DIY PLEIONE HYBRIDISING

[jonathan.wild]

As a new 'poster' on this forum - firstly a big HELLO to all you fellow Pleione addicts!
I've been growing a small collection of Pleione for a number of years now and I fancy having a go at a bit of (very!) amateur hybridising.
I realise that its not easy but I would like to add another dimension to this very interesting hobby.
Can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of literature etc as I would like to get on with the research now - before the flowers start to appear!
Look forward to a bit of sage advise!!

[Maggi Young]

A very warm welcome to you, Jonathon. I believe it is always great fun to take an interest a stage further, as you plan with your pleiones....
you should certainly find lots of help around here, though not from me!
Good luck and don't forget to keep us posted on your progress...

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Hi Jonathan !

Always good to see a new Pleione fan on the Forum.

I don't hybridise myself and probably some other Forumists will be able to offer you further advice.
For as far as you don't already have it in your posession, the monograph by Phillip Cribb and Ian Butterfield "The Genus Pleione" is very informative on hybridisation and growing Pleione from seed.
If you don't have it already, you can obtain it from the SRGC bookshop.

I hope I've been of some assistance and do look forward to seeing your pix of Pleione on this forum shortly.

[Paul Cumbleton]

Hi Jonathan,
Could you tell us a bit more about what exactly you want to know? - for example, do you know how to pollinate a Pleione? And do you mean you want to do the seedraising yourself or do you intend to send them to a lab? I've been doing my own hybridising for 10 years now and can share my experiences as appropriate

Cheers

Paul

[jonathan.wild]

Hi Luc and Paul,

Thanks for the very rapid response - yes I have got the book Luc - I guess I'm looking for a bit more of an 'arm around the shoulder' and a bit of an insight from someone who has done it before!
Paul - you are the obvious expert in all this and I suppose if I can extract any tips, shortcuts or good 'steers' then they would be much appreciated.
If this may seem naive then please bear with me; what I want to acheive is some simple crosses of my hybrids and species as they come into flower. I don't really want to get involved with storing pollen at this stage (unless you tell me otherwise!) and would like to send the pods to someone who can germinate the seeds for me - any suggestions? It would be nice to think I could do that one day.. but from small acorns as they say!
I appreciate that a lot of the more 'simple' crosses have already been achieved so again I'd appreciate advice on how to choose something 'new'.
I'm sure you could write essays (or even a book?!) on this very topic - I don't want to waste your time...
Maybe you could offer enthusiasts such as me a 'masterclass' in raising new hybrids - I'm sure like me there would be many people who would be willing to reimburse you for a little of the knowledge?!!
Look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers!

[Paul Cumbleton]

Hi Jonathan,
Firstly I must say I am really pleased that you want to make some new hybrids. While there thousands of Phalaenopsis hybrids and other orchids, comparatively little work has been done on Pleiones so here is a genus where anyone could still make an important contribution. There are - at current count - only 231 named (registered) Pleione hybrids in existence. Only 19 people contributed to these, of which six only did one each. Ian Butterfield is alone responsible for 108 of them! Even the primary hybrids (i.e. a pure species crossed with a pure species) are poorly represented - of the possible 271 of these that could be done, only 52 have actually been done. So, plenty of scope to aim at!

To get you started, the first step is to pollinate some plants and obtain some seed. I have just added a page to my website which shows - with pictures - exactly how to do this (I put it there because it would have been a bit long to put here). Go to www.pleione.info and select "Pleiones from seed" from the menu on the left. So far, the pollination bit is the only thing there, but I will in the future add more information. As for which crosses have already been done, see the hybrid list also on my website. Of course, as just a list this isn't easy to search. I have an Excel file with the full list in and, assuming you are familiar with Excel, this can be searched easily usinf the sort and filter functions to quickly see if any particular cross has been registered. If you would like a copy of this file let me know and I will send it. You will of course need to keep it up to date as new hybrids are registered - you can download the updated lists on a regular basis from the RHS website at http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/publications/pubs_journals_orchid_hybrid.asp

Storing pollen does give you more options - you can for example store early flowering ones to put on to late flowering ones, or autumn flowering ones to put on to Spring flowering ones. Just remove the pollinia and put them in a small tube. I leave them in a warm room for a day or so to ensure they are dry, then just pop them in the fridge for a few weeks, or in the freezer for longer term storage. To get someone to sow your seed for you, I suggest you contact Ian Butterfield and ask him who he uses. I will write more when I have more time.

Paul

[jonathan.wild]

Fantastic Paul!   I really appreciate the trouble you've taken with this - and I'm sure a lot of other people are as well!
It would appear that the world is your oyster as far as possible crosses is concerned so I think I'll wait and see what inspires me as they come into flower. As the pollen storage doesn't seem to cause a problem I think I'll give that a go as well - if I didn't then I think it would limit my options a little too much.
Thanks for the moment Paul - will let you know what happens.........!
Regards

Jonathan Wild

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Paul,

I just read the above and had a look at the new page on your website. Great stuff !  Marvelous demonstration. Even I understand it ! 

I think I've now been contaminated and I'll just give it a go this season. 
Watch this space in 5 or 6 years when my first hybrids make their appearance...

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Oops - I forgot something.
Thanks for launching this discussion Jonathan ! 

[Maggi Young]

I must echo what Luc says about your pollination page, Paul....perfect pix, clearly explained... superb !

I do not doubt that there will be many learning a great deal from your pages and this discussion. Thanks!

[jeff bagnall]

As an old grower of many, so called, difficult plants I am interested in growing pleiones from seed as last year 3 or 4 plants set seed uninvited (in a cold green house) it could be that these are self fertile or that a bee has done it for me.   Anyway I distributed the seed under my fruit trees more in hope than anticipation.   After reading the items under "simple glove box to sow orchids...." I have decided that I might try.   I made an electric propogator  30+ years ago and it still works well so temperature control is no problem, and I am fairly handy with tools but I would like to correspond with someone to guide me through any pitfalls and then I will need advice with desired temperature, where to by agar and the various chemicals and if I need instruments to check pH etc.   I have 70+ pots of pleiones, mainly small bulbils, both species and hybrids growing in a well ventilated 6 X 8 aliminium house with shading which I slot in during summer.

[Maggi Young]

A warm welcome to you, Jeff.  I think it is an exciting project  you are planning and I am sure that Paul and others will have lots to discuss with you....I will look forward to hearing how you get on. 

[karel_t]

Jonathan, I cross fingers to your zeal. I found, the pleione hybridisation is very simple and a home sowing with basic equipments is easy.
Here is one of my jars with protocorms from October's home sowing (five weeks ago).

[Tomas]

Very nice, Karel.
 
T.

[karel_t]

One week after the first replanting they have 5 mm leaves.