Topic: Orchid seeds

[davholla]

I have some native Orchid seeds.  Purple slipper and common Orchid I think.
Has anyone every grown these ?  If so any advice ?

[ACE]

You do not choose a place for those sort of orchids, they choose were to grow, I would not shout too loudly about your seeds, as they would have been taken from the wild illegally. If they are in a bonafide packet, you've been had.

[davholla]

You do not choose a place for those sort of orchids, they choose were to grow, I would not shout too loudly about your seeds, as they would have been taken from the wild illegally. If they are in a bonafide packet, you've been had.

I bought them from an Insect exhibition where they are very careful about such things.  So I would be surprised if they had broken the law.

[Palustris]

You have still been had. Orchid seeds need a fungus to grow. That fungus (for want of a better word) is only present in the soil where they already grow, So, the only chance of you getting them to germinate and survive is to sow them where there are already ones in existence. Unless of course you have access to a lot of laboratory equipment and facilities, in which case................

[davholla]

You have still been had. Orchid seeds need a fungus to grow. That fungus (for want of a better word) is only present in the soil where they already grow, So, the only chance of you getting them to germinate and survive is to sow them where there are already ones in existence. Unless of course you have access to a lot of laboratory equipment and facilities, in which case................

Oh well never mind - it was only £2.

[artichoke]

I sort of agree with everyone (worked in Kew Orchid Herbarium until recently), and of course orchid seeds are tiny and cannot germinate without very precise conditions. All the same, around me in certain spots I have noted,  orchids grow prolifically. It may be that the microrhiza are different for each orchid, but if you took a trowel of soil from some area where you have noticed lots of orchids growing (probably in the spring) and mingled it with your seeds, you might be lucky.

Kew Gardens are partly state funded, and are obliged to answer questions from the public. They have an irritating telephone enquiry system, but you could try it. (Google). Their European orchid specialist is Jeff Wood (sorry, Jeff....)