Do You Love Orchids?
If you have admired orchids, you may already be familiar with hybrids. These are plants the take characteristics from both parents. Growers that develop hybrids determine what type of flower he wants to create. This may be based on several features, including color, stripes or spotting. Growers also select plants based on size and fragrance.
With this in mind, a grower will select orchid varieties that will endow the offspring with the desired characteristics. As an example, an orchid developer may choose to use a golden slipper orchid as one of the base species. This orchid, discovered in 1979in china, is a popular choice. It often passes on the rich yellow-gold color to the hybrid offspring, which often end up as beautiful varieties in the hybrid orchid family.
Once the grower has selected the two parent plants, the existing pollen is removed from the pod parent. This is the plant the will receive the pollen from the other plant. The plant supplying the pollen is referred to as the pollen parent. The grower will remove the pollen from the pollen parent - usually with a toothpick or similar instrument - and smear the pollen on the base of the pod parent's flower column. The plants are labeled with the names of the both parents and the pollination date.
If fertilization takes place, an amazing thing occurs in the blossom of the pod parent. Thread-like tubes stretch out from the column to a part of the blossom know as the ovary. The ovary then swells and forms a seedpod. Inside, hundreds of thousands of tiny seeds are forming, each one connected to a single pollen tube.
It may take months or more than a year for the seedpod to ripen. At that point,, the grower gathers the seeds from the seedpod. He places them in a sterilized flask with a solution of agar and nutrients. If the seeds germinate, tiny orchids will soon appear like a carpet of green grass.
After several months, the grower will remove the seedling orchids from this container and puts them in a "community pot". he will keep an eye on the seedlings, watering them frequently to avoid them drying out. Eventually, the grower transplants these orchids to individual pots. This is where patience begins, since orchids can take anywhere from a few years up to a decade or more to bloom!
Imagine a growers satisfaction when he sees a blossom on an orchid he has worked to produce! If the hybrid is new, the grower can register it using a name of his choosing. All hybrids developed thereafter using that genus/species blend will thus be referred to by the registered name.
Sometimes, a grower will find an ideal combination that creates quite the sensation among orchid hobbyists. This may receive awards, with plants the demand high prices. Whatever the monetary outcome, the joy of seeing an orchid's blossom that has been created by the grower is a delight. Now you know the time and patience that creates the beautiful orchids you see.
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