Life Cycle Of Orchids
Orchids are known for their beauty and have managed to enthrall many growers. The life cycle of orchids is also equally fascinating. Just like any other flower, the orchid also requires pollination in order to commence its life cycle. Different orchids adopt different methods to get their seeds pollination. There are some orchids that impersonate male wasps to get the wasps to fight the flower, while there are others that mimic female wasps to attract the males; and this facilitates pollination. There is one type of orchid that resembles a carrion and has an odor of rotting meat. This orchid uses flies to get its seeds pollinated. |
Once pollination occurs, a seed pod is formed that contains nearly 3 million seeds. The seeds are microscopic and extremely light. The seeds do not have endosperm. As the seeds are very light, just a gentle breeze is more than enough to disperse them. Then, the seeds require a special fungus to provide it nutrients, and only then the seeds will germinate. Unfortunately, out of the millions of seeds, just a few will get invaded by the special fungus. Once the orchid seeds germinate, they take years to grow into mature orchid plants capable of reproduction. (See Reference 1)
However, if you want to grow orchids, you can use artificial propagation methods to ensure that all the seeds germinate. This can be done by placing the seeds into a growing medium in a sterile flask. Once the seeds germinate, they can be transferred to a community pot, which can hold around 10 to 15 young orchid plants. After these young plants attain the desired size, they can be placed into their individual pots. (See Reference 1)
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You may think that growing orchids indoors is quite difficult. However, with a little bit of care, you can easily grow your orchids in your home. Ensure that you have optimum light, humidity and temperature to successfully grow these beautiful flowers in your home. 
