duration time for isolating new plants

[WhiteRabbit]

I need advice on how long to keep newly acquired plants isolated.

Thanks in advance

[dounoharm]

i think you are safe if you wait ten days....that should give anything time to bust out if its gonna, like pests or bacteria....

[Ross]

I think there are lots of schools on this. I prefer to repot or remount suspect plants or sources. I also just trust certain vendors.

[WhiteRabbit]

thanks!
all have been re-potted and looked ok - just trying to not take any chances

[Ross]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

thanks!
all have been re-potted and looked ok - just trying to not take any chances

Check the plants over very closely (like very closely). Since you repotted, that's the main thing. Just watch for white dots in suspicious patterns (could be eggs) watch for signs of rot or fungus, the obvious things. Otherwise, I wouldn't be too worried unless it's from a new vendor you know nothing about.

[nhman]

OK - with the caveat that I am rather obsessive about my collection here is what I do:
1) All plants are isolated upon receipt.
2) All plants are repotted into new pots and media - this allows inspection of the roots and close inspection of the leaves, pseudo-bulbs, etc.
3) All plants are tested for Viruses.
4) After all of this.....and about 4 to 5 days, if nothing is seen, viral test negative, etc. they are allowed to join the rest of the collection and live happily ever after unless and until I try to kill them on accident.
I know that this is rather strict, but - oh well. I have
"caught" several viral infections and infestations before they had an opportunity to spread throughout my collection.

[camille1585]

7-10 days sounds about right, that's what I do usually. If there are any problems they should pop up in that time. However if you are suspicious of something for whatever reason, leaving it apart a bit longer would be a good idea. It also depends on the vendors. If it's a vendor that I trust, sometimes the plant goes in directly with the others, but I do keep an eye on it for a week or so.

[Grandma M]

nhman, how do you test for a virus?

Marilyn

[nhman]

One can do this at home. See Agdia, Inc. Plant Virus, Disease, and GMO Test Kits . They have kits that are reasonably priced for testing of the most common orchid viruses that only require about a quarter's size piece of orchid leaf. This is ground up in testing media and a test strip is then placed into the media. After about 5 mins color bands indicate if the test is negative or positive and if positive, which virus it is positive for. Pretty simple really. Hope that this helps.