Hi everyone, I understand that there are different philosophies about viruses and how to manage them in any collection. I have a small collection (about 60 plants), about 10 of which I've had for a decade, the other 50 being acquired in the past two years. Because of my small in-home set-up (windowsills and under lights), space is a premium. I usually buy small plants because of the price, and I like the challenge. That said, I don't want to put years into taking care of an already-sick orchid. I also have a number of pots which were given to me by my grandmother, and although I sterilize between use, I worry that no amount of proper AOS procedure will really eliminate a virus, so before I use a family pot, I test the plant going in it. I also use utmost hygiene at all times. If I find a plant is virused, depending on its size, I move it to my workplace (an office). (This is not ideal b/c I can't control humidity nor temp, but it's my best option.) For the three tries at buying the cochleata, one was a division (bought online) and two have been seedlings. The division and one of the seedlings showed signs of being sick upon arrival (stressed by transport?) and the seedling I bought at a major greenhouse looked fine at the time, but developed a black spot within four days of being home. In the purchases I've made in the past two years, from about 7-9 different sellers, my small experience is that 10-15% of orchids I buy are virused with ORSV or CMV. (I bought four orchids from one long-standing online seller; two of them were virused. 50% virus rate isn't great, and I don't buy from them anymore.) If the seller has a return policy, I kindly return it; if not, I move it to my office, or if a small seedling, toss it (not worth the hassle for the money). I agree that viruses can only be managed, not eliminated, but this is the way that works for me.
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