Cloning Paph's

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Paph cloning is not impossible,and there are already on the market cloned Paph. Maudiae type...i seen personally process and plants in Taiwan....also have been made many times in the past....the problem is that is not an efficient system for many reasons,(cost,damaging motherplant,mortality,seedling growth issues...)and so not much seedlings are produced....and so reproducing by seeds still the best way
 
Cloning is the most known way to reproduce paphs & phrags only select people do it lol...
 
Excellent!!! I'm sure in no time at all ripening seed pods and sending off for flask will be nonexistent, why go through all that trouble and time 3-7 years. Cloning max 1 yr.
 
In all honesty, I am digusted at having to wait 1-2 years for a flask so, I would really like to see cloning of slippers more successful, although I've told that the success rate is very low because of genetics of the slippers
 
In all honesty, I am digusted at having to wait 1-2 years for a flask so, I would really like to see cloning of slippers more successful, although I've told that the success rate is very low because of genetics of the slippers

Cloning actually takes longer than seeds and as hobbyist you would never be able to afford to have a plant cloned. So I don't see how this will keep you from having to wait.

Would you buy a flask of Paphs and know that every one of the 30 plants were going to be exactly alike after growing them for several years?
Or are you just hoping to be able to buy better quality flowers cheaper?
 
I've been missinformed then about cloning, I think it's absurd sending a seed pod off then getting a flask 1- 3 years later
 
I've been missinformed then about cloning, I think it's absurd sending a seed pod off then getting a flask 1- 3 years later

Well, 3 years is longer than normal; but, cloning is no quicker than seed propagation. You send the correct portion of the plant to the lab and they disect the meristematic tissue out and grow it on as they constantly, but gently, agitate it to stop it from differentiating and forming a little plant with leaves and roots. Instead, it forms a undifferentiated lump of green cells. Then, they chop up the lump and grow all the bits on longer. Then, they chop up all the lumps and repeat....and repeat....and repeat, until the desired number of "lumps" has been produced. Then, they are placed on firm agar and not agitated; but, they are allowed to differentiate into small plantlets. The whole process can take longer then growing from seed.
 
But! They are identical! Very important.

Important for mass production but worthless for the process of breeding new varieties.
Hobbyists will buy a flask of a new hybrid cross and get 30 different seedlings with 30 different flowers. Not many hobbyists will buy a flask with 30 exact cloned duplicate plantlets.

The lab cloning process generally requires a minimum of 5000 plants to be produced to bring the cost down to the low price of seedlings. And that is for plants that are easy to clone.
 
Cloning

But sometimes clones are not all identical. The constant cell proliferation in the first part of cloning occasionally allows a few mutations to develop. This is termed 'somaclonal variation'. Sometimes this is visible in different colour flowers. Vulstekyara Cambrian 'plush' was cloned so many times it produced eventually 'lensings favourite' with less red in the flowers.
David
 
But sometimes clones are not all identical. The constant cell proliferation in the first part of cloning occasionally allows a few mutations to develop. This is termed 'somaclonal variation'. Sometimes this is visible in different colour flowers. Vulstekyara Cambrian 'plush' was cloned so many times it produced eventually 'lensings favourite' with less red in the flowers.
David

Yes but these mutations show up as a single plant produced out of 10s of thousands of clones produced. In the case of V. Cambrian 'Plush' there were probably 1 million plants cloned to see the 'lensings favorite' appear.

Cloning is good for large growers and box store buyers not serious hobbyists or small commercial growers.
 
the wonderful thing about paphs is the diversity of seed-grown plants. no two are alike so there is the excitement of possibility in growing out something great.
 

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