GrlIntrpted wrote:

"Matthew Donadio" wrote in message
...



I know my lesson now. I only buy from a few growers who I trust...


What happens when you don't trust anybody?

As Marianna points out, even the most trusted growers will
occassionally sell you an infested plant. It just happens, and it
certainly isn't intentional. What does this mean? For the hobby
grower, don't 'trust' anybody. At least not to sell you pest free
merchandise. Or perhaps a better phrase might be Regan's "Trust, but
verify". Never put a plant into your collection that you haven't
examined closely, and isolate all plants for at least two weeks before
introducing them to their new friends.

A commercial grower (or even a hobby grower with more than a few
hundred plants) will most likely have a critter somewhere in their
collection, at some point during the year. I used to think that mealy
bugs circled the planet in their little U.M.S. Mealyprize, teleporting
down to my prize Paphs just when I was getting cocky about taking the
plant to a show. A good quarantine policy will keep your indoor
collection pretty clean. Greenhouses will tend to be less easy, because
pests come in through the vents (mealies, aphids, 100 different kinds of
scale, slugs, squirrels, stupid plant pecking birds...).

Commercial growers have the added disadvantage of bringing in plants
in large lots from many different wholesalers (most commercial growers
buy at least some of their stock this way), and this is a great vector
for the occasional nasty critter to sneak in. The reseller might not
even know the pest is there, especially if they bought the stock in bud
or bloom, and turned it around rapidly (which is exactly what they are
trying to do - it costs money to keep them in the greenhouse).

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
4) LittlefrogFarm kinda/sorta/somewhat open for business -
e-mail me for a list )