There are several ways to propagate, or reproduce, orchids. If a grower wishes to produce a hybrid, or a new orchid that contains some of the characteristics of two different orchids, the grower will start from seed. There is, in fact, a stud registry for orchids. Should a grower be able to produce an orchid so amazing that other orchid growers want some of its seed for stud (not unlike that of a racehorse), the grower that produced the hybrid will be making lots of money on his orchid!

If an orchid grower decides that he is going to try hybridizing an orchid, he or she should first check and see if the chosen parent orchids are popular to hybridize and if other growers have had positive results with these orchids. The grower who wants to create a hybrid normally should have some goal in mind to improve the plant such as increasing the size or improving the shape, scent or color of the blooms of the two flowers that will be the parents of the new orchid.

The orchid hybridist will use a sterilized platinum wire or a sharpened glass rod to take pollen from the male orchid. If another tool is chosen it should always be something that can be sterilized. An orchid grower never wants to introduce fungus or bacteria into orchids via the tools that are used on the orchid. When growing from seed, keep the growing environment very clean.

First the orchid grower inserts the chosen tool into the ripe pollen of the male flower and removes some of it and inserts it into the sexual cavity of the female orchid, or the stigmatic cavity. If the grower isn't ready to do the fertilization yet, the pollen can be dropped onto a piece of clean white paper and poured into a sterile vial which can be capped and refrigerated. Sometimes it can be kept refrigerated for months.

Once the female orchid is pollinated, it should be moved to a sheltered area and the grower should keep an eye on the plant for signs that fertilization has taken place. If the flower begins to droop and its petals start curling over, chances are good that there has been a successful fertilization.

It will take nine months to a year for the seed pod that has been growing to burst. When the orchid grower sees that this is imminent, he or she should put a paper bag over the pod, so that when it bursts, all of the new seeds will be captured in the bag. After that, the seeds must be planted in sterile soil and the orchid hybridist may be on the way to becoming a very successful hybridist!