Al wrote:

every collector to learn how to read and write those darn tags. At a show
once I found a Phal species with a tag that read: Phal. cornu-cervi
'RedWing'. There was a whole group of them all labeled the same and so I
asked the vendor if the plant was a stem prop or a mericlone and she looked
at the tag and responded: "They are all seed grown and every one will be
different." You would have to understand what the tag told me about the
group of plants to know why the vendor's response was a complete
contradiction: either she didn't know what she was talking about or the tag
was wrong. So I asked, "So these are not all the clone 'RedWing' but
seedlings?" and her answer was "Oh no, they're all 'RedWing'" and that was
about all I could take. Of course, I bought the plant anyway.


Al, the space aliens are offering to give your brain back if you
don't ever do that again. Stupid and/or uneducated vendors should be
culled in the way nature intended. I'd personally prefer hungry wolves,
but market forces are good too. At some point the professor in me takes
over and I give them a (not infrequently polite) lecture on the errors
of their ways. I'm sure that makes me a (use whatever rude expletive
you choose), but I'm just a wolf in Hawaiian's clothing (Aloha shirt) at
most orchid shows, helping the market forces.

There are always other places to buy things, and in my opinion, we
should try to support the good vendors who know what they are talking
about. It drives me nuts that some otherwise knowledgable growers do
stupid things, like call a single species a 'specie' (I can't express
how much I hate that! - Ok, it is Dana at Hausermanns, give him hell for
me). People who have been growing for decades are allowed a few quirks,
what bothers me is people who decide that they will become vendors after
growing a couple orchids for a year, knowing nothing about orchids and
perhaps a few things about capitalism. Come back in a few years when
you know what you are talking about, and I'll be happy to do business
with you.

Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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

"Al" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
The species percentage chart in wildcat is interesting but it can easily
mislead and should only be used as a vague guide to understanding what a
particular plant or group of plants will look like. If the tiny purple
flower genes of equestris are heavily selected for over 15 generations of
hybridizing the chart might hint that the plant is only 5% equestris
(since
it was used twice 13 generations ago) but the flower might look very much
like equestris and indeed have inherited a much greater or lesser
percentage
of genes from this species. Gene segregation during sexual reproduction
is
not known for it's mathematical precision.

Of course! Do you look exactly like your siblings?

This throws up an interesting question, however. Is there any way Wildcatt
can give you an example of all other hybrids that are also, like Phal Orchid
World, 50 % amboinensis, 25% amabilis, 12.5% lueddemannia, 12.5% violacea?
It would be an adventure to seek out other hybrids and compare their looks.
If I had Wildcatt, I would give it a try, but unfortunately I don't.
--
Reka

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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"Al" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
The species percentage chart in wildcat is interesting but it can easily
mislead and should only be used as a vague guide to understanding what a
particular plant or group of plants will look like. If the tiny purple
flower genes of equestris are heavily selected for over 15 generations of
hybridizing the chart might hint that the plant is only 5% equestris
(since
it was used twice 13 generations ago) but the flower might look very much
like equestris and indeed have inherited a much greater or lesser
percentage
of genes from this species. Gene segregation during sexual reproduction
is
not known for it's mathematical precision.

Of course! Do you look exactly like your siblings?

This throws up an interesting question, however. Is there any way Wildcatt
can give you an example of all other hybrids that are also, like Phal Orchid
World, 50 % amboinensis, 25% amabilis, 12.5% lueddemannia, 12.5% violacea?
It would be an adventure to seek out other hybrids and compare their looks.
If I had Wildcatt, I would give it a try, but unfortunately I don't.
--
Reka

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.564 / Virus Database: 356 - Release Date: 19.01.04

It did turn out to be a cornu-cervi when it bloomed (or a specie that looks
a lot like it; pantherina, deceptrix, whatever.) but it had no remarkable
amount of red in it when compared to the other non-named clones I have
accumulated. I do have a cornu-cervi f. thalebanii which was sold to me as
Phal. thelebanii but it hasn't yet bloomed so I don't yet know what I spent
all that money on.

