Orchid growing tips for beginners
Many growers buy an orchid on impulse - often without any regard for how it will fit into their collection - and disappointment follows when the plant fails to thrive in the owner’s environment.
These notes have been prepared for growers relatively new to the hobby.
What are my orchid growing objectives?
Before buying an orchid it’s important to consider your end goal, such as:
Do I want plants that are easy to grow in the climate where I live?
Do I want to specialise in species rather than hybrids?
Do I want to concentrate on a particular genus or sub-tribe?
Do I want plants that are likely to win prizes at meetings and/or shows?
You need to find your own answers to these questions but you may wish to consider the following:- Divisions v. Mericlones v. Seedlings v. Flasks
Divisions
Divisions include pieces of a plant taken off during repotting, including back cuts. Keikis are included in this group. Plants obtained this way will produce flowers essentially the same as the mother plant. The process is called vegetative propagation. Divisions normally achieve flowering size in a relatively short time.
Mericlones
Mericlones are also produced by a vegetative process. A small amount of tissue taken from the parent plant is reproduced hundreds, sometimes thousands of times, in laboratory conditions. Each sub-division contains the same genetic material as the parent plant but occasionally there are mutations, caused by chemicals used in the process. A downside of buying mericlones is that many other growers are likely to have identical plants. Mericlones are often sold in small pots or tubes and take around the same time as seedlings to reach flowering size.
Seedlings
Seedlings, as the name implies, are raised from seed, most often with the pollen coming from different plants from the one bearing the seed pod. The mixing of genes in the reproductive process results in significant variety amongst the resulting seedlings. You will encounter the terms ”sibling” or “selfing”. Sibling usually means that two different plants of the same species have been crossed but the term may also be applied to a hybrid made by crossing two hybrids of the same grex. Selfing means that a flower has been fertilised with its own pollen. Some growers buy seedlings in preference to mericlones because there is always a chance that a plant could be better than either of the parents.
Flasks
Both seedlings and mericlones can be purchased in flasks. Some skill is required to manage the transition from flask to pot and this is where there can be many losses. Plants from flasks take significantly longer to reach maturity than seedlings or mericlones in pots. One of the benefits of buying flasks of seedlings is that a grower can expect a range of qualities in the plants upon maturity. He/she can select the best and dispose of the rest. Bear in mind that some genera take a long time to reach maturity from the flask, 10 to 15 years in the case of some Paphiopedilums, but some genera such as Phalaenopsis can flower within two years from deflasking.