New Orchids Arrived - Toss Them??

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by PlumCrazy

Thanks to both of you for the advice. To clarify, since you can't tell from the pics, the black spots on Plant 2 are pitted, not raised.

Anyway, I'm contacting the seller. AND, I probably won't be putting them in with my other orchids because I just read a post under the vendor section where someone said their "Hawaiian Special" orchids from Seattle Orchids were contaminated with viruses, which is exactly what these are Very sad as I like the Mystic Maze very much.

Another question: How high is the risk of contamination if I keep the orchids, pretty much assuming they have viruses, in the house? They are in a different room, but it would be so sad if all of my orchids got sick.

In happier news, my sister surprised me with a little orchid on a stick from Andy's which coincidentally also arrived today. (She knew I had to miss my planned trip to Hausermann's because of the Corona virus.) It's in perfect condition and has new growth on it. It is being quarantined in a separate area

anything on sale is pretty dubious from Seattle Orchid. the owner seems like someone who is drawn to conflict and I've been sent plants with scale, mealy, thrips and rots. the fine print is that sale is often "as/is"... now I know that their sale plants are plants they failed to grow well and now they need to recoup some of their costs. they've been on a downward spiral for the last 10 years. i've visited their shop in person and thats the only time I would ever trust going because you can pick the plants in person and decline any ones that look like crap. they've moved to southern oregon but it sounds like they're still up to the same old stuff. a bargain can be had if you're willing to triage a rootless & rare sale orchid though.

[JScott]

Seattle Orchids has a pretty lousy reputation for sending sickly plants, and then giving customers a hard time when they tell them that they are a problem. I won't order from Seattle again. Contact them and try to get your money back, becauise those plants look rough for sure, and are surely not worth what you paid them, but their customer service is lousy and you probably won't reach a resulation that satisfies you, but you can try

Order from Akatsuka or Odom'e or Hausermann or Carmel's or any of the manhy nurseries that have sterling reputations. If you search Seattle Orchids on this board, you will find many posts from dissatisfied customers who were frefused the proper resolution

[ArronOB]

Although I wouldn’t be very happy to receive these plants from a dealer, if plants 2 and 3 were in my collection I would have no problem with them. The spots on plant 3’s leaves look trivial. The ones on plant 3’s pseudobulbs look ok though the yellowish look worries me more. Maybe it is just the photo.

Plant 2 looks Ok and it’s an outstandingly hardy hybrid anyway.

Plant 1 I would toss. Not worth the trouble.

Generally, small black spots on Oncidium alliance leaves don’t worry me much.

I have all these hybrids. Good choices. The mystic maze has disappointed me a little as my plants are very big and tall and seem to produce only a couple of spikes each so the ratio of green leaves to flowers is not great, but the novelty of the flowers offsets that I guess.

[Clawhammer]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, it is heartbreaking to be let down after much anticipation, especially right now when these deliveries are the highlight of the week.

You have a right to be disappointed but I would only consider tossing the one mushy plant. I probably wouldn't ask for a refund on the other two, but I wouldn't reorder from them either. We deserve the best plant for the money but it can be fun to rehab them too.

In my opinion, it is best to consider all plants both virused and susceptible to new viruses, and to develop habits that mitigate the spread. You have been given good mitigation advice so far but I'll just mention another key to preventing virus spread is pest control. They often act as vectors spreading disease throughout a collection.

I also spray down my grow room monthly with physan20 and disinfect touchpoints like doorknobs as part of my daily maintenance.

[PlumCrazy]

Thanks for all of the comments - they make me feel a little better. At the same time, it makes me even angrier knowing that a business continues to knowingly send out sick plants!! The pits on plant two are very obvious and look like they've been there awhile, so I don't believe they wouldn't have noticed when they packed it. I did email them yesterday, so I'll let you know what they say....

Unfortunately plant one is now about 90% mush. Yesterday it looked like the bulb with the flowers on it might be salvageable, but now even that one has yellowed and mushed at the base.

Plant two looks attractive (if you don't look too close at the leaves ).

After closer inspection, the fourth plant does have a few black spots as well. If it were just that one, I could believe the vendor didn't see it. I'm really not one for throwing anything out, so I'll try to keep these healthy for as long as I can, and I will be following the advice you guys have given me.

I'm also attaching a picture of the Dendrobium eriaeflorum (darjeelingense) from Andy's, since that is making me happy right now

[Roberta]

Wouldn't worry about a few black spots on leaves - that happens. As long as it doesn't spread, you'll probably be fine. The one that was mush, inexcusable.

[MJG]

Hi PlumCrazy. I just saw your post on my thread in the vendors section. I feel for you too. You're getting very good advice here. I do get almost all of my orchids online, mostly from Hausermann. They do a great job, including heat packs and holding off on sending the orchids until weather permits. I've never received anything from them that's not beautiful and healthy. That's true with other vendors too so don't give up on online orchids.

I have tested all of my orchids for viruses at some point over the years with a test kit. That's how I know who had viruses from SO. I have a number of orchids with black spots that test negative for viruses. They are normal, healthy orchids.

Should I even have named Seattle Orchid by name in association with viruses? I worry now that everyone who has ordered from them is going to think their orchids are all diseased. But 4 of my 12 from them were, for sure. 8 were fine. That's just a fact. You have an obvious issue of some sort with your mushy orchid -- maybe from cold. I don't know about the ones with black spots. I can tell you that none of my 12 new ones are the same variety as yours.

Definitely have a conversation with the vendor, and best wishes to you!

[Connie Star]

J&L Orchids is very good. I have had excellent plants from them. They specialize in miniatures. I occasionally order from eBay but not very often I prefer to know who the vendor is and rely on the tried and true which have been mentioned above. Marlows Orchids is a new vendor for me and they seem to be good.

[JScott]

Did you ever get a reply from Seattle Orchids? I have never been able to come to a satisfactory resolution with these people. Once when I contacted them about a plant with shriveled bulbs and no live roots, they told me that no, I'm wrong, the plant is fine, and if I knew more about Orchids, I would be able to see that. I've been growing Orchids for some 30 years. I know a sick plant when I see it.

I don't think they know much about growing Orchids. They don't grow their own plants. They buy them and resell them. I think the quality of the plants depends on how long they have had it. If it is a new arrival, it will probably be in good condition, but if it is a plant they've had for a couple months, it will be poor health, or even nearing death because they do not care for them properly. Did you pay with PayPal or a credit card? PayPal is usually good about siding with the buyer during disputes, so if you paid with PayPal, that may work in your favor.

I would also like to add a couple nurseries that I have recently started buying from that have sent me very nice plants. The Tiny Jungle (also sells as Let's Talk Plants on eBay) and Chadwick and Son sent me an absolutely stunning plant last week. And don't forget about Odom's, Akatsuka, Hausermann, Carmela.

[Roberta]

I have gotten some really nice plants (and very interesting and unusual things) from Louisiana Orchid Connection . I have also ordered from Marlow Orchids and was very pleased.