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Harvey who
asked:
>I am
wondering if anyone knows if this fungus is only needed for germination
>or whether its presence in the substrate is also necessary for successful >culture of adult plants. The short answer is that fungi are there for both. The fungi
are usually present in the
substrate; if not, they will get there very
soon and form that symbiotic relationship with
the seeds and the seedlings, even if the substrate is
in pots; in an orchid room; inside
your home.
Many growers enrich their favorite Cypripedium
substrate with soils (peat) taken from
the natural habitat of the species, hoping to bring in with that soil the fungus
symbiotic
with the species.
The roots of
mature Cypripedium are usually heavily colonized by
symbiotic
fungi compared
to the roots of many other orchid genera. I have examined
Cypripedium
root
cells in Spring, Summer and Fall and found that more often than not they
contain
an abundance of
cells containing partly "consumed" pelotons, but rarely live
pelotons
in newly
infected cells, possibly indicating that over the period of one
year the fungus is
active within
a very small window. Whether that is in the fall or spring, I do
not know.
What is important to note is that Cypripediums at a
given time(s) in the year do use orchid
mycorrhiza as their
nutrient source.
I hope this helps,
Peter
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