[Rick Barry]

A new story entry has been added:

The Orchid Etiquette Advisory

If you are interested in viewing and perhaps purchasing superior plants of any orchid genus, particularly the best clones, you must look to private collections and beyond the 'Employees Only' signs at commercial growers. Some of the best clones ever produced are in the possession of hobbyists and commercial breeders and are not offered in the retail market. The sales of such high-end plants are usually conducted privately. Most often the exchange takes place directly with a breeder or collector who may offer a division of one of his breeding plants or perhaps some other select plants that will never become generally available. Access to view or purchase such plants is usually granted only by arrangement with the owner.

True orchid connoisseurs differ in substantial ways from typical hobbyists. While the average hobbyist may on occasion receive an AOS award for one of his plants, the true connoisseur expects to receive awards on a regular basis. Such awarded plants become the basis for one's reputation as a grower, and perhaps as a breeder. Some of these plants come at considerable expense, depending upon the rarity of the plant, the specific awards it has received, and its potential as a stud plant. The owner of an exceptional plant holds the same sort of regard for it that an art collector might for a Van Gogh or a Matisse. Like fine art, some orchid plants, the rarest and most valuable of all, disappear into the private collections of wealthy collectors, never to be seen in public. Other select plants are confined to the breeding bench, where they remain in bloom only long enough to be pollinated to produce the next generation of seedlings. The opportunity to view (and possibly even purchase) such plants is not granted lightly, and should always be viewed as a rare opportunity, as well as an honor.

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Should one receive special access to plants unavailable to the general public, one must abide by some rules of behavior which are frequently overlooked in common practice.

Keep in mind at all times that you are a visitor. Watch your manners. Try to be as self-effacing as possible. You may consider yourself knowledgeable about orchids (as no doubt you've really learned a lot in the last 6 months), but your host may rightfully feels he knows more. After all, if you had any reputation in orchid culture he'd already have known of it. The receipt of a blue ribbon or a show trophy, or even an AOS award, doesn't grant you peer status with growers whose reputations have been earned over decades of experience. If you're a beginner, act like it.