Anyone know where to get this phal?

[quiltergal]

At the end of the day if you don't like a vendor's return policy then register your discontent with your wallet. Don't buy from them. Bob is right on. A return policy is just that....you return the product, you get your money back. What they do with that plant is their business.

As to viruses, there are some plants that you simply cannot get any other way but virused. Very old awarded catts for example. You simply can't get one that isn't virused. Does that mean all those lovely old things should be destroyed? I have found that the large standard Phals that come from Taiwan by the 100,000s have a very good chance of being virused. The way they create those clones has so many steps along the way the opportunity to transfer a virus it isn't even funny. So if you are into those, brace yourself. Is it right? No probably not. But it is what it is. As long as you have educated yourself and know what the risks are then there should be no surprises. That is why I only buy from vendors I trust. I haven't bought a clone in years. I prefer to buy new cross seedlings from small vendors. The chances of contamination are far less, and I'm helping to keep a small US business going not some mega gazillion dollar overseas corporation.

I understand your frustration, but I think you need to be realistic about what you can do about it.

[TxRobNLa]

As some others have pointed out, its almost impossible to get some of the older proven cultivars that are not virused. If all of us went on a destroy everything that was virused spree, then we would loose many many important plants from cultivation forever. I keep a permanently quarantined section of the greenhouse for valuable/irreplaceable orchids that I know are virused. I also make sure to warn anyone that wants a stem prop of any of those plants that they are virused before letting them purchase them.

The reality is virused plants are coming in from all over place and if you are dealing with any volume of orchids at all, it is impossible to screen every plant. I personally try to limit how many virused plants are in my collection. But I also treat every single plant as if its virused in the first place to make sure I'm not spreading any pathogens that I may not be aware of.

[alemily]

Originally Posted by escualida

I really like the coloring on this phal Smithsonian Painted Wonder Phalaenopsis Orchid but can't find it for a reasonable price (under $40) online, does anyone know where I could get one?

Thanks!

I have a similar looking named phal I obtained from HD of all places. The tag shoved in it from its original nursery calls it 'Tinny Ace' x 'Tinny Honey'. Granted I live somewhere where people decorate their beach condos with tropical plants so the big box and home improvement stores occasionally carry named orchids....that route to obtain one may be a difficult further north though.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by alemily

I have a similar looking named phal I obtained from HD of all places. The tag shoved in it from its original nursery calls it 'Tinny Ace' x 'Tinny Honey'. Granted I live somewhere where people decorate their beach condos with tropical plants so the big box and home improvement stores occasionally carry named orchids....that route to obtain one may be a difficult further north though.

We have nothing but those... all types of harlequins, and tons of the reds, yellow, and oranges. Literally all I can find right now..
That's all the big box stores seems to be carrying here.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by escualida

And once again, like I said I understand that some might slip through and that the cost of testing every single plant might be high. But when one DOES slip through it is up to the SELLER to stand by their product and replace it or give a refund. There is no reason for the buyer to have to be the one to swallow the cost.

Saying that you think the buyer would buy a plant and then say it is diseased because they changed their minds is ABSURD. And even if this WERE to happen, it is pretty simple to verify. The seller can ask said buyer to send a sample to a reputable lab like Critter Creek, and if it comes up positive they can then add the cost of the test to the refund that they will give. It's that simple.

I don't feel sorry for sellers, they need to take all of this into account when starting their business, they can't just decide that it's ok to sell diseased plants and then take no responsibility when they are caught.

I do want to give a little update on Hausermann's in particular. Someone from there actually called me and we spoke for a while, in the end they told me that I could purchase whatever plants from them and if I send a sample to Critter Creek and it comes up positive they would indeed take responsibility. I agreed and I will probably still buy plants from them for this reason.

There are other sellers, however that are knowingly selling diseased plants and then either asking for them back so they can resell them, or simply not taking responsibility. One of those is orchids.com and there are others. THIS IS WRONG.

Who are the others?? I want to know for the record so I know when I shop in the future.

---------- Post added at 08:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:53 PM ----------

We are talking about relatively newer phals hybrids that are mass cloned and sold, not some old virused catts.

Anyways, it is really frustrating how the reality of it all is. But honestly, something must be done to those people who would sell crappy plants and would do nothing about it.
It is just unethical.
Afterall, back in the days when people didn't know much about virus and its davastating effect on horticulture industry, they kept on spreading and now we see the result.
Tight policies need to be employed to make things better.

We are the abused minority, Adriana. How sad!

Truly frustrating!

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Abused minority? I find it amusing how viruses have always been something associated with orchids, yet for some reason it seems that you 'abused minority' decided that right NOW would be an ideal time to make a big deal about something very small.

[NYCorchidman]

You must be VERY IGNORANT about the whole situation!

Plant viruses are not confined to orchids. They affects many (if not all) other plants from food crops to cut flower plants. This is a website where orchid lovers talk about orchids.

Also, their damage in dollars is tremendous! For many many years, people didn't (many still don't, like you) care much about it. The result is just terrible!
The damage is going to go on or get worse because of people like you who laugh about it or think it's small.
It is not small at all!!!

