New orchids to your collections - procedure

[Wrknnwf]

So when you acquire a new plant for your collection, what is your inspection/quarantine/immediate care procedure?

Do you give it a few days to acclimate, or inspect the roots and/or repot it immediately, or automatically treat for pests, etc. Is it quarantined far from your other orchids, and if so for how long? If it's been shipped is there anything particular that you look for or a routine you go through?

Or do you just plunk down it next to the rest of your collection?

[bil]

I have t admit I don't quarantine. I just don't have the facility.

I do repot straight away tho.

[wintergirl]

Most of my plants are mailed to me. I open the box in an area away from my other plants. I put on my optivisor so I can see everything clearly. I completely look the plant over. I check media for anything like snails, insects, ect. Then I take that old media out of the house right then and get rid of it. Many times I then use my wireless microscope on leaves of the plant to look for mites, especially if any leaves are damaged. If I found snails or other critters I spray the plant with mouthwash and then hydrogen peroxide then I rinse with water and repot. After all this I usually put with my other plants but not always. If I have reservations they go in another room for awhile. Mounted plants are usually ok. I look them over carefully with magnification and usually just hang them in my plant area.

[Leafmite]

I usually buy from a limited few vendors in whom I have great trust. If the orchid is from a different vendor, I quarantine it. I put it in another room, away from the other orchids and, depending on what vendor, may even keep it away from all other plants. If the vendor is one that I have heard sells an occasional virused orchid, I might keep in quarantined for several months, until I see that the orchid is healthy. This saved me once when I received a small Cattleya and the buds blasted not long after bringing it home. Then it didn't grow. After a few months, the markings came out on the leaves and it was pretty obviously virused. Fortunately, it wasn't near anything else and I tossed it, pot and all.

As for re-potting, I usually do pot up the orchids in my desired medium unless the medium is NZ sphagnum moss in good condition and the orchid is in bloom. Then I wait until the blooms are gone. I don't usually have a problem with moss. Bark, on the other hand....

[wintergirl]

If I heard that a vendor sells an occasional virused plant, I doubt I would buy from that vendor again. Just sayin'.

[estación seca]

I prefer starting with seedlings, where possible. I like the surprise of not knowing what I'm going to get, and a lot of vendors take the trouble to check breeding stock and seedling batches for virus infestation. Back bulbs from other people can be a risky proposition.

I recall in the 1970s reading in a booklet on meristem tissue culture published by the New York Botanical Garden (which I still have someplace) that meristem culture blocked virus transmission in orchids. A lot of people believed this at the time, but it wasn't true, so the onset of meristem mass propagation spread virus widely through collections.

It's the same in the bulb world. A lot of plants in the Amaryllis family that have been grown for years are virused, and commercial wholesale sources frequently sell virused bulbs. Bulbs grown from seed seem not to have this issue much. A friend gave me an enormous Haemanthus coccineus with about a hundred bulbs, because she didn't have space any more. As it grew I saw it was virused. I threw it away. When she found out she stopped speaking to me. I am still sad but I didn't want the virus to spread to my other amaryllids.

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by wintergirl

If I heard that a vendor sells an occasional virused plant, I doubt I would buy from that vendor again. Just sayin'.

I have never bought orchids from this company but our OS has been buying our holiday orchids from them. Most of the time, the orchids are perfectly fine. I always am cautious and keep the orchid apart from all my other plants for six months. The company is a very good one, actually, and I think it is just with their volume of sales, this happens on occasion.
Currently, I have a Oncidium in quarantine from this company (three months, already) and it looks pretty good. The leaves are completely spotless, new growth has begun. I think it is going to pass.

---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

I prefer starting with seedlings, where possible. I like the surprise of not knowing what I'm going to get, and a lot of vendors take the trouble to check breeding stock and seedling batches for virus infestation. Back bulbs from other people can be a risky proposition.

