Industrial Orchid Mass Production Video (2:27)

[Ferns Daddy]

WOW

[JungleMel]

It's amazing to me how this system was designed and how it runs. It's also nice to see some actual humans with jobs there too, (although jobs just as repetitive and probably boring as any other factory production line job.)

I don't see this as any worse a habitat destructor than any car, furniture, builing matierial, electronics etc. etc. factory out there. They are in business to make money, they don't care if the plant gets thrown away after blooming, isn't that the whole point of these mass produced, commodity, office desk and holiday gift Phals? Who knows how many of these are specifically for the cut flower market too?

In reality though, how many of us started this hobby with one of these Phals, and ended up truly caring about species orchids? If their natural habitats and destruction are something you care about, than donate to the organizations that try to help protect them. Many will argue for conservation through cultivation as well, so buy more propagated species orchids!

[My Green Pets]

JungleMel, I agree with you. I just find it especially ironic that in the production of these plants, every ounce of oil used, every kilowatt consumed, every liter of water spent, each gram of fertilizer applied and so on, drives the demand for more resources, more deforestation, more drilling, more pumping, more more more.

I read the article Rain Forest for Ransom (TIME, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011) recently, which came to mind as soon as I saw this video. In summary, Ecuador's vast, biodiverse cloud forests are sitting on oil deposits. They want the world to pay them to preserve these natural treasures; otherwise they will start drilling so that there will be more oil for us to drive to Lowe's to buy that beautiful hybrid, run the lights we grow it under, fuel the treatment plant that provides its water...

[Tindomul]

The more you know, the more you get discouraged.

[NYCorchidman]

One thing for sure, as seen in the video, they will not water the orchids by adding ice. Did you see ice cubes raining down on the plants in the greenhouse? oh, it was misting, right?

As one member points out, it is just a marketing scheme. Just add ice. How easy does that sound? Watering plants incorrectly and thus killing them is very common and people want something simple and easy to follow. Just add ice! no more explanations needed.

With so many plants so densely packed together in those facilities, and I don't think I've ever seen any rotten phals at HD, just tons of crappy ones (due to either virus or genetic issues), it makes me think just how much chemical they would have to spray on them to keep fungal and bacterial diseases under control.

Last, those tissue culture plantlets, if done correctly, must start virus free.
Then people start handling them so many times, and a few virused plants here and there will spread virus like wild fire. Now I understand much better why I see so many "questionable" looking flowers and leaves. These videos "show&tell" lol

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[My Green Pets]

Originally Posted by Tindomul

The more you know, the more you get discouraged.

The more you know, the more power you have to change things.

Let me know if you get any ideas

---------- Post added at 10:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:22 PM ----------

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

These videos "show&tell" lol

Reminds me of watching one of those food documentaries like Food, Inc: sometimes, when you see where something comes from, you don't want it anymore.

They'll probably realize this sooner or later, and one of two things can happen: They either just take down the video, or they respond to concerned customers by streamlining their process even further, recycling, supporting local producers, and doing other 'good things'.

Every dollar I spend is a vote towards the change I want to see in the world!

[Leafmite]

The truth is, most plants you can buy are created in large greenhouse operations like this. There are some exceptions but to make plants cost efficient enough that people will buy them, this is the best way. There just isn't as much money these days with the plants that are grown the old-fashioned way, costing $20+ for a seedling, five years away from blooming. How many of you would rather pay $20 and wait five years than buy the same mature orchid, in bud/bloom, for $12? Okay, I actually do this but sometimes I feel nuts when seeing everyone else present new orchids, already in bloom, for just about the same cost and I'm still awaiting those seedlings to reach maturity. Sigh.
There are some exceptions. If you like to grow the really crazy things that no one else is growing, the few places that sell the plants can charge more to do things the old fashioned way (no point in automating for something of which you are only going to sell 100 a year). Grafting, I imagine, still must be done by hand, too.

[NYCorchidman]

Reminds me of watching one of those food documentaries like Food, Inc: sometimes, when you see where something comes from, you don't want it anymore.

They'll probably realize this sooner or later, and one of two things can happen: They either just take down the video, or they respond to concerned customers by streamlining their process even further, recycling, supporting local producers, and doing other 'good things'.

Every dollar I spend is a vote towards the change I want to see in the world![/QUOTE]

True.
Of course they will.

---------- Post added at 11:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Leafmite

The truth is, most plants you can buy are created in large greenhouse operations like this. There are some exceptions but to make plants cost efficient enough that people will buy them, this is the best way. There just isn't as much money these days with the plants that are grown the old-fashioned way, costing $20+ for a seedling, five years away from blooming. How many of you would rather pay $20 and wait five years than buy the same mature orchid, in bud/bloom, for $12? Okay, I actually do this but sometimes I feel nuts when seeing everyone else present new orchids, already in bloom, for just about the same cost and I'm still awaiting those seedlings to reach maturity. Sigh.
There are some exceptions. If you like to grow the really crazy things that no one else is growing, the few places that sell the plants can charge more to do things the old fashioned way (no point in automating for something of which you are only going to sell 100 a year). Grafting, I imagine, still must be done by hand, too.

Orchids used to be a luxury for the wealthy and only grew in the private greenhouses.

For the general public, this mass production is a great thing because they are so common and cheap.
It is just for those who really care about qualities with the intention of having it for years possibly.

I am only grateful that there are still many smaller business there the quality is much better.

Trust me I do buy those cheap phals for immediate gratification, but only if I see something pretty to my eyes and only if they are at least clean&good looking.

[orchidsarefun]

for just about every consumer product, mass produced = cheaper. Maybe Apple is the only outlier .
Most people are motivated by price to a large extent, I am no exception. Chrysanthemums in the USA are so cheap that I buy a lot in Fall each year and plant the minis in my garden at the end of the season. The bigger plants I just toss after blooming, mainly because I have run out of space for them to be planted.
Everybody needs a bit of colourful cheering up

I don't have any problems with Ice Orchids specifically as they do reach an untapped market and, who knows, maybe will inspire many to develop a quality collection.

[quiltergal]

Wow that operation in the Netherlands is gargantuan! I noticed they put sticky labels on the pots. I wonder if that includes the name?