The inside of an orchid capsule, if intact, is naturally sterile. If you sterilize the outside of the capsule and open the capsule under sterile conditions the seeds should be sterile. This method has the advantage that the seeds themselves do not need to be sterilized (which can sometimes lead to damage). In addition, some seeds, if taken from capsules which are almost ripe, germinate quicker than those taken from mature capsules.
necessary Tools:
necessary articles of consumption:
You can find the sources of supply at Equipment.
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Advantages of green capsules:
Disadvantages of green capsules:
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Preparing the flasking area:
We us the steam above a pot with boilding water to provide sterile conditions. To minimize the risk of contaminations you should reduce draft in your room as much as possible. Close all windows and doors while you are flasking. In the picture below you can see our preferred arrangement of tools (for right-handed person).
Next steps:
Open the bottle with 70% ethanol and place you forceps or repaltingtool into it. Fill about 3 cm water in your pot and turn on your oven. The temperature of the boilding water must be high enough to produce a steady flow of steam. As soon as the water starts to boil, take a kitchen paper, soak it with 70% ethanol and use it to clean the grill. When you finished cleaning place the grill on the pod.
Sterilization of green capsules:
Carefully remove dead flower parts off the capsule to reduce the risk of contaminations.
capsule ready for sterilization
Rinse your screwable flask with 70% ethanol and fill the flask with Clorox. Put the capsule into the flask and make shure that the complete capsule is immersed.
Seed sowing:
The following steps must be done in the sterile area (steam). Open test tubes and their cotton plugs have to stay in the steam till the test tube is closed again.
After sterilizing the capsule for 15 minuten you can start to open the capsule in the sterile area (steam). Put on your gloves, soak a piece of kitchen paper with 70% ethanol and put it down on the grill. Take the flask containing the capsule and open it in the steam. Place the lid of the flask somewhere on the table and transfer the capsule with a flamed forceps to the kitchen paper which is lying on the grill. Hold your forceps for a short moment in the boiling water and bring it back into 70% ethanol.
Open the capsule with a flamed scalpel and forceps. After doing that, hold your forceps and the scalpel for a short moment in the boiling water and bring it back into 70% ethanol.
Take a test tube and remove the aluminium foil cap. Place the foil cap close to the pod on a kitchen paper which is soaked with 70% ethanol.
Take the forceps out of the 70% ethanol and flame it. Remove the cotton plug with the flamed forceps and place the plug on the grill.
Flame your replating tool and pick up some seeds with it. Transfer the seeds directly into the test tube on the media. After bringing the seeds on the media hold the replating tool for a short moment in the boiling water and bring it back into 70% ethanol.
Pick up the forceps which is holding the cotton plug and put the plug back into the test tube. Hold the forceps for a short moment in the boiling water and bring it back into 70% ethanol.
Flame the cotton plug.
Put the aluminium foil cap on the test tube. To make shure that the foil cap does not move around we put a rubber band around it.
Some hints:
Further care:
We place our flask at our windowsill like the picture below shows. The temperature is about 20 °C. It is very important to prevent direct sun because the seeds in the flasks will become to hot if they get direct sun. If you have no windowsill available you can use a 20 Watt fluorescent tubes. We advice you to place the flasks at different places, so you can get a feeling which species needs which conditions to germinate.
