Hi Steve, If you want some seeds of Chloraea orchids from Chile ( probably magelanica) send me you address. Laura On Sat, Jan 10, 2026, 10:51 PM Steve Marak via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > I've already ordered some to play with, Lee. I don't typically have > issues with contamination in my flasks, if nothing shows up in the first > few days, but I've been wanting a bactericide/fungicide that doesn't > just kill plants outright and is stable for at least a few weeks and at > moderately low pH for another little project. These isothiazol(in)ones > might just be the ticket. > > I see they are considered strong skin sensitizers, but I'm not planning > to bathe in them and they seem effective in very low concentrations. > > Thanks to whoever first introduced this topic - I'm sorry I've forgotten > who it was - both for the lead on PPM and making me aware of synthetic > seeds. I know nothing about them, but it's an interesting idea. > > Steve > > On 1/10/2026 7:44 PM, Lee Poulsen via pbs wrote: > > That PPM sounds interesting. I’ve tried several other materials and none > seem to stop something from growing after a long time. 5 months is great. > Thanks for that information. > > > > --Lee Poulsen > > San Gabriel Valley, California, USA - USDA Zone 10a > > Latitude 34°N, Altitude 340 ft/100 m > > > >> On Jan 9, 2026, at 05:30, Tim Eck via pbs< > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > >> > >> Bob, > >> The only nuance you are missing is the fact that the gel medium > contains *Plant > >> Cell Technologies*' nearly magical concoction "*PPM*" as well as sugar. > >> PPM (plant propagation medium?) is a mixture of two chemicals that are > >> persistent over time and temperature and prevent *anything *except > plants > >> from growing. It kills fungi, bacteria, chromista, animalia, etc., > which > >> means no mold or mildew will develop. > >> But you are otherwise correct. No direct connection to an energy > source, > >> so it will start slowly and need exposure to light, but it doesn't need > a > >> sterile environment but can be directly planted in a seed tray. I > assume > >> the PPM will eventually leach out with watering. > >> I bought some PPM once to protect chestnut seeds from mold while > >> overwintering and I can tell you two things from that experiment - it is > >> expensive to make five gallons of solution and those were the only bags > >> that had zero mold after five months in the cooler. I also tried > hydrogen > >> peroxide, bleach, povidone iodine (betadine), benzalkonium chloride, > Star > >> San, etc. > >> It may be worth some members buying some to try on seed or cuttings that > >> are prone to mold or mildew. > >> Good Luck, > >> Tim > >> > >> > >> On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 12:43 AM Robert Lauf via pbs < > >> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > >> > >>> If I understand this correctly, the synthetic seeds might be larger > and a > >>> bit easier to handle, but "treating them like seeds" is in many ways > >>> problematic. Treating them like orchid seeds might be a better > analogy, > >>> for two reasons:1. Normal seeds have a seed coat to prevent > dehydration of > >>> the embryo.2. Normal seeds contain endosperm, which the embryo lives on > >>> until it makes leaves and starts photosynthesizing. > >>> So it would seem that the synthetic seed is roughly analogous to a > >>> germinating orchid seed at the protocorm stage, and you couldn't take > that > >>> and plant it in dirt. It still needs to be in sterile medium > containing > >>> sugar. If these bodies are somehow encapsulated and removed from the > >>> culture medium just for shipping, I would think they would be > difficult to > >>> sterilize, and if not sterilized, they would immediately contaminate > the > >>> new medium and you'd have a jar full of mold. Maybe I'm missing > something > >>> here. If you already have successful propagules of the desired plant > in a > >>> flask, why not leave them in the flask until they are little plants > with > >>> leaves and capable of living in the open? > >>> Embryo rescue, which I have done, starts with a seed from two parents > that > >>> are dissimilar enough that the pod parent doesn't recognize it as her > >>> offspring and doesn't make any endosperm. But the embryo is in fact > alive > >>> and viable, but just like an orchid seed (except usually bigger). > Imagine > >>> a Hipp seed but with practically no "yolk" in it. So you surface > sterilize > >>> in diluted bleach or hydrogen peroxide, and sow on orchid medium to > supply > >>> the sugar, and voila. This is probably why it's so easy to make > >>> intergeneric orchid hybrids, because orchid seeds have all been > germinated > >>> by this method anyway. > >>> Full disclosure: I'm not a botanist, nor do I play one on TV > (apologies > >>> to Marcus Welby...) If you don't get that joke, you are probably less > than > >>> 70 years old. > >>> Bob Zone 7 warm with rain on the way; daffs and hyacinths starting > to > >>> sprout > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> pbs mailing list > >>> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > >>> https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > >>> Unsubscribe:<mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > >>> PBS Forum latest: > >>> https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > >>> > >> > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > PBS Forum latest: > https://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbsforum/index.php/… > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net https://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…