Probably my last order with Ecuagenera

[Leafmite]

Herbs, vegetables, and other bedding plants are actually being grown to be resistant to viruses (either purposely or through natural selection) They will get the virus, sure, but it will not hurt them too much and they will still perform as they should. Many of the plants I grow, including figs and passionflower, are thought to all be virused but they perform so no one cares. Personally, I avoid variegated leaves when selecting the plants that I wish to add to my collection...just an irrational phobia.

The problem with orchids is that we do not value the ones that are resistant, perform well and never exhibit the signs of virus or other disease because these orchids can spread virus to those less resistant orchids we also wish to collect. This might need to change. Plant viruses and other diseases are everywhere in our environment due to people traveling and due to plants being shipped all over the world. Even if a vendor is really careful and tests all the orchids (or other types of plants) periodically, someone can accidentally spread virus to the curated plants if they come in contact with infected plant products (i.e. tobacco) or plants. The future will lay in developing resistant plants. This was once discussed in the orchid trade, too, but I am not sure if it is still being considered.