Cross-pollination of Phalaenopsis

[housevibe7]

I have a couple of different types of blooms that I have been thinking about cross pollinating for a while now, just not sure how to go about it. If you look at the flower head there is a hole in the top, but.... before I go dissecting flowers to figure it out, I figured I would ask in case someone knew.

[housevibe7]

Ok... I found out where the pollen packets are, in that hole previously mentioned.... but where to stick the pollen once it is gathered??????
It looks like that hole is more or less "spring loaded." B/C when I touched a q-tip to inside the hole, this little thing flipped down with the two pollen pouches on them...

[housevibe7]

I love it when I answer my own questions In case anyone else wants to know... http://lab.troymeyers.com/flasking/FMPr ... =19&-find=

THis is too funny. I just did this myself today for the first time. I did a hilarious experiment, where I crosspolinated Haraella odorata and Phalaenopsis parishii. n I know getting this to work would be like winning the lottery or even harder, if not completely and utterly impossible. But thought I'de give it a try anyways.
My first observations were that the pollen packs of Harella odorata are twice as large as those of Phalaenopsis parishii. On the off chance in frozen hell that this actually works, it would be a cool cross I think.
I was going to say before I found out you figured it out, that the stigma was right under the antheridia.

[housevibe7]

Well, great minds think alike. :lol: That would be a great cross if you could actually get a viable cross. Good luck!

[littlefrog]

Of course you need to consider what you are going to do with the seed once you have it... It isn't as simple as sprinkling it on dirt. That said, I'm all in favor of people making their own weird crosses. It is where the interesting stuff comes from. The big breeders are not going to make many risky crosses. Just make sure you know what your plants are (no tagless wonders).

Rob,
If I do get seeds, I was planning on sending the seed pod to a reputable professional flasker. I failed miserably at my last attempt to flask seeds.

[littlefrog]

I hope to be flasking again soon. It has been a while. I have a hood, but no place to put it until I can get my basement finished, which is one of those 4 year (and counting) projects... Orchid show season ends (for me) after this weekend, maybe then!

Rob

Well I have a fume hood in my lab, an autoclave, and an array of chemicals at my disposal, its just that my technique sucks.

[littlefrog]

I don't think I'd work in a fume hood. Laminar flow is best for flasking. Technique is best learned through practice!!! Of course I did mammalian cell culture for far too many years before I started orchid seed, so it was easy for me...