Deflasked!

[AdamD]

I did it! My first flask! Took about an hour and a half, washed most agar off, lost about 2-3 little ones in the process. It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be! Certainly a thrill. They are PEoY's, from Sam. There's about 32 plants, most have below a 10cm leaf span, one or two bigger than that. The smallest ones were about the size of a size 12 font comma! Right now they're in a glass bowl covered with saran wrap. Low of 69F last night. High humidity, 70%+. Here's how it went!

Soaking


An hour later! Did it in the grow room, sweating and cramped, knocked over a psychopsis in the process... You can see the tools I used, all sterilized.


Seedlings!


Compots!


Makeshift humidity dome


I found it very difficult to pot all the seedlings at the same height in the compots. Next time I think I will leave them in bigger clumps. Also learned that the roots do not like to be compacted downwards. It is easier to pot deep and gently pull up. The mix is CHC, chipped marble, charcoal, perilite, rice hulls. They are getting about 200 fc of light for 13 hours for the first few days.

I found the seelings to be less brittle and fragile than I had prepared myself for. They held up prettly well to gentle tugs and slow teasing apart. The roots were so intertwined... Some were left in clumps of 3-4 plants. Whew! Glad it's over, but I'm going to want to do this again. Now to keep them alive...

 

[Trithor]

We're you trimming your fingernails at the same time? Always important to have a good manicure.

Cut the bottom off a juice bottle and place it over the individual pots. That way you will keep each of the 3 pots separate, so if one develops a problem the other two are isolated from it. The other advantage is that it is easy to lift the 'mini greenhouse' to water the plants and by removing the lid you can increase airflow to the plants, while still keeping them in a fairly protected environment.

 

[Justin]

looking good but keep that dome open. they need to breathe.

 

[orchideya]

They look great. Seem larger than my seedlings and definitely have more roots. You did a great job keeping roots alive.
I usually do my deflaskings in the kitchen, counter top is just the right hight for me to feel comfortable for such intricate jobs.

Your seedlings had really good start, now good luck with the next step of your plan.

 

[Dido]

wish you the best with your beautys

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Nice! Isn't deflasking fun? For your next deflasking, look around the articles on Troy Meyer's Conservatory website. There's one useful method of compotting so you get all the seedlings right.

 

[AdamD]

Justin- I opened the dome a lot more after the pic was taken, plus put a small fan blowing near it

Orchideya- I wanted to deflask in a high humidity area as to not shock the little guys. My house is very dry in the cold months. Looking back I should have brought in a chair.

Orchid Boy- I read the article soon after I deflasked. Realized I was basically doing what was laid out, just with different media and one pot instead of the 1/2 pot slide.

Thanks to all! Keep the suggestions coming!

 

[mormodes]

If all the seedlings don't make it to the same depth in the compot just forgive yourself. You'll do better next time as you gain experience.

 

[Justin]

I bet your flaskling PEOY bloom before any of my adult PEOY plants.

 

[SlipperFan]

It looks like you did a good job, and I'm glad you opened the dome a bit. I was concerned about stale humid air.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

It looks like you did a good job, and I'm glad you opened the dome a bit. I was concerned about stale humid air.

Stale, humid air is the worst! I found that out the hard way...

 

[AdamD]

Plenty o' air movement. I had a bad feeling about the closed top as soon as I walked out of the room, so I promptly corrected it. Humidity inside the room hit a low of 71% today, so I'm not worried about them getting dried out too quickly. So far so good!

First 24 hours in the books. No added casualties YET. I'm not counting on 100% success rate. I was honestly hoping for 5 blooming sized plants in about 10 years... Reason being if I set my expectations low I won't be too dissapointed if things go terribly south. I think it's a realistic goal. Now, for today, keeping them alive and happy is good enough.

 

[goldenrose]

:clap::clap::clap: