I have grown Orchids for more years than I can remember, for most of that time, apart from growing the adult plants, I have also grown them from seed, small numbers at first but since beginning flasking I have sown and successfully de-flasked hundreds of orchids, with almost all of them being species, the remainder primary crosses or remakes of natural hybrids. From that time until just a few years ago, I generally kept just a small quantity of seedlings to final re-flask, not having a great deal of room for them once removed from the jars, of course this meant a lot of plant material was discarded before ever getting to final flask, which clearly was a waste, both of plant material and effort.
Conservation remains a concern, perhaps more so now than ever before, so over the last few years, prompted by the ongoing loss of habitat for orchid species in their countries of origin, together with increase of paperwork surrounding import, I have not only grown more species but also retained far more seedlings both in flask and out, I accept that my plants will never be used to re-introduce in the wild but those I raise may, at least, be kept in circulation.
Over the years I have learned a lot about the process but there is always more to learn and for the last few years I have been undertaking micropropagation, which helps produce orchid seedlings where successful pollination has proved elusive. Learning the new techniques for this is something of a challenge for me but, good progress is being made.
Currently, I have a great number of orchid species in the in-vitro cultivation cycle either just sown, in one of the several stages of flask or as acclimatised seedlings. I hope to continue expanding the numbers of individual species and numbers of them brought to final flask which should include some of the terrestrial species native to the UK.
I can now offer these flasks and seedlings to all in the UK … however, due to current import/export restrictions, I cannot send any of them outside of the UK. … the numbers of seedlings and flasks available is generally good but, inevitably, limited and changes over time so they are not listed here for purchase yet. If you are interested in purchasing flasks and orchid seedlings listings are available and I invite you to use the email form provided to request a copy.
