From: Date: Fri Feb 9, 2001 6:34pm Subject: Re: [hometissueculture] Re: How to germinate Paph. seeds Hi Dave, Pahiopedilum maudiae type are always a good choice to sow as results can be quick. P.maudiae (P.callosum x lawrenceanum) or the closer to these two species makes for easy seed. The further you get away from that original cross the more difficulties you may encounter, though another species can sometimes inject 'good germination' again. The albums/albinos/greens can be sometimes more difficult with some notable awarded forms being triploids, and difficult or impossible to breed on from. Sometime the yield of seed from these will only be a few 'scrapings' but always worth sowing. However the coloured formes usually breed well. If your pod is bulging with seed it can be a good sign. Maudiae seed are very light compared to many other Paphs and take care as they blow easily in air currents. You should also sow thinly as when the germination is good it will be very good. Expect to get probably 500 -3000 plants or more from a big fat pod. Maudiae seedlings often develop roots that get readily inter-twined and seem to be 'sticky' which is another reason for sowing thinly. Germination can be as soon as 6-8 weeks. If you are sowing the difficult 'green group' the germination can be slower and guard against too much light to the seedlings. Some leaves may be white or low on green pigmentation. I would stick to the recommended pH for Hills. Usually most media is set at pH 5.5-5.7 prior to autoclaving. Personally I have found there is no need raise the pH to 6.3-6.5 though others do that. The pH will drop with time and is self adjusted by the seedlings over time. Sorry I never use PPM, as contamination never seems to be a problem. So I cannot comment on how it might affect the germination of Paphiopedilums. However I do believe that PPM can be less effective when organic additives or charcoal have been added to the media. Hills media has organic additives. If you later use banana this should also be taken into account. Hope this is of some help. Best regards Alan TQPLlab@a...