Old flowers...can I polinate them?

[Denverpaphman]

I just bought a bellatulum that has two flowers, both of which are old. Bellatulum has been my favorite plant for years and I would love to try and grow them from seed. Is it possible to pollinate the flowers even though they are starting to age and have a few brown spots?

Do you have any suggestions on how to grow them from seed at home? I have been googling around....this process seems promising:

http://dokmaidogma.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/how-to-grow-orchids-from-seeds-kitchen-style/

 

[goldenrose]

Certainly you can pollinate them, the question is will they take? Only one way to find out! It's my understanding that they should be 'fresh', which leads us to how fresh is fresh? You're brave to try the flasking process!
I'm gonna throw another question in to this thread if you don't mind - If you take pollen from a paph flower, will it cause the flower to collapse? I take the meaning of 'collapse' to mean shorten it's lifespan. I haven't heard of this before, to some degree it could make sense, it flowered, it attracted a pollinator, pollen taken away but that flower still can serve a purpose and in turn be pollinated. If the flower was collapsing prematurely then in nature it should make it that much harder for a species to survive or certainly would limit the gene pool. Comments anyone?

 

[eteson]

Seed sowing is not difficult, But i think that Paphio seed is not the best to start with.
Sometimes the Paphio seed needs a pre-treatment to germintate and sometimes the seed take a looot to start the germination or never germinates. In addition those seeds are very sensitive to the media formulation. IMO if you want to learn how to grow orchids from seed, you should try Cattleya or Epidendrum...
On the other hand... try to pollinate it! You have time to learn while the pod is ready!

 

[Trithor]

Removing both pollinae from the flower definitely shortens the lifespan of the flower. If you are going to self, it is better to remove pollinae from another bloom on the same plant, if that is not possible, then only use one pollina. Other genera are more sensitive to removal of pollinae, dendrobes on the whole will wilt over night if both pollinae are removed, paphs less so, but the ovary is only self sustaining once fertilization has taken place (as distinct from pollination), so any act which causes the bloom to shorten its lifespan will reduce the chances of a successful take. (there are other factors which reduce the chances of a take, but not enough time for fertilization is definitely a primary cause)

 

[Denverpaphman]

I hope it takes! I was going to pollinate two flowers, but I was too rough on one and it popped off the plant. I used the separated flower's pollinate on the other flower. Hopefully I'll have Paph bellatulum seedlings soon!

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[lepetitmartien]

I think you're old enough Denverpaphman to know about this sort of things. It's time to learn how to make babies! ^^