Why Don’t More People Grow Orchids from Seed?

Orchid seed pod - each pod contains millions of individual seeds

(photo credit: Aruna via Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA 2.5)

I’ve been an orchid enthusiast for over a decade, happily immersed in the world of phalaenopsis, cattleya, dendrobiums, oncidiums, masdevallia, and more. I attend orchid shows and gape at the shapes and colors: the medusa orchid, the vampire orchid, the lady slippers. It didn’t occur to me for a long time that in all my years growing, buying, and marveling at orchids, I’ve never seen orchid seeds for sale or met anyone who grows orchids from seed.

Plant enthusiasts know that buying seeds (or corms if you’re an alocasia fan) is a cheaper alternative to buying a whole plant, seedling, or cutting. One can’t guarantee That a seed will grow, and the age and state of the seed(s) is often unclear or unknown, but given the lower price, it’s a risk many plant owners are willing to take.

Orchid seed germination in agar (photo credit: Botanic Gardens of Sidney via Flicker, CC 2.0)

Gardeners in particular might find it weird that people don’t grow orchids from seed. Avid gardeners are already, in mid-late March, starting seeds under grow lights to transfer outside in a few weeks. One gets the most bang for their buck with seeds, so one might think that for plants that can be a pricey as some orchid types, buying seeds would be a popular alternative to buying an actual plant. So why isn’t it? Why don’t more people grow orchids from seed?

Short answer: it’s really, really difficult.

There’s a reason European botanists invented the terrarium to keep orchids alive during transport. There’s a reason vanilla—which comes from an orchid—is so darn expensive. There’s a reason the rare ghost orchid drives an entire underground market. Most people aren’t equipped to grow orchids from seed. Those who do usually grow orchid seeds in labs, as a sterile environment and equipment are essential to the process.

Cranefly orchid seed pods (Photo credit: The Alpha Wolf via Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0)

In nature, plants drop seeds onto the ground where they eventually root and grow. But orchids work a bit differently because their seeds don’t contain the nutrients they need to grow. They’re entirely dependent on forming a symbiotic relationship with fungi to get the sustenance they need. Even in nature this relationship often doesn’t work out so well. Sometimes the fungi consumes the seed, and it dies. Other times, the seed wards off the invading fungi and eventually dies. But in some instances, the fungus invades the seed, and the seed consumes the fungus, which is the magic reciprocal combination for germination.

That’s a tough process to replicate, so people who grow orchids from seed usually do so using flasks and agar, a jelly-like growing substrate that contains nutrients. (At-home grow kits are available on Amazon and elsewhere). The at-home germination process requires unripe orchid seeds (which are available online but can be tough to find reputably, especially because it’s almost impossible to assess their authenticity, age, or health), as well as distilled water, rubbing alcohol, bleach/sterilizing cleaners, clean syringes or eyedroppers, tweezers a flask or beaker, a scalpel, orchid agar, and a pressure cooker or other stovetop pot with a lid to sterilize all your gear. One also needs to have prepped the ideal environment for the seeds to germinate.

Cranefly orchid seeds (Photo credit: The Alpha Wolf via Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0)

Orchid seeds are incredibly small. Each one is roughly .000002% of the size of an aspirin tablet, which makes them difficult to source. Once they get swept by the wind, they’re nearly impossible to find and collect. The seeds need to be cleaned and sterilized, and then carefully dried. They can be stored for later, but the sooner one attempts germination, the more likely one is to succeed. The orchid agar goes into the sterilized flask, and then the seeds follow. Enclosing the entire flask in a sterilized Ziploc bag helps protect against bacteria while also allowing sunlight to get through.

Phases of home orchid cultivation (Photo credit: Forest and Kim Starr via Flickr, CC 2.0)

Some seeds start sprouting in days, but others can take months. It’s best not to disturb the flask with the seeds in it. If the agar starts drying out or cracking before the seeds root and sprout, it’s best to move them to another flask with fresh agar. Once the seedlings are between 6-8 weeks old, you can take  them out of the flask and put them into an intermediate growing set up consisting of more agar. Once the plant is big enough to handle, it can be potted up in orchid bark as per usual. 

Mahoney’s is looking better and better for orchids, isn’t it?