The Orchid Etiquette Advisory

[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.

***
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.

[cb977]

Rick, I haven't had the opportunity to get an inside up-close and personal view of a privately held collection but I have been to a few growers' nurseries and am always so awestruck, all I can do is babble about how beautiful everything is

[Tindomul]

So many other hobbies are the same way. Birds, amphibians, fish. I had no idea how complicated and how tip toey you have to be. Thanks for the article, hopefully it will help anyone who will one day visit a private grower's collection for the first time.

[Orchonubee]

Very informative, and can be applied to so many encounters in life.

[Paul]

Any time someone has something you truly want, it doesn't hurt to be a shameless "suck-up"

[Marty]

Paul, that's where the long trench coat and a back pack come into play

[goodgollymissmolly]

This is probably a poor choice for my first post here, but here goes.

It seems to me that this item paints two groups with a pretty broad brush. It makes the very serious, long time, successful orchid enthusiast sound like a whining, social misfit and a relative newcomer like me sound like a stupid, financially weak, dishonest redneck.

I was fortunate enough to spend a great deal of last weekend in the company of the most awarded orchid personality in the history of the AOS. This good fortune occurred at a seminar about a different plant. I found this orchid royalty to be among the nicest, most helpful individuals I've ever met. He was more than willing to share information with everyone in a respectful manner.

As for me, I'm no thief or fool and I'm surely not under educated in either my manners or my profession. I'm not on a budget either.

I think the original message is truly unfriendly and false. Hopefully somebody will agree that the message is unnecessarily negative toward everyone.

[cneos]

I've enjoyed visiting and being visited by good and not so good people. Fortunately for all of us, there's more good folks, professionals and hobbyists alike, out there than the self-absorbed 'unfriendlies' about whom the author writes. The 'unfriendlies' are only hurting themselves.
In my book, civility and respect for one another goes a long way toward determining whose company I will keep in ANY walk of life.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by goodgollymissmolly

This is probably a poor choice for my first post here, but here goes.

It seems to me that this item paints two groups with a pretty broad brush. It makes the very serious, long time, successful orchid enthusiast sound like a whining, social misfit and a relative newcomer like me sound like a stupid, financially weak, dishonest redneck.

I was fortunate enough to spend a great deal of last weekend in the company of the most awarded orchid personality in the history of the AOS. This good fortune occurred at a seminar about a different plant. I found this orchid royalty to be among the nicest, most helpful individuals I've ever met. He was more than willing to share information with everyone in a respectful manner.

As for me, I'm no thief or fool and I'm surely not under educated in either my manners or my profession. I'm not on a budget either.

I think the original message is truly unfriendly and false. Hopefully somebody will agree that the message is unnecessarily negative toward everyone.

THANK YOU for saying this! My feelings exactly! Welcome to the board.

I hesitated responding (well didn't hesitate - Ididn't respond) because of the tone. I thought the whole article was elitist and wondered what the author had in mind. Had someone violated his precious collection and ego? Had someone pilfered something? I just don't get the point here, and I am slightly offended by the tone of the article, especially in light of the background of posts offered before this article was posted. JMHO. Sorry for the rant.

[Rick Barry]

I suppose I should respond to some of these comments:

Perhaps I should have included some emoticons for those readers unable to distinguish the satirical from the literal, facetiousness from earnestness, sarcasm from simple declarative statements. Is there an emoticon to indicate tongue-in-cheek?

Why do you suppose any grower, breeder or collector would be hesitant to open their doors to strangers who might care to view their collection? Anyone who has worked at an orchid sale could offer a number of reasons. Why do you lock your front door at night? Why do you lock your car doors while you are shopping? Why would you insist that your daughter not roam the streets at night unless properly accompanied? By so doing are you implying that all people are thieves and rapists? Hardly. You are simply taking actions to prevent being victimized by that small proportion of the population that engages in these activities. You certainly won’t be criticized for it.

Orchid nurseries are uniquely vulnerable to pilferage. The removal of a single keiki from a plant is nearly undetectable. Pollen (which can be of considerable value to breeders) can quickly and easily be removed from a flower. Perpetrators of such theft may attempt to rationalize their actions, but the fact remains that they are stealing, and it is a form of theft that is very hard to detect.

The article wasn’t written as a portrait of the beginner or the experienced orchid grower. It is a portrayal of the extremes in attitude and actions I have personally witnessed in my years as an orchid grower. I have seen how people behave in retail environments. The vast majority are friendly, courteous and respectful. A minority, however, are absolutely boorish, and some are un-rehabilitated thieves. Retailers take elaborate and costly precautions to prevent theft, yet who accuses them of treating everyone like thieves? They are similarly justified in attempting to prevent the breakage of high value items by rendering them inaccessible without the assistance of a salesperson.

I didn’t make any blanket statements or generalizations about any segment of the orchid growing community. If any readers want to read between the lines, that’s their option. It would be fair to expect them to offer quotations from the article in support of their claims.

The idea that I portray experienced growers and breeders as “whining, social misfit(s)”, and newcomers as "stupid, financially weak, dishonest redneck(s)" is completely unsubstantiated. I do state, however, that it is the prerogative of any grower to set the terms on which anyone might tour their collection, and to question these terms (or to violate them) is truly rude and could rightfully result in banishment. Since such terms or rules governing one’s behavior are seldom expressed in advance, it seems common sense to err on the side of caution.

To say that one’s behavior only hurts oneself isn’t quite true. Bad behavior on anyone’s part is commonly attributed to the group to which that person appears to belong. When someone visits an orchid collection they will be viewed by the owner of the collection simply as an orchid hobbyist. If it turns into a bad experience for the owner, it can negatively impact the prospects of hobbyists who might wish to view the collection in the future. It isn’t necessarily fair to attribute the actions of a few to the group as a whole, but it is very common in human intercourse. It provides the basis for all human stereotypes.

I am currently working on an article about internet forums in general, but orchid forums in particular. It shouldn’t present much of a challenge to support my observations, since all statements made online are preserved and directly attributable to their authors, or at least their online pseudonyms. Stay tuned and thanks for listening.

Rick