How many plants do commercial orchid breeders work with?

[estación seca]

It appears to me some breeders may send seed to flasking companies, and the breeder may request a certain number of flasks from the output. The flasking company may produce more flasks of this same cross and sell them to other people.

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by estación seca

It appears to me some breeders may send seed to flasking companies, and the breeder may request a certain number of flasks from the output. The flasking company may produce more flasks of this same cross and sell them to other people.

To protect against this, no breeder ever tells the flasker what the cross is. Only what genera it is, so they can adjust the medium accordingly.

[tmoney]

Originally Posted by Fairorchids

To protect against this, no breeder ever tells the flasker what the cross is. Only what genera it is, so they can adjust the medium accordingly.

a year ago i was asking similar abstract questions...not fully understanding the market and the processes. now, a bit further into the game and actively talking to flaskers and other orchid professionals it seems as if there is an interesting schism in the whole production world.

clearly the professionals (people with labs and greenhouses and actual experience) hold the power and dictate terms, while us home/hobby breeders are subject to those terms and conditions. please note, this is NOT a rant or complaint.

the couple programs i have spoken to or researched into, require the names of both parents (better if progeny is known), as well as high quality, close up photos of the flowers. they all emphasize the need for buyers to know the plants parents and see the flowers in order to generate interest and sales. ok, i can see that.

i guess i take a turn when they say you need to buy the plants back (also fine) and any unsought plants become their exclusive property to do with what they choose. you, the breeder, then have no rights to any of those plants.

like, ok, i get it. they (the flasker) are taking all the work and risk, so one should pay for their product. but, as new breeders, how can one excel or gain ones own reputation if many of your crosses are sold blindly without giving credit to the breeder?

i liken it to source coding or other intellectual property rights. sure, eventually if one has enough skill and the planets align right they may get recognized for their work. but, perhaps a good cross is making some corporation rich off of the intellectual (and physical) work of some unnamed breeder. i know....such is life, suck it up, you ain’t all that....all those true sayings apply. but, yeah, it’s a tough world out there for home breeders.

i wish you (the breeder) had the option to say, i want 2 flasks and a guarantee you have destroyed the rest. or, we will give you 5%commision on any sales. or, somehow have a system of showcased breeders and hype them up on the websites. i dunno, not just a hard wall of gimme this much money and we own any you don’t buy no questions asked.