The Orchid Garden

cooking your own flasking media.

Question:

Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84.

Does anyone know whether this book is still available? Thanks in advance, Simon M. Wellinga / SymPhyto – Laboratory for in vitro plant propagation Heerenveen, The Netherlands World-wide delivery of orchid species flasks for hobbyists and professionals – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Try Chapter 6 of Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84.  It has formulae for orchid media.  Try Knudson’s Orchid formula`C’ or Fetherston’s Orchid formula. Knudson’s is: 20 g sucrose, 15 g agar, 1 g calcium nitrate, 500 mg ammonium sulphate, 250 mg potassium dihydrogen phosphate (sometimes referred to as monobasic), 250 mg magnesium sulphate, 25 mg ferrous sulphate, 7.5 mg manganese sulphate.  Make up to one litre with water. You can add other nutrients and regulators, eg as in Fetherstons, as for Knudson’s but add: 125 mg vitamin C, 2 mg vitamin B1, 1 mg nicotinic acid (is it B2 or B3 – I forget), 1 mg indole acetic acid, 200 ml coconut milk (and less water), and try 15 g of ripe banana mashed up.  The ethylene stimulates the germination of Australian native orchid seed so might work for others. I have not actually tried this as you can get prepacked ingredients commercially from from an orchid supplier in Western Australia.  you have to add the banana though. Use a pressure cooker to sterilise the medium once you have pured it into flasks. Corybas.

Response:

Greetings Janne, It is an interesting idea that you have suggested. Smoke can contain ethylene depending upon what you burn. Ethanol or burning alcohol lamps give it off. Some combusted smoke is definitely hazardous with lots of carcinogens and unfortunately tobacco-smoke can contain dangers of infection by Tobacco Mosaic virus which should always be kept away from orchid plants. It would be quite simple to fill an open flask with such products in a laminar flow cabinet and it should not cause contamination. There is even evidence that just the simple burning of spirit lamps can be enough to increase the concentration of ethylene in your work area and this can affect sensitive plant tissueculture material. Where smoke has been shown to have a beneficial effect of seed germination, and most of the work has been done on South African or Australian floras, there is a belief that it is a product within the smoke that stimulates the germination of seed. Probably unfortunately a more complex chemical combination than ethylene but I do not know the answer to what it is chemically. There is a link to a web page that has a little bit of information http://www.kpbg.wa.gov.au/plantsci/smoke2.html Not sure that there is any evidence that smoke derivatives stimulates the germination of orchids. Orchid seed coats are very thin so would be easily damaged if subjected to heat from smoke or fire. Regards Alan L Winthrop

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings from Finland I think  smoke would contain some ethylene too. How to add that in to flasking media remains mystery to me?  Could we just blow some washed tobacco-smoke into the flasks after sowing orchid seeds?     -Janne-

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Where smoke has been shown to have a beneficial effect of seed germination, and most of the work has been done on South African or Australian floras, there is a belief that it is a product within the smoke that stimulates the germination of seed. Probably unfortunately a more complex chemical combination than ethylene but I do not know the answer to what it is chemically. There is a link to a web page that has a little bit of information http://www.kpbg.wa.gov.au/plantsci/smoke2.html Not sure that there is any evidence that smoke derivatives stimulates the germination of orchids. Orchid seed coats are very thin so would be easily damaged if subjected to heat from smoke or fire. Regards Alan L Winthrop

Ethylene definitely stimulates the flowering of some terrestrial species after fire, but you are correct that it’s not as clear that it is the compound that stimulates seed germination. Whether a fire is successful in increasing the flowering rate depends on factors like how early or late in the season it happens.  Cool fuel reduction burns are probably not as successful as later season hot burns (where there is a risk of uncontrolled bushfire).  Maybe other more complex chemicals are produced in the hotter burn, not really enough is known. The banana produces the ethylene but presumably would have other growth hormones and regulators present. Corybas

Response:

You can probably still get this book from The Australian Orchid Foundation. It is on past catalogues, although the latest ads do not mention it.  I have not got a website for it, that’s why I put the AOR in my previous posting instead. The AOF, however,  is non-profit and supports orchid research. It also runs a seed bank to preserve native species.  People in Australia can send seed, and get some of their protocorms back.  AOF sells quite a few other books on Australian Orchids, also New Guinea, Asia, Colombia etc. It also has the volumes of Australian Orchid Research, ie up-to-date taxonomy. The address is : 107 Roberts St, Essendon, Victoria, Australia, 3040. If you want books on cultivation of Australian Native Orchids, I mean for 6-12 dollars, there are a couple of cheap and useful books available from the Australian Native orchid society, http://www.anos.org.au – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84. Does anyone know whether this book is still available? Thanks in advance, Simon M. Wellinga / SymPhyto – Laboratory for in vitro plant propagation Heerenveen, The Netherlands World-wide delivery of orchid species flasks for hobbyists and professionals

