Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, March 13-15

Earl Warren Show Grounds

Birds, Bees, and Baby Orchids: SBIOS exhibitor Gallup & Stribling talks about making baby orchids

Can't find orchid seed to make your own baby orchids? There's a reason orchid seed isn't sold in packets at your local garden center! SBIOS director John Ernest, who heads the propagation laboratory at Gallup & Stribling Orchids, explains that tiny orchid seeds have no nutrients to help them germinate. In the wild, orchid seeds are dependent on a symbiotic relationship with fungus which gives them the energy necessary to germinate. At Gallup & Stribling, orchid seed germinates on a special nutrient medium in a sealed flask in a controlled environment. That blooming orchid you purchase from an orchid nursery or at the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show took years to grow from seed, growing first in a flask and then in a pot on a nursery bench! Look for Gallup & Stribling in the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show exhibit hall and visit their retail store in Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara.