will delight with abundant flowering. To assist in this process, it is necessary to create optimal environmental conditions. Comfortable temperature ranges will be 13-18 degrees Celsiusthat should be kept throughout the entire cold season.

By the time spring is approaching and warmth, you should gradually increase the temperature in the room or transfer the flower to a warmer place. In the summer, it is also important to keep track of how many degrees the room with the orchid is. The optimal range would be 25-27 degrees during the day, and at night – 15-18.

The next important criterion for leaving is watering... It must be timely, with the required amount of moisture. However, it is better to underfill the water than to pour it over: drought will not destroy the flower, but excess moisture can. The irrigation procedure is recommended to be carried out using a water divider in the shower room. And it is better to organize a bath with water for the pot for 10-15 minutes, so that the soil is saturated with the required amount of liquid, and then remove it on a tray, which will allow excess moisture to drain.

Those who have mastered orchid care at home may want to increase the number of their flowers, for which it will not be possible to do without knowing the rules for collecting seeds and processing them for effective growth. First of all, it should be said that harvested seed material must not be germinated in plain soil, since orchid seeds do not have the same supply of nutrients that are found in the seeds of any other plants.

To ensure the vital activity of orchid seeds, it is necessary to organize a special nutrient medium in order to get seedlings. In nature, these plants live off fungi, which provide them with everything they need for development and growth. Another problem of self-growing crops from seeds is their miniature size.

It is very difficult to collect planting material on your own, because this requires a special technique that allows you to see the seeds and extract them... Due to the fact that the planting material is so tiny, nature provides compensation in quantitative terms - the seed capsule usually has from 3 to 5 million seeds.

To get only one plant, you will have to work hard, since each seed is forced to undergo difficult tests in the form of natural selection and can grow both immediately and after several years. Flower seeds have the following structure:

• the first ball is the pericarp, which grows together with the seed coat;
• then comes the endosperm;
• deeper is the cotyledon;
• the kidney next to it;
• then comes the stalk;
• and the root is the deepest.

The ripening process can take different periods of time, depending on the season, environmental conditions and related factors. The orchid variety also has a significant effect, for example, the seeds of some varieties can start growing in 7-8 months, while others will start to activate after three months.

To understand exactly when the seeds will be ready, it is worth examining the seed pod. When it ripens, it often changes its color to brown, although in some cases it can remain green. The finished box must be cut and the contents poured onto a blank sheet of paper.

The seed germination procedure is very difficult. and requires knowledge and skill. Without proper experience, it will be difficult to grow an orchid using a seed method. Only with the appropriate conditions, equipment and knowledge, it is possible to breed orchids.

Novice flower growers who are eager to try their hand at self-breeding orchids should learn a lot so that the work is not in vain. Growing seeds in standard containers, which are suitable for ordinary house plants, is not worth it, as this will not bring the desired result. The most suitable option would be specialized glass containers like flasks, which can be screwed on with a lid. It is very important to pre-sterilize the dishes before germinating seeds in them.

For cultivation to be effective, a nutrient medium is required that is sphagnum moss or agar-agarproviding the culture with various polysaccharides to ensure seed development. Correctly use exclusively sterile substrateso that future sprouts are absolutely healthy and do not die from fungi or harmful bacteria, which contain both moss and algae, where agar-agar is mined.

To ensure the purity of the substrate, the moss must be kept in warm water, to which Fitoverm has been added. You can try to boil it, but such actions will complicate the organization of the correct acidity level, which should be in the range of pH 4.8-5.2... If we are talking about agar-agar, then it is recommended to boil it, bringing it to a jelly-like state, and then, without cooling, pour it into flasks. For optimal seed germination, you must also add the appropriate additives, seal everything with a cork and boil the contents for at least half an hour.

For those who wish to use the simpler option, a hydrogel-like substrate can be purchased that forms the base. When creating an environment in which orchid seeds will grow, it is important to saturate it with sugars and other substances. Fructose and glucose should be added to agar-agar. If the cooking process takes place at home, then the easiest way is to get Knudson's medium for germination.

Many people say that more effective results can be achieved if you make a nutrient medium yourself, for which you need to take the following ingredients:

• calcium nitrate - 1 g;
• calcium phosphate - 0.25 g;
• magnesium sulfate - 0.25 g;
• ammonium sulfate - 0.50 g;
• iron chelate - 0.05 g;
• sodium humate - 0.05 g;
• activated carbon - 1 g;
• sugar - a tablespoon;
• agar-agar - 10 g.

The development of seeds of a room orchid in such a substrate will be active, and seedlings will be massive.

