How to save seeds of Bletilla striata

How to get Bletilla striata seeds

Bletilla striata is also known as Lianjicao, Gangen, Baigei, Ruolan, Zhulan, Zilan, Zihui, Baili, Diluo, Baijiwa, Baigen, and Yangjiaoqi. The plant is 18-60 cm tall and blooms in spring. Depending on the climate in different places, it can also bloom in late winter to early summer.

How to save seeds of Bletilla striata

Harvest the Bletilla striata pods, place them in a cool and ventilated place to dry, and leave them for 7-10 days to ripen naturally. Peel out the seeds from the dried Bletilla striata pods, pick out the impurities, put the seeds into a sealed plastic bag, and then put them in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

Take out the refrigerated Bletilla striata seeds from the refrigerator and place them at room temperature for two days. Soak the Bletilla striata seeds in a hormone solution containing naphthylacetic acid and indolebutyric acid for 12 hours. After 12 hours, take them out and spread them out to dry.

Dry the hormone-treated Bletilla striata seeds until they shrink into a ball, slowly spread out the clumped seeds, and wait for sowing. As long as no mildew occurs during storage, Bletilla striata can be stored for a long time in a light-shaded, breathable and dry environment.

Bletilla striata seed storage

After washing fresh tubers of Bletilla striata, use hot air to dry the surface moisture, mix the preservative and water in a weight ratio of 1: (200-300), stir evenly, heat to 30-35°C, soak the dried tubers of Bletilla striata for 5-10 minutes, take out and use cold air to dry the surface moisture, fumigate with Tecodo smoke agent for 6-8 hours, and store at 3-6 degrees.

Planting of Bletilla striata seeds

Bletilla striata likes a warm environment and is not resistant to low temperatures. It can be sown when the temperature is around 20 degrees. It is usually planted in March each year with a planting depth of 3 cm. During maintenance, the soil should be kept moist, watered in time, and attention should be paid to weeding and loosening the soil. Fertilize once every half a month. It usually blooms 2 months after planting. Apply phosphorus fertilizer once after flowering until August to make the tubers grow full.