Orchid reproduction

Like other flowers, orchids reproduce when pollinators transfer pollen to another orchid flower. Orchids often have a specific pollinator relationship with one type of insect or bird. Their flowers have evolved to entice that pollinator to visit the flower and pick up the sticky pollinia. When the pollinator visits another flower, it transfers the pollinia, and the second flower is fertilized.

Upon fertilization, seeds start to form. Orchid seeds take weeks or months to develop inside a seed pod. When the seeds are ready, the pod bursts open, sending the miniscule seeds floating in the air. There can be hundreds of thousands of seeds in each pod, but only a small percentage will land where the growing conditions are just right, and even fewer will grow to maturity.


In order to germinate, orchid seeds need a mycorrhizal fungus. Since the seeds are so small, they carry no nutrients, but instead form a symbiotic relationship with this fungus. It provides food for the young plant.


Technological Advances
In the first half of the 20th century, botanists developed artificial nutrient solutions that could substitute for the fungus. This greatly improved success rates for orchid breeders. The second half of the 20th century saw tremendous innovation with orchid cloning, or meristem propagation. Today, many of the most commonly sold orchids are clones that originated with a tiny piece of tissue from a single plant. However, not all orchids can be cloned, and some must be grown from seed.

Asexual Reproduction
Some orchids, such as Arundina, Dendrobium, and Epidendrum, can reproduce asexually by making “keikis,” which is the Hawaiian word for “babies.” These small offshoots can be separated from the mother plant when they have strong enough roots, and planted to grow into maturity.

Orchid growers can also divide healthy adult plants and re-pot each division separately. This method of asexual reproduction creates multiple divisions of the same plant.