I recall in the 1970s reading in a booklet on meristem tissue culture published by the New York Botanical Garden (which I still have someplace) that meristem culture blocked virus transmission in orchids. A lot of people believed this at the time, but it wasn't true, so the onset of meristem mass propagation spread virus widely through collections.

It's the same in the bulb world. A lot of plants in the Amaryllis family that have been grown for years are virused, and commercial wholesale sources frequently sell virused bulbs. Bulbs grown from seed seem not to have this issue much. A friend gave me an enormous Haemanthus coccineus with about a hundred bulbs, because she didn't have space any more. As it grew I saw it was virused. I threw it away. When she found out she stopped speaking to me. I am still sad but I didn't want the virus to spread to my other amaryllids.

I am surprised that the Haemanthus was doing so well with a virus infection. I heard that the tulip bulbs that sold for such high prices that were virused didn't fare so well long term due to the virus. That is why they have developed tulips that have these wonderful traits without the virus so that they can return year after year. But, sorry to hear.

[bil]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I prefer starting with seedlings, where possible. I like the surprise of not knowing what I'm going to get, and a lot of vendors take the trouble to check breeding stock and seedling batches for virus infestation. Back bulbs from other people can be a risky proposition.

I recall in the 1970s reading in a booklet on meristem tissue culture published by the New York Botanical Garden (which I still have someplace) that meristem culture blocked virus transmission in orchids. A lot of people believed this at the time, but it wasn't true, so the onset of meristem mass propagation spread virus widely through collections.

It's the same in the bulb world. A lot of plants in the Amaryllis family that have been grown for years are virused, and commercial wholesale sources frequently sell virused bulbs. Bulbs grown from seed seem not to have this issue much. A friend gave me an enormous Haemanthus coccineus with about a hundred bulbs, because she didn't have space any more. As it grew I saw it was virused. I threw it away. When she found out she stopped speaking to me. I am still sad but I didn't want the virus to spread to my other amaryllids.

Interesting In the UK, the rhubarb crop was totally contaminated with a virus. So, they set up a sterile area and used meristem culture. That gave them clean plants, and they repopulated the rhubarb industry that way.

The idea of meristem culture is that the cells at the active meristem are multiplying too fast for the virus to infect them.

It ought to be the same for all plants, but I have to point out that it only takes one sloppy worker, or a visitor that has an infested plant at home to start the infection off gain.

[katrina]

I usually start the re-potting process right away...most often the same day the plant(s) comes home w/me or arrive in the mail. The rare occasion when I can't start the process right away...they get placed away from the rest until I can begin.

My re-potting process involves soaking the plant for a time in a mild soapy solution...roots and all. I unpot, remove as much of the old medium as I can and then set it in a soapy bath for a time. Sometimes that "time" is 20-30 minutes and other times it's been overnight...just depends on how many I'm working with and what kind of time I have that day.

After the soak any remaining medium is usually easier to remove and at this time I also scrub the plant w/a soft toothbrush...soaping it up well...and removing the old bracts and loose "bits" that might hide hitchhikers. If I find any little beasties (maybe I'm just lucky at this point but it's rare that I find anything), I do a systemic insecticide treatment. Then I pot it up and put it on the shelf. No quarantine.

I've never brought home or been sent a plant w/a heavy infestation of anything. On site purchases get a good look over to avoid this.

[Wrknnwf]

This is such great information for a beginner. Thanks everyone for sharing!

I did get one orchid (mounted) that had a little beastie. I actually found him when I soaked the roots in a glass vase just after I got the orchid.

The little fellow managed to grab an air bubble as he went underwater and was carrying it around. I was examining the root system through the vase when I saw the bubble moving sideways, instead of floating to the top. Then I noticed the bug crawling on the bits of moss. It was actually pretty interesting!

I managed to get rid of him, after I was through being entertained, and put the orchid with the rest of them, but admit I was worried for a day or two. Several soaking later, I haven't seen any more of his relatives, but still crossing my fingers. Every time I soak, I inspect the roots for air bubbles moving horizontally. Am I paranoid? hahaha