Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 
Vol. VIII St. Louis, Mo., February, 1920 No. 2 
ORCHIDS FROM SEED 
The restriction recently placed by the Federal Horticul- 
tural Board on the importation of orchids has given the 
orchid grower an extremely difficult problem to solve, espe- 
cially the commercial florist who has depended absolutely 
upon importations. Orchid raising is in its infaney in this 
country, the American hybrids possibly aggregating not more 
than 1 per cent of those tabulated in the Orchid Stud Book. 
In European countries hybrids have been raised for years in 
the various private collections, particularly in England and 
Belgium. During the war the finest collections of the latter, 
however, were lost. 
In recent years the commercial florist has sold the cattleya 
orchid at the same price as roses and commoner flowers, and 
considerable experience has been required to place the 
coveted flower within this reach. It is generally conceded 
that the ecattleyas of the ‘‘labiata’’ type deteriorate under 
artificial cultivation, and periodical importations from the 
tropics, by the thousands of cases, have been necessary to 
maintain the floral supply. If the future supply will all have 
to be raised from the almost microscopic seeds the minimum 
period of five years will be necessary, and the orchid flower 
will again be the choice rarity of the millionaire. The germi- 
nation of the seeds depends upon the action of a symbiotic 
mycorrhizal root fungus, without which, failure is certain. 
During the entire period from pollination to the flowering 
stage the plants demand constant attention. Eight to ten 
months is necessary from the pollination of the flower to the 
ripening of the seed pod and at least five years from pollina- 
tion to production of flowers. Thus, while the orchid hybrid- 
ist is waiting for his seeds to develop other hybridists ex- 
perimenting with sweet-peas, carnations, water-lilies, ete., 
have succeeded in raising their plants to the coveted flower. 
ing stage. Few florists will therefore undertake to raise the 
trade cattleyas from seed. 
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