Early Bloomer

Last week my first Disa came into full bloom, unusually early. Disa orangeade is a new variety from Alba Labs in South Africa. This plant was grown on and purchased from Germany. It is short and stubby in growth and like other early blooms I have seen before on the Net, has appeared peloric and upward facing. It will be interesting to see weather subsequent blooms are the same. Last year I had Orangeade and Safron showing the same growth pattern i.e. short and stubby Orangeade didn't survive but the offsets I saved from Safron seem to be growing normally this year. It will be interesting to see if the plants are mutant or weather it was the flasking/growing on methods that caused these problems. It would be interesting to hear if anyone else has had similar problems.

I have increased my Disa collection to 30+ varieties and hope to produce more seed this year.

Last years germinated seedlings are doing well and beginning to put on growth as the day length increases. Best results seem to have come from sowing on moss but sand and peat/perlite has worked as well. Moss growth and green jelly like growths on the peat have been a problem. There was a noticeable difference in the germination rates between those seeds sown immediately after harvesting and those sown a month later.

It would be nice if any other Disa growers are reading this Blog if they would get in touch via the e-mail link. Pollen swaps or seed swaps could be organised during this season.

Update

Phal. Firecracker Blue Martini

The hydroponics systems are all functioning well and so far the various orchids are still thriving in their new conditions. Phalaenopsis Blue Martini is in bloom. Several of the Dendrobiums are about to bloom.

The Disa Safron offshoots which I treated with a 10% bleach solution earlier this year to combat rot have survived and are doing well.

The various seed sowings have produced mixed results and I guess some of my crosses didn't produce viable seed. Those that did are currently germinating and producing small leaves. I have trialled various sowing media and conditions. Some sown in moss, some in sand, some in peat/perlite mix. One batch are in the same conditions as the mother plants, the rest are in conventional seed propogators. It will be interesting to see the results later in the year. Currently all methods are producing seedlings.

The Blue Phal seedlings have been transferred into the main hydroponics tray.

Three trial sowings in with the mother plants

Disa Safron survivor

Disa Seeds and Germination

The trials I started last month using moss and sand as sowing mediums seem to be working out OK. Some of the seeds from my first crosses and self pollinations have begun to germinate so it would seem that both methods may work. Several pots are not showing any signs of life yet but this may mean the seeds were not viable or they may need a longer time to get started.

The seed pod from a cross made with Riette has produced a large volume of seed. A cross made with Red Uniflora has also produced the same. I'll be sowing some of these today. As a first try at producing some of my own plants from seed I must admit a sense of satisfaction so far. I do realise however it is a long road from pollination/germination to mature plant we'll see how things go over the next few months.

A couple of other plants flowering this month are shown below, these are Zygonisia, Phal. Cornu-cervi Aurea and Aeranthes. A dendrobium transferred to hydroponics is flowering. Many of the phals have put up new spikes. The blue phal seedlings are still making good progress.

Germinating Disa Seeds

In a search for more info on sowing Disa seeds I contacted Ed Merkle who kindly sent me details of his method of germinating seeds. He was very helpful in sending the following info that I hope he won't mind me sharing.
"I pollinated a cut-flower stem of Disa and it produced seed in about 5 weeks. As soon as the capsule started to yellow a little bit and looked like it was going to split, I took the capsule and sowed the seed.
I used New Zealand sphagnum moss for growing media. I took the moss and boiled it in distilled water for about fifteen minutes, to kill any moss spores or fungus. After cooling, I filled a 15cm pot about three-quarters to the top with moss, and firmed it down very tightly. I then sowed the seed over the surface of the moss. After sowing, I covered the pot with plastic saran wrap from the kitchen, and held it in place with a large rubber band. I placed the pot about 40cm below a pair of 40 watt fluorescent lamps. I put the pot in a shallow dish with about 2cm of distilled water in the dish at all times. Temperature was about 20C.
I saw seedlings growing after about 45 days and they reached about 1cm in about 100 days. When they reached this height I started picking out the larger ones and placing them in community pots of about 10 seedlings each. They reached blooming size in two years.
Hope this helps - Ed"

I will try this method and post here the results of my trial. I also read that in South Africa some growers use just sand. I purchased some aquarium sand recently so will try this too.
I hope to have plenty of seeds to experiment with - pics show pods ripening from various crosses and self-pollinations done over the past few weeks.

The Disa Safron that arrived in poor condition - described in an earlier post - seems to have survived its radical treatment. New leaves are beginning to appear. A second bloom opened on Orangeade but like the first, the pollens were damaged. However I used the blooms to pollinate with Brides Dream on the first and last week with Riette which I bought last weekend. Riette's pollens were separated from the plant onto the packaging so they had to be used.
Being a beginner with Disas I have little idea whether or not any interesting results will be forthcoming with the crosses I have made. At this stage I am just producing fresh seed to experiment with and if a nice plant results I will be doubly pleased.



Above Orangeade with a swelling seed pod and below Watsonii and Kewensis with seed pods nearly ready for sowing.



One of the Safron splits showing new leaves after the weak bleach treatment.

New orchids bought at the Show

We always attend orchid shows with good intentions - not to impulse purchase! We ordered most of our orchids beforehand for collection at the venue. Nevertheless we still managed to come home with more than we set out to bring. It is very difficult to resist - just another one. Here's a couple that were in flower and difficult to resist.

Cirrophyllum
Phal Cornu Cervi Aurea
Ho's Black Cherub
Disa Riette

We ordered several Phal species plants and two others that I am looking forward to blooming - Chingruey's Morning 'Palace Dragon' a young plant and Doritaenopsis Fire Cracker Blue Martini which is in spike.

Disa Riette had lost its pollen to the packaging so I used it to pollinate Orangeade, Brides Dream and Watsonii blooms to see if some seed is produced. I now have some 10 or so seed pods ripening and have to get to grips with choice of media to sow some on and experiment again with germination. I think it is probably safe to say my first try with purchased seeds will be a failure no signs of movement under the magnifying glass and many seeds with mould covering. Moss and sand next I guess.

Suffolk Orchid Society Stand at the Peterborough Orchid Show

Some pics of the Suffolk Orchid Society Stand at the Peterborough Orchid Show.

Peterborough Orchid Show

Looking forward to visiting the Show tomorrow and picking up the orchids I have ordered. If anyone reading this is from the UK and is going to the Show as well - we would be pleased to say hello. We will be manning the Suffolk Orchid Society stand from 1 til 3 Saturday only.