# Krull Smith



## rob (Jun 4, 2009)

I just checked the KS web site and it says that they have sold their entire paph breeding stock to Ursa Orchids. Anyone have info on this. 
Rob


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## P-chan (Jun 4, 2009)

Wow...no clue.


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Jun 4, 2009)

Rob, I'm so surprised. I can't believe it. Now what are we going to do on the Sunday after the Paph. Forum? 

The world is full of surprises.


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## Candace (Jun 4, 2009)

Maybe Frank will check in and give a comment on this, since he's a member here.


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## Hien (Jun 4, 2009)

Who is Ursa Orchids?


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## Jim Toomey (Jun 4, 2009)

Yep,
http://www.krullsmith.com/


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## e-spice (Jun 4, 2009)

I read their website yesterday and still can't believe it. Say it ain't so Frank!

I left the WOC in Miami last year and thought I had seen the greatest slipper collection in the world grown by the best grower in the world.

e-spice


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## SlipperKing (Jun 4, 2009)

Must of been a price he couldn't refuse!


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## NYEric (Jun 5, 2009)

Yes maybe I can get my Paph Crystelle from them cheap!  
Good Luck Frank!


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Jun 5, 2009)

This is what I wrote to the new owner as well as the response I received.

In a message dated 6/4/2009 9:06:53 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:

I'd like to be informed of your progress with both your facility and web site. If I understand things correctly, you have bought Krull Smith paph. breeding stock. If this is true, I hope you are able to take an active role in the International Paph. Forum that is held in the Orlando area each fall. I've been flying down from N.Y. the last few years and would love to see you there. Usually, the highlight of that trip would be Franks Open House on Sunday. Oh, well looks like I'll just need to take an earlier flight home. 

Good Luck in your endeavors!

Thanks
Bob Phillips


Hello Bob,

Thank you for your interest. I will keep your information and let you know once we have our inventory list done and the website up. We are hoping to have this completed some time in mid to late July. As for the Paph Symposium, we will be taking an active role in organizing this in the future. For this year it will remain similar to the past and be held in the same location. Next year we hope to be able to take over the event and offer an open house at our nursery on Sunday. This year will more than likely be too busy to be able to, with all the construction going on and trying to get ready for our grand opening this fall. We will be at the Paph Symposium and will bring plants for sale there. Again, thank you for your interest and we will be in touch with you once we have more news on our website and listings.

Sincerely,
Ryan Kowalczyk
VP, Ursa Orchids, Inc.


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## slippertalker (Jun 5, 2009)

Scott Ware told me about this last month and indicated that Krull Smith would have an ad in this month's Orchids explaining it. I haven't seen it yet.
The good thing is that the collection is intact under new ownership and they should proceed appropriately. Of course, you never know how these things will work out, but they have invested quite a bit in this venture.


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## Kyle (Jun 5, 2009)

Hope this doesn't end the same way Stewarts Orchids did.

Kyle


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## Potterychef (Jun 5, 2009)

I was told by a reputable source that the entire collection was sold and the selling price was 4 mil. Frank can buy alot of new plants with that kind of green!


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## NYEric (Jun 5, 2009)

Paph Chrystelle!!! :drool:


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## ohio-guy (Jun 5, 2009)

I have a friend who just visited Frank, and he said he was under the impression that Day lilies are his prime focus these days. 
I guess they grow easier and he can sell them for more than most orchids. 
Perhaps he will keep some orchids as a private collection.


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## rob (Jun 5, 2009)

Frank has always been ahead of the curve, perceptive, and savvy. Perhaps all of us in the paph business should take notice. His contributions have been, and hopefully will continue to be, enormous.
Rob


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## Hien (Jun 5, 2009)

rob said:


> Frank has always been ahead of the curve, perceptive, and savvy. Perhaps all of us in the paph business should take notice. His contributions have been, and hopefully will continue to be, enormous.
> Rob



Perhaps, the Slippertalk new name will be Daylilies-slippertalk to be in tune with the anticipate future


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## SlipperFan (Jun 5, 2009)

Well, this is all very interesting. IMHO, it looks like a passing of the torch from one generation to the next. Much better than going out of business, or letting the business just die.


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## Roth (Jun 6, 2009)

I think he is quite right unfortunately as a businessman. Paph interest is vanishing thoses days, there are masses of plants, species and hybrids, wild and seed grown, available, and more coming. The old days where a plant would easily sell for over 500us are gone... 

There are many people in the business, many that would buy from Frank or the Orchid Zone roths with FCC parents, buy another batch from Holland, Taiwan, or god knows where and put their parentage with a discount price on the tag...

Be realistic, if Frank sold for 4 millions his entire paph collection, he would have done this amount in a couple dozen or hundreds years. Even the Japanese Deluxe market is completely gone those days, and to predict when it will be up is totally impossible, 1 year 10 years or never. What is sure is that we are in another down era for orchids, similar to the 30's to 50's where most of the breeding plants disappeared in less than 20 years. Being realistic as well, there are few plants alive today that will still be with us in 10 years. Remember the masses of paph bougainvilleanum and wentworthianum imported by Paul Gripp, the hundreds of flasks of hookerae and wilhelminiae by AnTec, the dozen of thousands of roths seedlings, bellatulum album, sukhakhulii album sold by the Orchid Zone? All gone except a mere few plants here and there.

Frank wants to leave the ship before it sinks, and he is quite right...


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## slippertalker (Jun 6, 2009)

Hopefully you are not right about that, but the pot plant market is taking the base of the established orchid companies away. People just want cheap plants, don't care if they live or die and don't get involved with societies as much anymore. The traditional orchid nurseries that cater to specific genera and rarities are reducing by the day. 

