The Mendip propagation laboratory was a busy place again today as A level Science students prepared media for their germination testing investigations. Following the students’ visit to Kew last July to visit Jonathan Kendon they are each working on a different orchid species and are finding optimum germination conditions by varying nutrient levels, agar concentration and pH for seed germination in-vitro.

Today students made up a range of media samples and next lesson they will be sowing seed into these samples. There is great excitement as, of course, we do not know which conditions will suit the particular species being tested.

We will publish some of the students work once it is complete.