I have puzzled over this for years:
One, why I bought it after she demonstrated in person the same quality that
*does* drive me away from website catalogs. There is often more than one
way to write a plant name, espceially a species but there are also obvious
errors that point to vendor ignornace of their product that can not be
attributed to spelling mistakes or taxonomic sources.
Two: I keep thinking she was trying to communicate
Phal. cornu-cervi ('Redwing' x self)
as I questioned her but that tag, written as it was, definitely could not be
construed to mean this. She should have known better if that's what she was
trying to say.

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Al, the space aliens are offering to give your brain back if you
don't ever do that again. Stupid and/or uneducated vendors should be
culled in the way nature intended. I'd personally prefer hungry wolves,
but market forces are good too. At some point the professor in me takes
over and I give them a (not infrequently polite) lecture on the errors
of their ways. I'm sure that makes me a (use whatever rude expletive
you choose), but I'm just a wolf in Hawaiian's clothing (Aloha shirt) at
most orchid shows, helping the market forces.

There are always other places to buy things, and in my opinion, we
should try to support the good vendors who know what they are talking
about. It drives me nuts that some otherwise knowledgable growers do
stupid things, like call a single species a 'specie' (I can't express
how much I hate that! - Ok, it is Dana at Hausermanns, give him hell for
me). People who have been growing for decades are allowed a few quirks,
what bothers me is people who decide that they will become vendors after
growing a couple orchids for a year, knowing nothing about orchids and
perhaps a few things about capitalism. Come back in a few years when
you know what you are talking about, and I'll be happy to do business
with you.

Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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

It did turn out to be a cornu-cervi when it bloomed (or a specie that looks
a lot like it; pantherina, deceptrix, whatever.) but it had no remarkable
amount of red in it when compared to the other non-named clones I have
accumulated. I do have a cornu-cervi f. thalebanii which was sold to me as
Phal. thelebanii but it hasn't yet bloomed so I don't yet know what I spent
all that money on.

I have puzzled over this for years:
One, why I bought it after she demonstrated in person the same quality that
*does* drive me away from website catalogs. There is often more than one
way to write a plant name, espceially a species but there are also obvious
errors that point to vendor ignornace of their product that can not be
attributed to spelling mistakes or taxonomic sources.
Two: I keep thinking she was trying to communicate
Phal. cornu-cervi ('Redwing' x self)
as I questioned her but that tag, written as it was, definitely could not be
construed to mean this. She should have known better if that's what she was
trying to say.

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Al, the space aliens are offering to give your brain back if you
don't ever do that again. Stupid and/or uneducated vendors should be
culled in the way nature intended. I'd personally prefer hungry wolves,
but market forces are good too. At some point the professor in me takes
over and I give them a (not infrequently polite) lecture on the errors
of their ways. I'm sure that makes me a (use whatever rude expletive
you choose), but I'm just a wolf in Hawaiian's clothing (Aloha shirt) at
most orchid shows, helping the market forces.

There are always other places to buy things, and in my opinion, we
should try to support the good vendors who know what they are talking
about. It drives me nuts that some otherwise knowledgable growers do
stupid things, like call a single species a 'specie' (I can't express
how much I hate that! - Ok, it is Dana at Hausermanns, give him hell for
me). People who have been growing for decades are allowed a few quirks,
what bothers me is people who decide that they will become vendors after
growing a couple orchids for a year, knowing nothing about orchids and
perhaps a few things about capitalism. Come back in a few years when
you know what you are talking about, and I'll be happy to do business
with you.

Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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

"Al" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
The species percentage chart in wildcat is interesting but it can easily
mislead and should only be used as a vague guide to understanding what a
particular plant or group of plants will look like. If the tiny purple
flower genes of equestris are heavily selected for over 15 generations of
hybridizing the chart might hint that the plant is only 5% equestris
(since
it was used twice 13 generations ago) but the flower might look very much
like equestris and indeed have inherited a much greater or lesser
percentage
of genes from this species. Gene segregation during sexual reproduction
is
not known for it's mathematical precision.

Of course! Do you look exactly like your siblings?

