I will start saving up for some test kits and some big girl orchids, lol. For now, I am good with my big box guys just so I can learn to grow them. I wish my degree was over with and I could focus on earning more $ to buy nicer 'chids. :P

One thing about the smaller plants is that they are easier to kill. Seedlings and plants 2-3 years to blooming size are touchy. The larger ones are more vigorous.

Al's has an Onc. Gold Dust for $12. You might like that one since you like Twinkles. I have been admiring it.

You can try flaming your cutters to prevent transmitting virus or disease. I use my kitchen stove to flame in between plants or individual cuts on a diseased plant. The other option is going to Walmart or somewhere like that and buying disposable single edge blades. I got mine in their paint dept. You can wear single use gloves for repotting or wash your hands and under your nails between each plant too. HTH

Another safeguard is using paper on a surface while repotting. Change it in between each orchid you are repotting

Oak Hill Gardens doesn't sell dinky seedlings. Their seedlings are established and have been hardened off a long time ago.

I wasn't referring to them, just smaller plants as a new orchid grower

I agree.

I will start doing that, and I think I'm going to actually get a dedicated set of shears. For the moment I've just got one pair of all-purpose scissors I've been using. I always doused them with alcohol really well and I run them through the dishwasher frequently too, lol. I had no idea about viruses just 2 days ago, though, so now I'm totally scared! Especially if little bugs eat on them and spread it around, that's so freaky!

Up to this point, I've only repotted them one, maybe two, at a time and washed my hands and the scissors between each one. I use new containers and if not I clean the ones I am going to reuse in a dilution of bleach and water. And I never reuse media. I'm still all freaked out, though, lol.

If you have lava rock it can be heated to destroy viruses and diseases. Before you soak the pots in bleach/water make sure you clean them of all media residue and rinse them. That way when you soak them they are thoroughly disinfected.

I do, and I try to get as *much* media off of the rots of old plants as I possibly can. I do not have lava rock, I use bark/perlite/charcoal.

That is a good practice. For the bark mix you are correct in just throwing it away.

As someone who is brand new to the hobby, do you think I should pony up the cash to test my guys? Or should I just get a handle on how to even grow them first? They are all from big box stores, and after reading around, I guess those are the most commonly infected. Has anyone ever gotten any from stores that WEREN'T infected? Are all big box store orchids infected?