You bought an Orchid Flask. Now What?
For many orchid growers and nurseries, buying flasks is the most economical method of purchasing large amounts of seedlings (or clones) at reduced pricing. The trade off? You are going to spend a lot of time watching and waiting for the little guys to grow. For example, most standard Cattleyas in flasks are about 5-6 years from first blooming, at the earliest. For those of us in more temperate climates with harsher winters, it can take longer.
Getting them started on the right foot is important for long-term success and healthy, happy plants.
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When selecting flasks from a hybridizer or nursery, it is always best to choose genus or species that are suitable for your existing growing conditions. If a mature plant would struggle in your growing space, than the babies would likely suffer even more. Deflasking is a shock for even the strongest seedlings and we want to reduce that as much as possible. The growing environment should be well lit with medium to bright indirect light (1800-2500 fc), based on your plants and the temperatures should be moderate (65°-85°).
The first thing we suggest having on hand are Domed Growing Trays, such as those for seed starting, to help control humidity. You won't need them forever, but you should have them to start with. Remember that inside the flask is 100% humidity and the plants need to acclimate slowly to prevent die-back. Whether you are planting individually into cell packs or into community pots, domes will be very useful. If you don't want to invest in larger ones, grab a cake dome or even a rotisserie chicken container.
Be aware that different plants will have different planting styles. The Sedirea japonica seedlings seen in today's blog, prefer moss and to sit up high in the pot or container. We avoided cutting any roots that were not necessary. Ladyslippers do not want any roots broken or cracked if possible. Most Cattleyas are fine to be trimmed as needed.
Let's go through the rest one step at a time.
Materials Needed to Make De-Flasking your Seedlings Easier
* Sheets of Newspaper to cover your workspace.
* Latex or Nitrile gloves, if preferred
The charcoal ager can stain your hands temporarily
* Small plastic tub filled with tepid (not warm) water plus extra water for final rinsing
A small Rubbermaid shoe box or dishpan is the perfect size
* Long metal skewer with slightly bent or hooked tip
A metal BBQ kebob skewer that can be bent with pliers works great.
* Sharp scissors or very fine tip clippers that can be sterilized.
* Small trays, cell packs or shallow plastic pots to plant in. Either new or thoroughly cleaned used pots (remember the last blog post?).
For compots or ‘community pots’ we recommended 4" to 5” plastic pan pots. At this stage plants are not usually ready for individual containers and shallow containers work best for the small root systems.
*Fine grade potting media, moistened.
Fine grade fir bark or Classic sized Orchiata bark are recommended. Make sure the bark also includes perlite for added drainage. Large grade or coarse media will not hold the plants or water properly. Some growers prefer New Zealand Sphagnum Moss but this can stay too wet if you are not careful so it is not always suggested for Cattleyas. We use moss for Phalaenopsis and related genera.
*Plastic Dome Covered Growing Tray or similar – Used to cover seedlings after planting. Helps keep humidity higher around the plants as they adjust outside the bottle.
The following are recommended based on our current greenhouse procedure.
Physan 20- Can be added to the first rinse water. Helps to stop any fungus or bacteria that may have started in the flask. ½ tsp per gallon of water is sufficient.
Captan Wettable Powder Fungicide- Made into a spray of 1 tbsp per qt of water. We spray this over seedlings after they are planted and watered to prevent damping off or soft rot. A couple drops of Physan or Dawn dish soap can be added to the solution as a sticking agent. If not available a substitute is Chlorothalonil based products at a low dilution.
SuperThrive- When you water the potting media for the first time, this can be added to the water. ¼ tsp per gallon
Prep your media and pots first. (this can be done the day before planting)
Add enough water to your potting media that a handful will hold together when squeezed. Press media into your pots or trays until it reaches ½” from top of pot. It should be packed firmly but not super tight. Water thoroughly from the top to flush out debris and sediment. The water should run clear from the bottom. Set aside to finish dripping.
If using moss, this step can be skipped, and you just need to dampen and wring out the moss.
Get your workspace ready.
Cover your area with newspaper to protect your table or bench. Place all your tools and materials within easy reach.
Open the flask and use the skewer with the hooked tip to gently ease the seedlings from the bottle (if narrow necked). If possible pull through the opening rootball first to prevent leaf cracking or bruising. Put the entire plant mass into the basin of water. This helps to soften the agar as you untangle the plants. Work each plant free, one at a time.
As you clean plants inspect for broken leaves, brown or black leaves or other problems. Use your sterilized scissors to trim off any suspect tissue or broken leaf tips. After all the plants are separated, rinse them in fresh water and lay them on the newspaper.
Recommended: We also trim any exceptionally long roots before planting. Usually anything longer than two inches will be trimmed. This can be a matter of preference.
Ready to Plant.
With your plants ready, get your prepped pots of media. Depending on the size of the pots and the size of the seedlings you can fit anywhere between 6 to 12 plants per pot. Any more than that and they will be crowded. Remember, plants will be in these pots for some time, until they are large enough for individual containers.
Our method is to take the pointed end of a wooden skewer or chopstick and make a hole large enough to ease the roots into. Place the seedlings just deep enough to stand up but do not bury any leaves. Slightly firm the media around each plant with your fingers or the skewer. Plants should stand on their own and you should barely see the crown where the roots start. If they are planted too deep, damp-off can occur very quickly and if they are too high they will fall over and will not root properly.
With Sphagnum moss, we take the seedling and wrap a bit of moss around the roots before easing them into the cell pack. This prevents root damage.
After you are finished planting make sure the label the pot with a marker or plastic label. (We add the date as well).
This would be the time to spray the seedlings with Captan or another fungicide, if you are doing so.
After planting care.
Humidity and light will play a big role in getting your baby orchids established. If you have access to a clear plastic dome cover for seedlings this will very useful. Simply cover the plants and place in indirect light (as before) checking once or twice per week for moisture. You want the air to stay humid but the media should not be kept boggy after the original watering. As the media dries out, remove the cover and mist plants with room temperature water on clear sunny days. Just like their larger counterparts, this will encourage new roots to start growing in search of water. If you have condensation dripping inside the cover, shake it off away from the plants and lower the light levels. After a couple weeks of being under cover, you will need to start hardening
them off. Our method is to lift the cover slightly away from the plants to lower the humidity gradually. If you are using the bag method open the bag for a few hours per day over a week’s time.
Once they are out of the cover place compots in medium to bright indirect light with gentle air movement. Airflow should not be enough to dry the pots out as this will also dehydrate the tender foliage.
Continue to mist plants on clear sunny days as new roots emerge. Do not fertilize seedlings for at least a month after planting. Wait until you see new roots beginning to crawl on the media. At this point you can mist them with half strength fertilizer such as Growmore 30-10-10 or Orchid-Pro 7-8-6
After plants have been in pots for a few months you can start to gradually increase light levels. Most seedlings at this stage can take medium light levels (bright Phalaenopsis light) while some tolerate brighter light. Plants will not need the same light as mature plants for quite some time. Continue to mist or water lightly until roots are reaching into the media. Fertilizer can be applied at 3-4 weeks intervals, again at half the normal dilution.
In our greenhouses, plants stay in community trays for 1 to 2 years before being moved into individual pots. Always remember orchids like tight containers and should not be repotted too frequently.
And now the wait begins. Orchid growing is not for the impatient! What is the longest you have grown a plant before it finally flowered for you?
Happy Growing!