There will always be some paph/phrag nuts, but the new generation will have to continue hybridizing in a market that has never been profitable for most and is getting worse. Will they step up? 

Your point about all of the flasks and seedlings that seem to have disappeared over the last 10 years or so is interesting. My guess is that the vast majority are dead due to lack of adequate culture. Sometimes it is as easy as annual repotting.......


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## OrchidFrank (Jun 6, 2009)

Hello Everybody,

I thought I should probably post and let you all know what has transpired with my slippers over the last few months. First of all, I would like to thank all of my customers and supporters and let you know that I am still very active with slipper orchids, in fact just as much as I always was.

Back in February I was approached by June & Tom Simpson of Tampa, Florida when they expressed an interest in purchasing my slipper collection. June is a lifelong Floridian and Tom is a former Georgian who has lived in Florida most of his adult life. June is a very active and supportive orchidist in the Tampa Bay area and has been a friend for some time. These wonderful people are building an absolutely fantastic orchid nursery and retail center a few miles east of Tampa on Lake Thonotosassa. I believe this nursery will fill a huge void in the Tampa Bay area for orchid lovers. June has a skilled and capable group who will be working for her in this endeavor. Some of you already know Ryan Kowalczyk, who has received many AOS awards on several genres and has written a wonderful article for this month’s ORCHIDS magazine. Laurie Nissen will also be working with June. I will be working with June, Ryan and Laurie to the best of my ability to make sure their new orchid nursery is a success. We are all very close friends and are really having a good time doing this.

June now owns my entire breeding stock while I retain a division of every plant for my own collection. She also has all hybrid and line-bred species seedlings and community pots I have made over the last several years, with the exception of 25 plants of each hybrid as well as a few community pots I have retained. I am also keeping 50% of all my _Paph. rothschildianum_ sibling crosses. I will continue to hybridize and strive to make new hybrids and improved species as I have been doing for over the last 30 years.

For the record, Krull-Smith has been extremely successful in selling paphiopedilums – in fact we sell every single plant that comes into flower and have a huge customer base worldwide to whom we have shipped thousands of plants and divisions of selected and awarded plants in just the past year. The reason I decided to go ahead and let June have these plants is simple. She offered me a fair and generous price that, after considering all the other obligations I have here at Krull-Smith and my daylily business as well as being hands-on in the day to day operation of Krull-Smith Landscapes, Inc. at Universal Studios and several local area resorts, just made it clear that it was the right thing for me to do.

I will continue to host the International Slipper Symposium every year and have asked June and her team to participate in this event. They will offer a wonderful selection of all of my slipper hybrids and species for sale right here at my nursery during the Sunday open house just as it has always been in the past. In fact, while I am talking about the International Slipper Symposium, I am so excited to announce that this year the great Theresa Hill of Hillsview Gardens and Sam Tsui of Orchid Inn have enthusiastically agreed to speak, and I have also invited Machan Takahashi of Tokyo Orchid Nursery to make a presentation for the November 7, 2009 event.

Please join me in supporting June and Ursa Orchids in her wonderful and ambitious new orchid adventure. I am sure you will grow to appreciate and admire her, along with Ryan and Laurie and all their plants. They are truly amazing orchid people.

If you have any further questions please ask, but please refrain from speculation on any amount I might have received for these plants as this is a private matter between the Simpsons and me. 

Don’t be a stranger – I look forward to seeing you all in November.

Oh, by the way – if you just happen to be in California next weekend, I will be speaking at the Seventh Orchid Digest Speakers Day along with Glen Decker, Bill Goldner, and Mark Hachadorian. This event takes place at the Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens the afternoon of Saturday June 13, in San Marino. June and her team will be there to offer some of my seedlings and to meet you all.

Happy Growing,

Frank


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## rob (Jun 6, 2009)

Frank, 
I am glad to hear that this is a win/win for all. For me, not being in the know, it was unsettling to think that your work with slipper orchids might be coming to an end. As you know, the Slipper Symposium is one of the highlights of my orchid calender and I look forward to seeing you and all the other folks who make it a great experience. I also look forward to meeting June and her staff this Fall. Thank you for the insight on the transition and I hope expressing my concern over seeing the news did not cause any undue burden for you or others.

Thanks,
Rob


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## e-spice (Jun 6, 2009)

Glad to hear your response Frank and am REALLY glad to hear you will still be working with slippers! Best wishes to both you and Ursa Orchids. If you're still hosting the slipper symposium I am going to try try my best to attend because I keep hearing so many great things about it.

e-spice


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## SlipperFan (Jun 7, 2009)

Thanks, Frank. That is all good to know, and I do wish you and Ursa Orchids great and continuing success.


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Jun 7, 2009)

Frank, is that a firm date for the Symposium? If it is myself and others would like to start setting up our nonrufundable flights into Fla. Will see you there.


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## Hera (Jun 7, 2009)

Thanks for the clarification and introduction to a new and interesting partnership. I'm sure we will be anxiously awaiting the website. I can't wait to see whats being offered.


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jun 7, 2009)

Bob in Albany said:


> Frank, is that a firm date for the Symposium? If it is myself and others would like to start setting up our nonrufundable flights into Fla. Will see you there.



Yes, I was wondering the same thing.


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## berrywoodson (Jun 7, 2009)

I am glad that Frank has some of his stud plants,and will still be a big part of the paph. community.


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## NYEric (Jun 8, 2009)

Thanks for that reassuring information Frank.


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