This throws up an interesting question, however. Is there any way Wildcatt
can give you an example of all other hybrids that are also, like Phal Orchid
World, 50 % amboinensis, 25% amabilis, 12.5% lueddemannia, 12.5% violacea?
It would be an adventure to seek out other hybrids and compare their looks.
If I had Wildcatt, I would give it a try, but unfortunately I don't.
--
Reka

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.564 / Virus Database: 356 - Release Date: 19.01.04

"Al" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...
The species percentage chart in wildcat is interesting but it can easily
mislead and should only be used as a vague guide to understanding what a
particular plant or group of plants will look like. If the tiny purple
flower genes of equestris are heavily selected for over 15 generations of
hybridizing the chart might hint that the plant is only 5% equestris
(since
it was used twice 13 generations ago) but the flower might look very much
like equestris and indeed have inherited a much greater or lesser
percentage
of genes from this species. Gene segregation during sexual reproduction
is
not known for it's mathematical precision.

Of course! Do you look exactly like your siblings?

This throws up an interesting question, however. Is there any way Wildcatt
can give you an example of all other hybrids that are also, like Phal Orchid
World, 50 % amboinensis, 25% amabilis, 12.5% lueddemannia, 12.5% violacea?
It would be an adventure to seek out other hybrids and compare their looks.
If I had Wildcatt, I would give it a try, but unfortunately I don't.
--
Reka

I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.564 / Virus Database: 356 - Release Date: 19.01.04

It did turn out to be a cornu-cervi when it bloomed (or a specie that looks
a lot like it; pantherina, deceptrix, whatever.) but it had no remarkable
amount of red in it when compared to the other non-named clones I have
accumulated. I do have a cornu-cervi f. thalebanii which was sold to me as
Phal. thelebanii but it hasn't yet bloomed so I don't yet know what I spent
all that money on.

I have puzzled over this for years:
One, why I bought it after she demonstrated in person the same quality that
*does* drive me away from website catalogs. There is often more than one
way to write a plant name, espceially a species but there are also obvious
errors that point to vendor ignornace of their product that can not be
attributed to spelling mistakes or taxonomic sources.
Two: I keep thinking she was trying to communicate
Phal. cornu-cervi ('Redwing' x self)
as I questioned her but that tag, written as it was, definitely could not be
construed to mean this. She should have known better if that's what she was
trying to say.

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Al, the space aliens are offering to give your brain back if you
don't ever do that again. Stupid and/or uneducated vendors should be
culled in the way nature intended. I'd personally prefer hungry wolves,
but market forces are good too. At some point the professor in me takes
over and I give them a (not infrequently polite) lecture on the errors
of their ways. I'm sure that makes me a (use whatever rude expletive
you choose), but I'm just a wolf in Hawaiian's clothing (Aloha shirt) at
most orchid shows, helping the market forces.

There are always other places to buy things, and in my opinion, we
should try to support the good vendors who know what they are talking
about. It drives me nuts that some otherwise knowledgable growers do
stupid things, like call a single species a 'specie' (I can't express
how much I hate that! - Ok, it is Dana at Hausermanns, give him hell for
me). People who have been growing for decades are allowed a few quirks,
what bothers me is people who decide that they will become vendors after
growing a couple orchids for a year, knowing nothing about orchids and
perhaps a few things about capitalism. Come back in a few years when
you know what you are talking about, and I'll be happy to do business
with you.

Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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

It did turn out to be a cornu-cervi when it bloomed (or a specie that looks
a lot like it; pantherina, deceptrix, whatever.) but it had no remarkable
amount of red in it when compared to the other non-named clones I have
accumulated. I do have a cornu-cervi f. thalebanii which was sold to me as
Phal. thelebanii but it hasn't yet bloomed so I don't yet know what I spent
all that money on.

I have puzzled over this for years:
One, why I bought it after she demonstrated in person the same quality that
*does* drive me away from website catalogs. There is often more than one
way to write a plant name, espceially a species but there are also obvious
errors that point to vendor ignornace of their product that can not be
attributed to spelling mistakes or taxonomic sources.
Two: I keep thinking she was trying to communicate
Phal. cornu-cervi ('Redwing' x self)
as I questioned her but that tag, written as it was, definitely could not be
construed to mean this. She should have known better if that's what she was
trying to say.

