Soaking multiple orchids in a common solution.

[BruceP]

Originally Posted by kavanaru

One more comment from my side...
In the past I was also always afraid of viruses and "all the virus paranoia" you read in internet...
Give your plants a good growing environment (right lght and temps, right substrat and right fertilizer...) and you will not have that many problems with viruses at all...

Ramon,
Thank you!
I was waiting for somebody to post about "virus paranoia" before I jumped in. Like you, I have been growing orchids for a while (30 years) and while I do not claim to be an expert on all things orchid, I can at least speak from experience having grown (and killed) plants in windowsills, under lights and now (400 +/- plants) outdoors in a screen house.

Let me begin by saying that, as a hobbyist, viruses are among the least of my concerns. All of my orchids harbor viruses - as do all of yours, as do all of you, and as does every macro-organism on the planet.

At first, I was somewhat amused by all the breathless rantings about viruses on these internet boards and in publications. I am now of the opinion that such discussions (some of the fertilizer discussions also) actually discourage people from continuing what many of us know to be an interesting, relaxing and enjoyable hobby by making it seem more difficult than, say, growing tomatoes or raising a litter of puppies (it's not). Trust me, many of the best orchid growers in the world do not follow a fraction of the "rules" one finds on these discussion boards.

Ramon gave away the (poorly-kept) secret of successful orchid growing - create a good growing environment and find plants that do well in that environment. Basic hygiene, like clean cutting tools and timely repotting are part of this, of course. The biggest threats to your orchids are, in descending order: You, insects (incl arthropods), excessive cold/heat, certain harmful fungi and bacteria, water quality... down the list between marauding squirrels and gamma radiation is virus.

I'll stop ranting here. Relax, enjoy your plants, find ways to make things easy on yourself and *most importantly*, let your hobby ease the stresses of life, not add to them.