Kawamoto Orchids (online and ebay)

[Becky15349]

I have also been ordering from reid kawamoto for years. I have been mostly happy with his plants, as his selection is awesome, packing is awesome, and many are BS or in bud, as the listing will state. However, i have noticed that a few plants from him once in a while do test positive for virus. I use testing kits. It is sad, but i dont really blame the vendor for this- the plants arrive looking gorgeous and it is usually after 6 months to a year that they begin to show symptoms. I have never contacted reid about it; i feel like its just part of the game when you buy orchids, virus are rampant. What can we do? I will continue to order from him and take my chances bc his plants are usually great and his catts hybrids rock

[stefpix]

I noticed that most fig trees for sale are infected by mosaic virus. Growers live with it. The Figs at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are virused for the most part.
From what I have seen and heard figs show symptoms when culture is poor. If growers give good conditions and extra fertilizer the symptoms disappear. I had a good experience from Kawamoto. Insects or mites transport some viruses from plant to plant.

[Bud]

I have always been happy with Kawamoto....they deliver fast, wellpacked and reasonably priced. I have ordered several times with them and last summer I had a Grammatophylum arrive with scale and mite infestation and I was refunded my money. I bought another plant and they sent me a healthy robust spiking Gramm; now after healing and cleaning the first plant I now have two plants that are just as happy as the second one....

[plumania]

I bought a cattleya George King 'Southern Cross' at the Ft Lauderdale show from them for $ 12. It has healthy pseudobulbs that were done blooming, no new growth.
Hopefully, being a good cattleya ,this will grow well. They were selling these $12 plants that had no new leads. Buy 2 and get third one free.

[NYCorchidman]

I too am a fan of Kawamoto and have bought quite a few. I haven't checked any of them for virus as they all at least look fine.

They grow most of their stuff out in the wild with no barrier. So plants are all exposed to bugs and all.
I had tiny snails but snails came in plants bought from enclosed greenhouses too.

Other than snails, I'm happy with what I got from Kawamoto.
Good packing and fast delivery is also great plus as I am not very patient once orders are placed. lol

Virus is a lot more common than many think. I only make an issue out of virused plants if vendors are rude.
Kawamoto people are super nice, not like some people out there.

[isurus79]

When I lived in Honolulu, I would go down and visit Kawamoto's place as often as I could. They are super friendly and have a lot of really great plants to choose from. I recommend them.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by isurus79

When I lived in Honolulu, I would go down and visit Kawamoto's place as often as I could. They are super friendly and have a lot of really great plants to choose from. I recommend them.

I had no idea that they were located high on a hill and took a bike out there (from a hotel on Waikiki beach). It was worth it, but couldn't walk the rest of the day.
Next time I'm in Honolulu, I'm definitely renting a car up there.

I liked how I was allowed to just roam around everywhere (except for the greenhouse with a sign saying eBay personnel only, which was loaded with lots of blooming orchids) and pick what I like.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I had no idea that they were located high on a hill and took a bike out there (from a hotel on Waikiki beach). It was worth it, but couldn't walk the rest of the day.
Next time I'm in Honolulu, I'm definitely renting a car up there.

I liked how I was allowed to just roam around everywhere (except for the greenhouse with a sign saying eBay personnel only, which was loaded with lots of blooming orchids) and pick what I like.

Ya, that would be a looooong bike ride! Having free reign of where you wandered was one of my favorite parts of visiting Kawamoto. Their abundance of unusual species was another favorite of mine.

[NYCorchidman]

Yeah, they did have lots of different stuff although cattleyas seemed like main part, which I also loved seeing at their nursery.