Deflasking Orchids - explained!

[@stylechick60]

Wow, I have never heard of this. So much to learn! Thank you for the video!

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks - those dens that you bought started out their orchid lives in flasks and were then deflasked! You can divide them in other ways but the seedlings start out in flasks! This is an old video - I have gotten a lot better at this. I hope that my videos are getting better too??...

[@JeffKubos]

Perfect explanations!!! Thank You. Would please sell some of the extras?

[@plantpropagator]

Flasks or deflasked seedlings? Please feel free to contact me at [e-mail] if you live in the US.

[@moncyasha]

Kindly show the progress in future videos... Your channel is excellent..For greater reach kindly add "Tissue culture",hardening, Acclimatization etc.. to your title.

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment - I have been really careful with my titles as I need to make them understood to all. I think that you will find progress of these seedlings in some of my other videos - I show a lot of videos on seedling growth and my orchid nursery.

[@letmedowneasy43]

It's cool seeing orchids in such a juvenile stage. Puts into perspective how much time has gone into the mature specimens we buy at the store without a second thought. I"m curious if you've encountered any content on what happens as orchids age. I know it might vary by species...I have an oncidium that I've uppotted recently and I was wondering if the growth of each new pseudo-bulb compounds in a way that makes future flower spikes larger (more inflorescences) or do they kind of cap out? It's very hard to find straight answers on these kinds of questions.

[@plantpropagator]

That is a great question! Most of my plants are not very large. But, I note that some of my larger plants put out very large bloom spikes and most of the award winners that I see at the shows are large specimens. When plants are divided, it takes the smaller divisions longer to flower. So, yeah, I think - the larger specimens tend to put out a larger number of blooms, often with more blooms per spike. At some point, you will max out. I hope that this addresses your question. Thanks for watching.

[@OrchidboyTroy]

Awesome video! Thank you for sharing. I have a seed/seedling starting dome with a heat mat and led grow light already attached, would this make for a good setup? On the top it has dials for controlling humidity.

[@plantpropagator]

That setup sounds perfect. For the first month after deflasking, I would use 100% RH. That was an early deflasking video - maybe watch some of my more recent ones…

[@danieljheelan5256]

Hi, Great video. Not easy to get orchiata bark. If I leave my babies outside, nothing will be left by snails and slugs. It will be great to have your name. Bonne journée Daniel

[@plantpropagator]

Have you tried snail and slug bait? I used to have issues with those - we have some very large snails here and I even had some arrive on purchased plants.

[@danieljheelan5256]

@@plantpropagator Yes I use it.

[@TommyLauzon-o2o]

Excellent video! Just wondering how long to wait after initial closed box month should I start watering and also how long to keep the baby plans in a communal pot before separating and potting up individually?

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment - this is one of my older videos and I have since refined my approaches to deflasking. Please see.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWmUlpuaotelgNk I now keep the plants in a closed tub for at least 2 months but may go longer depending on how the roots look - the plants will "tell you" when they are ready. I water every week by replacing the standing water with fresh water using a turkey baster. I do not use compots any more - too much root disturbance on repotting. But, they can go about a year in the first pot before repotting - sometimes longer, depending on how they are growing. Please let me know if you have any additional questions...

[@TommyLauzon-o2o]

​@@plantpropagator Ah, wonderful! Thank you! I see that you are now individually potting deflasked orchids rather than planting them directly into the clear bin. As I followed an older video of yours I am just wondering how long to wait before I move the young plants from a communal bucket planting to individual pots?

[@plantpropagator]

Some people wait for many years before they move plants out of a community pot - others move them after a year. But all of this depends on how much growth the plants put on and how the roots look - when the plants have a lot of roots, you can move the individual plants into separate pots. Like I said earlier, I do not like to disturb the roots too much so I do not make community pots any more.

[@TommyLauzon-o2o]

@@plantpropagator Thank you so much for your help! You are a wealth of information and your passion for orchids is very inspiring!

[@daniellemeier9789]

Ive been wondering about an orrchid seedling i bought as to wether it should have been sold or not, was in a nursery pot in moss with a 1cm nub of root. Was barely in a medium and no root system at all going on. Was my first orchid too 🤣 but i went down the rabbit hole of care and its in an environment simair to a flask now. Finally starting to root and the root system is branching abit. But was a bit of a scary nightmare. Nuts seeing how amaxing rhe root system on your orchids were as you deflasked! But lots of good info ❤

[@plantpropagator]

Thanks for your comment - this is an older video - now, the root systems on my flasked orchids are much more extensive. For a newer video, please see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6qxe2eYi5d3has And for a much more recent video where I complain (imagine that) about the crap that people sell in flasks, please see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qamnkoRrpph5iJI It is great that you were able to get your seedling to survive - not many people can do that...

[@daniellemeier9789]

@theplantpropagator7820 omg you responded! Just seen it 😅 will definitely check out the videos you linked. Yeah was really amazed at the progess, there was even what looked like a tiny fragment of jewel orchid leaf, didn't seem to be viable in any way but I left it sitting there on top of the moss but forgot about it, realized yesterday that now had a second leaf and stem and abit of root 😅 so have a third orchid now! Probably gonna leave them as they are for a solid 4-6 months, but they're thriving in their little set up so I'm beyond happy. Up until 3 months ago I thought I had a black thumb and couldn't grow anything at all, but the KZbin rabbit hole of plant care was amazing and everything I've learnt has changed that drastically

[@plantpropagator]

​@@daniellemeier9789 I am happy to help - my joy is from helping others grow their plants so thanks for the comment!!