Response:

Greetings from Finland I think  smoke would contain some ethylene too. How to add that in to flasking media remains mystery to me?  Could we just blow some washed tobacco-smoke into the flasks after sowing orchid seeds?     -Janne- – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – G’day Corybas, Very interested in you posted information. Just curious about your statement regarding ethylene stimulating germination and wonder if this is a suggestion or a fact quoted in David Banks’s book? If indeed ethylene stimulates germination I cannot work out what the source of this is in an aseptic media. Autoclaving would eliminate all sources of ethylene. If you require ethylene it would be necessary to add it as a gas or use ethrel(ethephon). Are the flasks sealed? With sowing most non terrestrial orchids measures are taken to eliminate ethylene accumulation. Always interested to learn of new methods so perhaps you could confirm this if you have the book infront of you. Thanks for your help Regards Alan L Winthrop Try Chapter 6 of Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84.  It has formulae for orchid media.  Try Knudson’s Orchid formula`C’ or Fetherston’s Orchid formula. You can add other nutrients and regulators, eg as in Fetherstons, as for Knudson’s but add: 125 mg vitamin C, 2 mg vitamin B1, 1 mg nicotinic acid (is it B2 or B3 – I forget), 1 mg indole acetic acid, 200 ml coconut milk (and less water), and try 15 g of ripe banana mashed up.  The ethylene stimulates the germination of Australian native orchid seed so might work for others. Use a pressure cooker to sterilise the medium once you have pured it into flasks. Corybas.

Response:

Try Chapter 6 of Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84.  It has formulae for orchid media.  Try Knudson’s Orchid formula`C’ or Fetherston’s Orchid formula. Knudson’s is: 20 g sucrose, 15 g agar, 1 g calcium nitrate, 500 mg ammonium sulphate, 250 mg potassium dihydrogen phosphate (sometimes referred to as monobasic), 250 mg magnesium sulphate, 25 mg ferrous sulphate, 7.5 mg manganese sulphate.  Make up to one litre with water. You can add other nutrients and regulators, eg as in Fetherstons, as for Knudson’s but add: 125 mg vitamin C, 2 mg vitamin B1, 1 mg nicotinic acid (is it B2 or B3 – I forget), 1 mg indole acetic acid, 200 ml coconut milk (and less water), and try 15 g of ripe banana mashed up.  The ethylene stimulates the germination of Australian native orchid seed so might work for others. I have not actually tried this as you can get prepacked ingredients commercially from from an orchid supplier in Western Australia.  you have to add the banana though. Use a pressure cooker to sterilise the medium once you have pured it into flasks. Corybas.

Response:

G’day Corybas, Very interested in you posted information. Just curious about your statement regarding ethylene stimulating germination and wonder if this is a suggestion or a fact quoted in David Banks’s book? If indeed ethylene stimulates germination I cannot work out what the source of this is in an aseptic media. Autoclaving would eliminate all sources of ethylene. If you require ethylene it would be necessary to add it as a gas or use ethrel(ethephon). Are the flasks sealed? With sowing most non terrestrial orchids measures are taken to eliminate ethylene accumulation. Always interested to learn of new methods so perhaps you could confirm this if you have the book infront of you. Thanks for your help Regards Alan L Winthrop

Try Chapter 6 of Native Orchids of Australia by David Banks, 1988, Reed Books, French’s Forest, NSW, Australia, pp 77-84.  It has formulae for orchid media.  Try Knudson’s Orchid formula`C’ or Fetherston’s Orchid formula. You can add other nutrients and regulators, eg as in Fetherstons, as for Knudson’s but add: 125 mg vitamin C, 2 mg vitamin B1, 1 mg nicotinic acid (is it B2 or B3 – I forget), 1 mg indole acetic acid, 200 ml coconut milk (and less water), and try 15 g of ripe banana mashed up.

 The ethylene – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – stimulates the germination of Australian native orchid seed so might work for others. Use a pressure cooker to sterilise the medium once you have pured it into flasks. Corybas.

Response:

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