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Al, the space aliens are offering to give your brain back if you
don't ever do that again. Stupid and/or uneducated vendors should be
culled in the way nature intended. I'd personally prefer hungry wolves,
but market forces are good too. At some point the professor in me takes
over and I give them a (not infrequently polite) lecture on the errors
of their ways. I'm sure that makes me a (use whatever rude expletive
you choose), but I'm just a wolf in Hawaiian's clothing (Aloha shirt) at
most orchid shows, helping the market forces.

There are always other places to buy things, and in my opinion, we
should try to support the good vendors who know what they are talking
about. It drives me nuts that some otherwise knowledgable growers do
stupid things, like call a single species a 'specie' (I can't express
how much I hate that! - Ok, it is Dana at Hausermanns, give him hell for
me). People who have been growing for decades are allowed a few quirks,
what bothers me is people who decide that they will become vendors after
growing a couple orchids for a year, knowing nothing about orchids and
perhaps a few things about capitalism. Come back in a few years when
you know what you are talking about, and I'll be happy to do business
with you.

Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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

Al wrote:

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.



They won't get far with only one monkey... They'll probably come
after me next. I'd have to put alien laughter right up there with
improperly written tags, although worse than an improperly written tag
is one that was correctly written which you can't read anymore. That
will drive you bonkers.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...



If we try hard enough, we could push all your buttons at once. Like
kids in an elevator. And when did we ever have a thread that stuck to
topic? I wear my bottons on my sleeve, and dare people to poke 'em. *grin*

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

Al wrote:

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.



They won't get far with only one monkey... They'll probably come
after me next. I'd have to put alien laughter right up there with
improperly written tags, although worse than an improperly written tag
is one that was correctly written which you can't read anymore. That
will drive you bonkers.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...



If we try hard enough, we could push all your buttons at once. Like
kids in an elevator. And when did we ever have a thread that stuck to
topic? I wear my bottons on my sleeve, and dare people to poke 'em. *grin*

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

Al wrote:

Those space aliens can not be trusted. I have heard those promises before
and done (and probably will do) all kinds of monkey-like things whenever
such a big banana is dangled in front of me. Right now they have me working
on "Hamlet" without benifit of a text copy to guide me. They heard some
theory... Anyway, the only thing worse than alien laughter in your head is
an improperly written orchid tag.



They won't get far with only one monkey... They'll probably come
after me next. I'd have to put alien laughter right up there with
improperly written tags, although worse than an improperly written tag
is one that was correctly written which you can't read anymore. That
will drive you bonkers.

And another thing that makes me crazy: people in newsgroups who don't stick
to the thread topic.

Al
"Non cogitamus, ergo nihil sumus" and I wish I knew the latin for "Keep
your buttons hidden or some fool will push them just for fun." ...and
enough from me today...



If we try hard enough, we could push all your buttons at once. Like
kids in an elevator. And when did we ever have a thread that stuck to
topic? I wear my bottons on my sleeve, and dare people to poke 'em. *grin*

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

The worst vendor I ever encountered was a staff person at a plant nursery in
Milwaukee. The nursery carried other plants as well. The staff person did
not know the difference between aerial roots and inflorescences, but she was
convinced that she did know, and even after I corrected her and told her
that I knew the difference (there was absolutely no doubt with those: they
were already quite long, and very root-like), she kept insisting that the
Phal definitely had several blooming spikes and therefore was a huge
bargain. I wound up buying the Phal anyway, since I needed a present for my
mother-in-law, and it was a very nice Phal, despite having only one spike at
that time, and being quite overpriced.

Joanna

"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
Anyway, that is how I screen my vendors... They have to know their
stock, and have at least a rudimentary understanding of how plants are
named. I prefer evidence that they actually grow the plants themselves
for a period of time, rather than just wholesaling budded stock. The
good ones know the breeding behind their plants, even if they didn't
actually make the cross. The best ones know the breeding behind plants
that their competitors are offering... You can learn alot about vendors
you haven't even met (like on the internet) just by applying the rules
of plant naming to their website. I can't trust somebody who can't get
genus and species correct and properly formatted (genus capitalized,
species not, etc.). Now if I've met them in person I may let such
little things slide, but the internet is chock full o' idiots (myself
included, I suspect).

Rob (not a vendor... or a shark, for that matter.)

--
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