Plus, it has always been a big deal! Only, a small number of people knew and cared about it years ago.

After all, impact of education goes a long way.

I used the term abused minority because general consumers are still not aware that there are such things as plant viruses or orchid viruses. and probably it doesn't matter to them as many people buy orchids just for home deco and then throw them away once flowers are gone. and that is fine.
What is not fine is that selling virused plants and not being responsible about it.
It matters a lot if you look at the larger picture.

---------- Post added at 09:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------

Originally Posted by escualida

Whoa, first of all, I'm not saying I'm going to report every single vendor that ever sells me a virused plant. I'm referring to one vendor that is notorious for selling virused plants that won't give refunds unless you return said plants to them. I think that's a little suspicious and makes me think they are knowingly turning around and selling said plants to other unsuspecting customers.



You're right, I'm sure A LOT of people have virused plants, does this make it OK? Should we ignore the problem and hope it goes away by itself?



I did in fact take that into account and came to the conclusion that no, they did not catch it from any of my plants. Here is why: 3 of the 5 infected orchids came from Orchids.com, that's not a coincidence. The other 2 had their siblings tested by the vendors and surprise, surprise, viruses found. None of my other 45 or so other orchids have viruses.



Yes, I am aware that some plants don't show signs of viruses but that doesn't mean that it's not harmful. And even if that specific plant is not harmed by the virus it definitely is able to transmit it to other plants that it CAN be harmful to.



There is always a margin of error, however the plants tested by me were then CONFIRMED to have viruses by a reputable lab.

I'm sorry, I'm not going to agree with people who say that it's "just the way it is". A vendor must stand behind their products, simple as that. Viruses suck and sometimes it's not within the vendor's control, but that doesn't mean that the consumer has to pay the price. It's as simple as that.

I agree with everything you said.
Again, with "just the way it is" attitude, their will be no changes for the better and evil business will thrive.
Consumer protection and many other policies protecting people's right came with efforts and price.
No more discussion on this issue is necessary I guess.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Ignorance? Hah, I refuse to speak out of ignorance. One of the most knowledgable people on the Board has already added their input on this matter, and seeing that they are pretty calm about it, I don't think I have much to worry about. Like I said, and even you added, viruses have always been part of the whole plant world. Does that mean that someone needs goes and burn up every virused plant? Absolutely not!!!

If we did manage to get rid of every virus currently infecting cultivated orchids, guess what would happen! Within a few years there would be new strains and mutations to be found. The reason? Viruses are hard to kill most of the time, and since they are nothing much but some RNA and a protein coat, they can easily mutate, which means that they will come back with an immunity to whatever antivirus may have been made.

Think about this: humans have always been affected by viruses, but because of this did we go and kill all the infected humans because they were virused? Even nowadays, we can only try to prevent the spread of viruses, and most of the time that is ineffective. Viruses are a permanent feature of this place we call Earth. As much as I don't like to admit, we will never beat them, and they will always be there. If humans have been able to live on amidst the presence of much more deadly viruses and diseases, I'm sure our orchids will.

People's rights when it comes to buying orchids? What a joke! Should we go overrun the government and demand that we have the right to test every nursery and their plants for viruses?

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

Ignorance? Hah, I refuse to speak out of ignorance. One of the most knowledgable people on the Board has already added their input on this matter, and seeing that they are pretty calm about it, I don't think I have much to worry about. Like I said, and even you added, viruses have always been part of the whole plant world. Does that mean that someone needs goes and burn up every virused plant? Absolutely not!!!

If we did manage to get rid of every virus currently infecting cultivated orchids, guess what would happen! Within a few years there would be new strains and mutations to be found. The reason? Viruses are hard to kill most of the time, and since they are nothing much but some RNA and a protein coat, they can easily mutate, which means that they will come back with an immunity to whatever antivirus may have been made.

Think about this: humans have always been affected by viruses, but because of this did we go and kill all the infected humans because they were virused? Even nowadays, we can only try to prevent the spread of viruses, and most of the time that is ineffective. Viruses are a permanent feature of this place we call Earth. As much as I don't like to admit, we will never beat them, and they will always be there. If humans have been able to live on amidst the presence of much more deadly viruses and diseases, I'm sure our orchids will.

People's rights when it comes to buying orchids? What a joke! Should we go overrun the government and demand that we have the right to test every nursery and their plants for viruses?

Read what you wrote again, very carefully and see if you are indeed ignorant.

By the way, there are DNA viruses also. I guess you didn't pay full attention to your high school Biology class.

Your comparison of killing all humans with viruses is just terrible also!

No need to say anything more.

[Call_Me_Bob]

I'm trying to stay out of this, but really? Calling people ignorant? I resent that, I know perfectly well what I am talking about!

I would just like echo myself (because it was obviously ignored earlier) IF YOU HAVE SANITARY PRACTICES VIRUSES ARE NOT A PROBLEM!!!!! Maybe you should learn how to have sanitary practices!