Lycaste disease vulnerability

[The Orchidomaniac]

Hi!
I'm considering purchasing a lycaste. However, I heard that they are very susceptible to disease and can contract a virus just by brushing up against another plant. Is this all true? I obviously don't want to purchase a problem plant.

[Roberta]

Lycastes are notorious for harboring virus and not showing it. But, they're still beautiful, and rewarding to grow. As with any other genus, different species require different conditions - some need cool, others come from warmer habitats. Also, some stay fairly small, others can become beasts. As with any orchid, if you treat each plant as though it could be virused (good hygiene practices) you're likely to stay out of trouble. And worth the money to acquire a stash of test kits, so that if you have suspicions you can verify. (Or utilize the services of test labs such as Critter Creek... that one in particular is comparable in price to the kits, just can't give the immediate results of the DIY approach) (I just checked for the Critter Creek website... it's down, don't know if it is a temporary issue or if they're out of business. Very sad if it is the latter)