[@moncyasha]

How long Can I keep this jar without opening ? Few plants are very small in the jar. Can we keep in room temperature until they grow bit more

[@plantpropagator]

This is really tough to answer without more information. Some plants will stay small; some plants are just not going to be vigorous, regardless of the medium used; the medium may not be optimized to give the best growth; not sure if you have both small and large in the same flask - if you do, the small ones may not be vigorous - I usually toss those but others say those give the best flowers. Not sure of the age of your plants, or your medium, or your light, or the type of plants, or the amount of medium, or the size of the jar - sorry - hard for me to advise,

[@moncyasha]

Since when should we start feeding fertilizer to these plants, could you kindly suggest. What fertilizer, qty etc.

[@plantpropagator]

I do not think that you should fertilize freshly deflasked plants for 1-2 months. They should still contain enough nutrients from the flasking medium that they are good for a little while. Deflasked orchids should be treated with a fungicide solution. After the acclimation period, they can be fertilized like regular orchids. I fertilize once per week with a water soluble fertilizer and I sometimes also add a time-release fertilizer too. You can find my orchid fertilizer videos for details on how I fertilize... Thanks for your comment and for watching!

[@moncyasha]

@@plantpropagator Thanks a lot for timely response...your channel is a great source ...I am new to this field and I found your video with scientific information..

[@moncyasha]

Great content 👍.After lots of search I reached your channel...can u suggest what other potting medium I can use. Orchiata medium not available here

[@plantpropagator]

You can try sphagnum moss or other bark-based media. I am trying a new synthetic medium that was developed for seed germination of flower and vegetable seed. Some people just place the seedlings on newspaper, paper towels or even burlap. The important thing is to keep the humidity high for at least a month and add a fungicide to prevent rotting or fungal growth. Thanks for your comment.

[@maryellenjelen5950]

@@plantpropagator do you suggest using Physan as directed on the bottle or more diluted? and how often ? Weekly?

[@plantpropagator]

@@maryellenjelen5950 Yes, I use Physan at the recommended concentration. I use it ONCE, right after deflasking and watering; spray and cover the plants to maintain high humidity. Weekly, and for 4-6 weeks, I remove the excess moisture from the bottom of the container holding the orchids and apply fresh tap water. After there are good roots, you can gradually acclimate. Thanks for watching!

[@erdalderici7577]

Hello, I have a question regarding seed starting plug. I think these sponges are bound by a particular polymer. Does anyone know the name of this polymer used in production of the seed starting sponge plugs? I am open to any documents and information regarding the production of these sponge plugs as well. Thank you

[@plantpropagator]

I have used one type of this matrix for my orchids and they did OK but not great. And, removal of the plants from the matrix was problematic. I used Oasis Horticubes but they did not have a matrix that was ideal for orchids - maybe too small of a market for them. I am sorry but I do do not know the chemistry behind the matrix. I am sure that you can contact them to ask - not sure what they will tell you....

[@Mac102250]

I find it interesting that you break up the seedlings directly out of flask. The nurseries I've talked to open the flask and gradually harden off the seedling mass in greenhouse conditions and when it's ready, it is put it into a compot for about a year alongside all the rest of the nursery stock. From what I have been told the seedlings usually are not broken up until the following spring after deflasking. Basically, the same steps in a different order. What's your thought process on this?

[@plantpropagator]

With most of my orchid work, no one showed me how to do things. I make things up as I go and try to figure things out based on what I know. For when to separate the plants, I like separating when I deflask and plant individual plants rather than make community pots. When you pot up individual plants, if you lose one to a pathogen, you just toss the pot. In a community pot, that might spread - seedlings are very susceptible to pathogens. Also, when the plants grow in a community pot, their roots tangle and you really damage them when you have to separate them. The deflasked seedlings can handle that better. I make community pots if I have a ton of plants and am feeling lazy - it is much more work later on and more plants will be lost. I recently found out how some commercial growers deflasked the flasked plants that I supplied to them and I was surprised. One place put the seedlings on newspaper - the seemed harsh but they are very successful - survival of the fittest....

[@HunterMatthew]

@@plantpropagator Thats awesome you supply seedlings to growers. Do you do it just to fund your hobby or would you consider turning it into a business? Do you think it would be feasible business idea?

[@plantpropagator]

@@HunterMatthew Thanks for your reply. My business is The Orchid Propagator - I know, not too original considering that my KZbin channel is The Plant Propagator. I sell flasks to growers because I have so many flasks left over and want to find a good home for my seedlings. I have sold flasks to individuals but I like being able to sell 15-50 flasks at a time to good local growers.I also like knowing that my hybrids are being sold by some of the commercial growers and they may eventually be grown by many different people.

[@HunterMatthew]

@@plantpropagator Thank you for the reply! Name is fantastic it is original and well fitting of course. Can't imagine all of the orchids out there that came from your flasks. That is cool especially your own hybrids as you mentioned. Do you sell all stages of flasks or just the final stage before deflasking? When storing your stage 1 mother flasks how do you store them? Do they need to be horizontal and unstacked for direct light or can they be stacked horizontally or vertically in rows? Sorry for the additional questions I appreciate your time ! :)

[@plantpropagator]

@@HunterMatthew I sell mostly finished flasks that are ready for deflasking. I sell mostly to large growers in Florida since I like to clean out the lab periodically and sell 15-50 flasks at a time. I also like to be able to see my crosses for sale in a few years from these growers. My mother flasks are dishes and I store them mostly at room temperature in the light - the light level is not important. When these orchids are out of nutrients, they mostly go dormant and just sit in the dishes for 1-2 years or more. I will occasionally go back to these plates if I need more plants, When I want to get plants quickly, I will replace in 1-3 months from the initial seed flasking. I try to get plants ready for deflasking in 6-9 months and my plants in flasks are pretty big, filling up the containers before I deflask. I hope that this information is useful - I have a lot of flashing and deflasking videos.... I will release another one on Saturday, showing some big, recently deflasked orchids.