Journal of Emerging Scholarship

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) entered into agreement with the Environmental Center at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) for in-house propagation technicians (“we/us”) to grow Calopogon tuberosus orchid seed into 1,000 usable dormant corms for SERC’s Classroom Cultivation: Exploring Plant Ecology program. The cultivation was a 10-month process, involving distinct periods of active manipulation and stretches of monitoring for changes. Orchid seeds were incubated and grown on plates and in tubes using P723 Orchid Seed Sowing Medium by PhytoTech. A germination test was conducted to determine appropriate bleaching time for sterilization and scarification of seeds. Small batches of seeds were scarified and inoculated onto prepared media plates in a laminar flow hood, which were then sealed, labeled, and stored in darkness for four to five weeks, followed by incubation at 22°C with a 16-hour photoperiod. Once protocorms developed they were transferred to culture tubes and placed under full spectrum LED lights with a 24-hour photoperiod where they were monitored for growth. If adjustments to seedling growth orientation were needed, interventions were carried out. After six months, the photoperiod was adjusted to 10 hr light, 14 hr dark to encourage dormancy. By the end of October, seedlings with developed corms were pulled from the medium, rinsed, trimmed, and placed in cold stratification in preparation for transfer to SERC. In total, 1,230 developed corms were cold stratified and delivered to SERC. This cultivation process has implications for further success in mass in vitro cultivation of Calopogon spp. and could be adapted for use with other native terrestrial orchids. Being able to efficiently propagate orchids at a large scale is beneficial to educational and research institutions, horticultural operations, conservation, and restoration efforts.