The Orchid FAQs

 This page is designed to contain information to answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about orchids.

This site also contains a mirrored archive of the FTP site from  New Mexico Tech is here. Massive amounts of raw technical data  reside within!

 Other information:

 Treatment of protocorms with colchicine.

How do I get rid of fungus gnats?
I bought an orchid. Now what do I do?
How do I grow orchids from seed?
What's the scoop on vanilla? Can I grow it at home?

I have tiny black flies buzzing  around my plants; what do I do about these fungus gnats?

There are differing opinions about fungus gnats: what they are, what they do, and how to get rid of them.

There are many types of fungus gnats; although the worst damage the gnats themselves do is fly up your nose when you least expect it, their larvae (like catepillars)  are known to eat orchid roots. Not all of them do.

Fungus gnats may be eliminated in  several ways. "Sticky traps," consisting of yellow cards  sprayed with adhesive, can be found in some garden stores. They get  rid of gnats, and can also put a dent in populations of aphids. There  are a number of pesticides that work as a drench, but that's using a sledgehammer to fix a pocket watch.

The elegant solution is to purchase some sundews or butterworts. Nowadays, they can be found at almost every "Home Depot" garden department; they're cheap,  and live well with orchids. Give them plenty of light, plenty of  soft, acidic water (no chlorine, and low on minerals, please-  rainwater, distilled, or RO water is best), and keep the humidity high. A single sundew can reduce a fungus gnat infestation to almost nothing in days.

Another biologically safe  alternative is "BT," or Bacillus thurengiensis israelensis, a strain of a naturally occurring bacterium that has been made available in spore form. It used to be sold as "Dipel HG," but a similar formula is now sold as "Gnatrol." BT paralyzes the digestive tract of catepillars and other insect larvae,  and is harmless to humans, pets, birds, bees, etc. Great stuff. It'll kill the larvae eating your roots.

I bought an orchid. Now what do I do?

Good question. There's about 19,000 species of orchid, and well over 100,000 hybrids. Knowing what the plant is will help you immensely.

Most of the "garden  variety" orchids being sold at discount stores and hardware stores today are one of the following (check the label):

Phalaenopsis hybrids

Recognized by their long, smooth leaves, phals are called "moth orchids" because of the shape of their flowers. Borne on a spike often 2-3 times taller than the plant, these flowers may be almost any color, but are generally white or pink.

These plants enjoy warm temperatures, but will tolerate down to 55F in the winter. In fact, in order to flower, many  plants require about 2 weeks of weather where the temperatures drop to 50-55F every night. The plants are susceptible to rot; keep water out of the growing crown. If it remains there too long (such as if it  is watered at night or shortly before nightfall), fungi or bacterial  rots may take hold, and quickly kill the plant. To allow water to run from the crown, the plant may be tipped or supported at a steep  angle, with the crown pointing downwards (as they do in nature).

Give these plants bright light (about 2500 footcandles, or "african violet" light), water before the  media gets dry (nuggets of bark 1" below the surface should be  slightly moist), and make certain that new roots that appear at the  base of the plant are given some kind of media to grow on. If they are not, and the plant is kept in the typical dry-air home, they can die quickly; without new roots being established, the plant spirals  into dehydration and root loss.

There is no need to cut off the spikes once they finish flowering. Spikes will sometimes branch, and continue to  flower. Once the spike is dry brown and dead, it may be cut or  carefully twisted off. Do not cut live tissue (like a live, green  spike) unless you use a sterile tool.

Cymbidium hybrids

These plants have long, thin leaves that cascade from  fist-sized "bulbs." Flower spikes are long and tall, often  taller than the plant.

Cymbidiums may be warm-growing or cold-growing; most commonly seen are cold-growing cymbidiums that will tolerate frost. These cold-tolerant plants are robust, vigorous growers that are also  heavy feeders. In the fall, these plants should be left outside until they have been exposed to frost, which will encourage them to bloom.  New spikes will appear along with new growths, and the plant will  rapidly fill their pots. Once they have flowered, if they do not have sufficient room for another years' growth, repot them.

