An Orchid Discussion Board

[fatboy]

I'm know I'm not alone here (Merlin for example) but I grow orchids for a living guys! I have almost 8 hectares of them, well over half a million plants.
Having said that I'm too far out of the way to get involved in any of the International groups and despite the fact that we are Bali's ONLY orchid garden and far and away the largest grower of orchids on the island I have so far managed to politely evade the Bali Orchid Society. This is going to end in tears pretty soon though cause the president is a good friend of mine and he's beginning to realise that I am forever busy when it comes to arranging meetings to discuss my becoming involved. He he...

Anyway, my take on why there is so much more politics in orchids, and there is actually plenty in CP's too if you know the right (wrong?) people, is simply that for every CP nut there must be about 1,000 orchidophiles. There are many many more people into orchids so it follows that there are more personalities to clash, the market is much bigger ergo more money at stake, etc, etc.
Secondly, like it or not CP's are a tad niche and without sounding snobby, I think CP's appeal to a more intellectual crowd. Orchids are (often) big and bright and anyone without a clue about plants can go "oooh, look at that pretty flower".
Cp's could be considered ugly by those that don't appreciate them - I was in a meeting with a Japanese artwork company the other day, 3 ladies, and the conversation somehow turned to Nepenthes (don't ask!). They were horrified when I told them I had named a Nep after my wife as they thought it was ugly. Point is that I think not everyone can appreciate CP's and the people that do are more inclined to think about their hobby than just grow them cause they look good for a month. Those same people are therefore willing to think about other aspects of the hobby such as conservation and the ultimate good of the plants rather than letting politics get in the way.

Cheers, Troy.

 

[herenorthere]

Yes, it's definitely more complicated than CPs = good people and orchids = bad people.

The person most responsible for my orchid infatuation was a man named Luke, who I never met but knew from the GW orchid forum.  We began trading and emailing after I bought my first flask and species plants.  Unfortunately, a chronic health problem caught up with him and he passed away a couple years ago.  Just to show what some orchid people are like, here's a story about him.  While between hospitalizations, Luke learned a development was planned for a property near him he knew to be full of Cyp. acaule and Goodyera pubescen plants.  He took care of the necessary paperwork, recruited another GW forum member, and together they worked a few days collecting and moving plants.  I forget how many they saved, but think it was several hundred if not more than a thousand.

Reading my previous postings on this topic, I think I come across as too negative about orchid enthusiasts.  The orchid world's jerks make themselves very visible.  Many others are busy doing good things out of sight.

 

[swords]

I do not think I have come across as "hating" orchid growers, I'm one! I don't have even 50 orchid plants but I definatley don't hate orchid people, I'm fascinated by them. A friend of mine is working on a doctorate in psychology, I've already suggested an examination of the fanatics of the orchid world-who know if he'll do it though. I'd like to see the report on that!  

Ortho's book is nice for a beginner with a couple of commonly available orchids but it's not too helpful when you're growing the more exotic species that it doesn't cover, or want to research a specific species habitat or a specific genus as a whole. I prefer monographs to cultivation books. There are better general orchid cultivation books than the Ortho one.
A couple easy to acquire ones are Growing Orchids by Brian and Wilma Rittershausen and Orchids: Care and Cultivation by Gerald Leroy-Terquem & Jean Parisot. These have far more indepth species coverage, polination techniques, artificial propagation, orchid history, etc. These are easy to get in any bookstore chain selling orchid books.

 

[PlantAKiss]

I'm sure the fact that orchids are a big business makes a difference. There will always be the good and bad eggs. With orchids you've got people hybridizing like crazy trying to come up with a plant that they want to show and win awards and then be able to market for big bucks. You don't have that in the CP world. There are no juried CP shows or designations and awards.

Both groups have their "defenders" who worry about poaching of rare plants and who work to protect the various species. Orchids are just more available, profitable and popular so stands to reason there would be more "intrigue" and controversy.

Its interesting getting a peek into another plant world though.