Ray wrote:

Hey folks. I received the following email, and thought I'd try to tap into the brain power of the
group. What do you think is happening?



He isn't next to a dry-cleaners by any chance? I don't know what
they use these days. Did they test for ethylene too? Sure sounds like
ethylene to me... With a few organics in the air I wouldn't be
surprised to find others... A dry-cleaners or other business that uses
industrial solvents sounds like the best bet for a culprit.

I don't know how specific the 'ethylene response' is to ethylene,
perhaps some plant physiologist could chip in. I wouldn't be surprized
if other molecules with similar structure had some effect at somewhat
higher levels. minor_diversion I know that works with steroid hormone
receptors - for example you can get a response from the estrogen
receptor from almost anything with a couple aromatic rings (including
atrazine, PCBs, dioxin, and numerous plant sterols). Usually you need a
higher concentration, but estradiol isn't even the _best_ ligand for the
estrogen receptor, there are plenty of other compounds with higher
specificity. Most (all, as far as I know) receptors are fairly
promiscuous with their binding partners, but estrogen is the worst.
/minor_diversion

I'm not a lawyer, but I can't imagine that you couldn't get out of a
lease where the location of the property was anathema to your business
application... Sounds like the landlord is trying to get away with
something. Not toxic to humans isn't an excuse if you can't keep your
merchandise alive.

Rob

Hello, I am a retail florist in Stuart, FL 34997 Florida and am having a problem with dying plants.
Initially, only my Orchids were dying. Now, although the orchids are still dying (sometimes in less
than 24 hours the petals wither and fall off), other green plants (common Ivy) are dying (although
it takes them much longer to turn yellow, dry out and wither).


I've done things like buying two orchids, taking one orchid home the other in my store. The one at
home flourishes the one in the store dies. Orchids placed in other stores in the plaza die also.


I had an air sample taken and it shows elevated levels of Trimathylpentane (32 ppbv), Isopropyl
Alcohol (0.1 ppbv) to name a couple. My landlords' air guy says that they are all within acceptable
levels for humans but I can not find any one that can tell me the relationship these gasses might
create with plants.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions on where to go to have a problem like this diagnosed?






--
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