Just got an e-mail from Chuck Aker that my flask is almost ready for shipment. I was wondering if anybody had any success with these right out of flask. What were your conditions and culture?

Hi Mike,
I haven't grown them directly from flask, but one of our members, Tom (aka elpaninaro) has. He did something called the sanderianum chronicles a while back. If you do a google search I think you'll turn it up. There's a thread here also that mentions it. Tom had some from Chuck also, as I recall. :)

http://www.slipperorchidforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=199&start=15&sid=24b4b618a923c16b5ce84424d3b68696

Good luck!

Paph sanderianum from flask are quite easy to grow. I have deflasked two flask and they are grew quite well with no lost. I would first soak the agar with warm water for a few hours to soften the agar. Then I break the flask open and use a spray bottle to spray off the excess agar from the seedlings. It doesn't have to be completely free of agar but I would make sure most of the agar are off near the base of the seedlings otherwise you could get rot problems. The potting mix consist of coconut fibre, sphagnum moss, charcoal, and perlite. I would grow the seedlings in the home under lights in a ziploc bag half open at the top to prevent condensation (from crown rot). If your humidity levels are high ( above 70 % - don't need to use ziploc bags). They like to grow at temperatures 70 F at night minimum. It is also a very good idea to have a fan circulating air nearby the compots but not directly at them. The warmer your temperature the faster they grow. They grow three feet under my 400 MH light for the first year and then I lowered the lights to two feet above the seedling in the second year. Most the seedlings have a leafspan of about 6 to 9 inches across.

Fertlize it with a quarter strength 20-20-20 every other week in the summer and once a month in winter. Also add some dolomite lime the the medium and repot them at least once a year.

Paphman

I agree with paphman. These seedlings need very warm conditions to grow well, at least phalaenopsis conditions and high humidity levels.

The Sanderianum Chronicles are archived here:

http://www.nascentorchids.com/Library/sandchron/Intro.html