The media for cymbidiums is heavier than that of other orchids, as these are terrestrial, and not epiphytic. Plants may be potted in media with bark, perlite, sphagnum, and peat moss. If your plants have been doing well in the mix they came in, it is recommended that you continue on with the same mix. Look at what they came in, and do your best to reformulate it for next year.

How do I grow orchids from seed?

Orchids are not readily grown from seed. The vast  majority of orchids for sale have been propagated in a lab, either  from cloning techniques, or from aseptic seed germination.

In the wild, the orchid seed must be infected with a fungus in order to germinate. Louis Knudson perfected his techniques to grow orchids from seed without these fungi in 1919-1921, and these methods today are used to grow most orchids that are commercially  available, and virtually all of them that are not wild-collected.

The first step, once a seed capsule has been produced, is to collect the seeds. If the capsule has not yet split, then the  seeds may be sown without exposing them to harsh chemical disinfectants; this technique is favored by many propagators today,  but there are some concerns that these methods may transmit viruses from the mother plant to seedlings. If the capsule has already broken open, then the seed must be disinfected with chlorine-containing compounds that will destroy fungal and bacterial contaminants that may have taken up residence on the seeds.

Once the seed has been removed from the capsule or disinfected, it is sown on sterile nutrient media that contains salts  and sugars in a formulation that is similar to a fertilizer and table sugar mixture, held together with a gelling agent that feels and acts  like gelatin. This media must be kept sterile, and all tools and seeds that contact it must be kept sterile as well, for the media  will grow fungi and bacteria even better than it will grow orchids. Such contamination is highly undesirable, and almost certainly causes  loss of the seeds or seedlings. The media is contained in a plastic or glass container, called "flasks." So-called "mother flasks" are used to germinate the seeds on media designed for  this purpose; mother flasks may contain hundreds or thousands of  "protocorms," or very tiny seedlings that are little more than green balls of cells. Once these protocorms are large enough, they are moved to different media. These "replate flasks" permit the seedlings to grow until they are large enough to survive  outside of the flask.

Growing orchids from seed can be done at home,  but it is a difficult, time-consuming, expensive, and often frustrating occupation. You will require a sterile workspace (such as  an aquarium), a pressure cooker, special media and gelling agent, tools that can be disinfected, and plenty of patience for the flasks  you will contaminate before you achieve success. Further information  may be found in a number of places on the web.

What's the scoop on vanilla? Can I grow it at home?

The answer is probably "yes." The question is, why would you want to? The genus Vanilla consists of approximately 70 species of tropical vines that are  orchids. Of these, two or three are regularly used for commercial  production of vanilla flavoring. The most common is Vanilla planifolia. Two other species, V. tahitensis and V. pompona are occasionally used for production of the flavoring.

There are problems associated with vanilla. First off, the plant is a vine- and a very large one. It may grow to a height of 50 or 80 feet in the wild, and specimens in  greenhouses often twine around to a length in excess of 30 feet. Secondly, the flowers are ephemeral, lasting only one day. During  this period of time, they must be pollinated by hand in order to  produce a bean. The primary techniques are shown in the November,  1992 American Orchid Society Bulletin. There are some guidelines for  culture in Withner's The Orchids: A Scientific Survey, in the section titled "Vanilla- The Orchid of Commerce."

Once the flowers have been pollinated, the beans slowly develop. After harvesting, they are killed, and either dried or soaked in alcohol. The entire process  lasts about two years; commercial beans may be 5-6 years old by the time they are made available. In terms of price, vanilla flavoring is second only to saffron, due to the intensive extraction process. Although yes- it can be done at home, it is almost invariably  easier and much less expensive just to buy it at the grocery store.

If this does not dissuade you, there are many growers that will sell you a cutting from a vanilla vine. Search the web for "Vanilla planifolia," and you may find any one of a number of growers who will do so. Just don't expect  to produce beans anytime soon; 2-3 years at best would be most likely. Expect to pay $12-30 for a length of vine.