Before sowing, it is worth checking how well the soil was prepared. If, after five days, the contents of the closed container have not changed their appearance, then you can start the procedure. If mold appears on the substrate, you will have to re-sterilize the contents.

For sowing seeds to be successful, it is necessary not only to know the general rules of this process, but also to apply them in the correct sequence.

1. Prepare glass containers 100 ml each. They must be such that they can be closed with lids. Sterilize them.
2. Prepared nutrient substrate is poured into the container carefully so that splashes do not fall on the walls. The optimal amount is 30-40 ml.
3. Containers with a substrate are sterilized, and after one day, a second procedure is performed.
4. Quality checking nutrient mixture for five days.
5. Disinfected seeds placed in the substrate.
6. The container is tightly closed lid and placed in a specially prepared place for further germination.

The germination procedure takes a lot of time and requires perseverance and concentration from the grower, so everything should be done without unnecessary haste.

The process of planting seeds has a number of features associated with the protection of the seed from damage by pathogenic spores. To prevent this, clean dishes, substrate and seeds must be processed again. This time, steam must be used to transfer the seeds to the substrate.

The process goes like this:

• a pot of water is placed on the stove and brought to a boil;
• the gas capacity is set to a minimum capable of maintaining constant vaporization;
• a grate is installed on top of the pan;
• a container with a substrate is placed on the lattice;
• using a sterile pipette, the seeds must be removed from the chloride solution, where they were disinfected;
• over steam from a pipette, seeds are introduced into containers with a substrate.

During this period, it is necessary to organize suitable conditions for the seeds, setting the temperature within 18-23 degrees and organizing constant light from 12 to 14 hours a day.

Growing an orchid from seed is not an easy task, so it is very important to follow all the steps accurately, without neglecting any advice or requirement. When planting seed in the substrate, it is necessary to prepare all the tools in advance, disinfect them and isolate them from anything that can cause contamination. Therefore, the germination containers, pipette and substrate must be carefully checked and prepared.

Properly planted seeds can sprout in a period of three months to a year, depending on the type of plant. On average, one year after placing the seeds in the substrate, you can get ready-made shoots that can grow in ordinary soil. Planting young shoots should be carried out as carefully as possible so as not to damage the immature plant. The best option for removing each sprouted seedling from the substrate is the washing procedure... In this case, water is poured into the container where the seeds grew, and the contents are shaken, making it easy to separate the seedling from the germination mixture.

It is advisable to plant sprouts in a soil consisting of crushed bark of a tree, it is best if it is a pine... Another suitable option for this is sphagnum moss. As with planting any indoor plant, a drainage layer must be placed on the bottom of the dishes, which can be made up of any materials at hand. To easily remove the seedlings from the substrate, you need to pour the mixture into a flat dish with sides, and also add a few drops of the foundationol solution. It is best to use a brush for easier catching of the sprout and transporting it to a new location where it will be grown.

As soon as the procedure for transferring seedlings to a new place is completed, it is necessary to start creating optimal growth conditions.

The orchid rises and grows very slowly, and such rates can be noted at all periods of development. In addition to waiting for the seed pod to ripen, which lasts from 3 to 9 months, you need to wait a year before the sprouts appear and they can be planted in normal soil. After another year, the sprouts will be able to stretch to a size when they can be dived and planted in separate containers. A it can take from one to two years to finally plant a flower in a specific pot.

As soon as the orchid takes root in a permanent place of growth, you will need to wait at least three more years before the plant blooms. If we sum up all the time that a florist will spend on growing an orchid from seeds, then it can take about seven years from collecting material to the appearance of flowers... With the right variety and adherence to all recommendations, this period can be shortened by a year or more.

Many growers do not delve into the peculiarities of the development of each plant, but plant and grow it by analogy with others. For simple flowers on the window, such conditions are acceptable, and any discomfort in temperature or watering is reflected in the appearance of the crop, which makes it possible to react to it in time. With an orchid, everything is much more complicated and there will be a lot of work with it throughout the entire period of germination and caring for it.

In that case, if you dismiss the sanitization of the container in which the seeds will be grown and their preparation, there will be no point in expecting a mass sprout of seeds... If you only allow the presence of bacteria inside the container, then they will either destroy the entire nutrient medium, leaving the seeds without food, or they will cause fungal damage to the seed material.

The most important thing to understand for an inexperienced grower who wants to grow an orchid is that this process takes a very long time. There are processes that are immediately visible to a person, and there are those that proceed slowly and almost invisibly. Therefore, it is important to be confident in your actions and bring what you started to the end.

Each stage has its own difficulties and peculiarities. To cultivate such demanding flowers, it is worth spending a lot of time learning all the secrets of this process.