# Al's Orchids



## Ernie (Mar 22, 2008)

I just found out that Al's Orchids greenhouse in Leesburg, Virginia caught fire yesterday!!! Al is a great grower- we recently got a Paph Ton-Ton from him at the Paph forum and when we lived in VA, he really fed our habit with awesome Phals. Since I have a first-hand account with fires at work (at my day job pharm lab, not in our orchid range), our thoughts truely go out to Al! Hang in there buddy!!! 

-Ernie


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## Heather (Mar 22, 2008)

Oh my god! Do you know what sort of damage there was? 
Ki and JohnDC used to go visit Al quite often and post photos. He is a member here but I don't think he's ever posted. 

Wow, I hope he is okay, and that there is something salvageable!


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## Ernie (Mar 22, 2008)

The info on his web site is minimal but it doesn't paint a pretty picture.  

-Ernie


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## Heather (Mar 22, 2008)

Oh dear, that's just terrible!


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## Elena (Mar 22, 2008)

What a horrible thing to happen.


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## MoreWater (Mar 22, 2008)

and we were just talking about visiting in April. I wonder how bad the damage is - to the gh and to the plants.


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## Renegayde (Mar 22, 2008)

on his website it says......"Late Friday March 21st the greenhouse was (mostly) destroyed by fire."


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## MoreWater (Mar 22, 2008)

... but does that mean the structure is mostly destroyed, or that most of the plants are also gone? Was there damage to the building it was attached to? What about all the the species phals? the ccm plants? :sob:


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## rdlsreno (Mar 22, 2008)

Sorry to hear such tragic event! Hope the best for Al.


Ramon


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## Ernie (Mar 22, 2008)

His house and garage were slightly detached from the gh. What's the weather like there in DC metro??? Maybe you locals could contact him to board a handful of his plants? I'll have to let him know that I have a spare piece of his Phal. equestris 'Keiki Monster' if he needs to replace it. It was one of his early stud plants and he used to brag about the basket the moma filled with its own keikis. If anyone has any of his plants, as they bloom, offer him some pollen OR better yet divisions or keikis. I'd say hold off on extensive communication about filling the gh back up immediately though. He'll have his hands full with damage control then insurance. 

-Ernie


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## MoreWater (Mar 22, 2008)

I just got an email from him. Sounds like it's too soon to tell the extent of the damage to the plants - still way too soon since the fire. The main good news is that no people or pets were hurt. The plants will be boarded at another greenhouse. We're still pretty cold here - days are up into the 50+ range, but nights are wandering down to the 30s. 

I just lost a bunch of his phal primary x seedlings :sob:


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## Heather (Mar 23, 2008)

Ki, if you speak with him again, please let him know that if there is anything we can do to help from here, we're willing!


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## NYEric (Mar 23, 2008)

Wow, that's bad news. Hope everything works out OK.


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## kentuckiense (Mar 23, 2008)

Hope he (and his awesome Norito Hasegawa) is ok.


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## MoreWater (Mar 23, 2008)

Heather said:


> Ki, if you speak with him again, please let him know that if there is anything we can do to help from here, we're willing!



Done, thx. Perhaps there will be something that can be done to help later....


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## cnycharles (Mar 24, 2008)

he said most of the phals were okay but the slippers were not... don't know if that means all slippers but that section was burnt


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## Terp (Mar 28, 2008)

Al posted some pics of the greenhouse on his site. 

http://orchidexchange.com/

The first bench in the first pic, is the Phrag bench. The 2nd is the Paph bench; that's where the fire started. The benches all along the left wall also had Phrags and Paphs. 

I was in there a few weeks back and can only think of 2 slippers that were not in that section.


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## MoreWater (Mar 28, 2008)

Unless he moved things around, his new phal seedlings (the ones just out for flask) were around there too on the lower shelf  like the uber cool primaries....


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## Terp (Mar 28, 2008)

MoreWater said:


> Unless he moved things around, his new phal seedlings (the ones just out for flask) were around there too on the lower shelf  like the uber cool primaries....



Well, he did! Most were moved to the back, right section of the greenhouse.


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## MoreWater (Mar 28, 2008)

Terp said:


> Well, he did! Most were moved to the back, right section of the greenhouse.



​


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## NYEric (Mar 31, 2008)

Terp said:


> The first bench in the first pic, is the Phrag bench. The 2nd is the Paph bench; that's where the fire started. The benches all along the left wall also had Phrags and Paphs.



Damn Paphs! Probably smoking again! I knew the phrags would get in trouble if they hung out w/ those guys!


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## MoreWater (Jun 1, 2008)

I finally made it out there. Like he says on his website, about a quarter of the gh stands empty at the moment.... More insulation is going in, as well as some other upgrades and things are in the works. 

The slipper area was truly done in.... One tip I brought back for the time I have a gh (maybe in this life) is that leca makes a great firewall 

First off, I was relieved to see this:





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My vote for the best in bloom goes to this Phal hainanensis 'Plum' which has just adorable plummy color




​and of course I could not resist ... I don't grow phals (or slippers) but we all know what exactly that means..... I picked up such things as a mini compot of equestris x cochlearis, equestris x lindenii, stobartiana x violacea, honghenensis x violacea.... 




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It's the season for Ascocentrum miniatum and Ascofinetia Cherry Blossom









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Not all is fine and dandy however.... It's quite depressing to see the empty space. 




​

I'm still in the process of uploading more pics to my flickr acct.

Oh, and I still can't get over how well his Masdevallias are growing. Now in 5" bulb pans. :drool:


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## SlipperFan (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm glad he hasn't lost heart. Your photos show he has beautiful plants.


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## NYEric (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm guessing the big paph pot is micranthum.  It's good to see he's got stuff coming back. Thanx for the photos.


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## MoreWater (Jun 2, 2008)

NYEric said:


> I'm guessing the big paph pot is micranthum.



His CCM norito h.


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## NYEric (Jun 2, 2008)

MoreWater said:


> His CCM norito h.


Whew, I'm betting he's relieved too!


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## MoreWater (Oct 26, 2008)

maybe time for an update. Insulation has gone in along both long walls and new benches are mostly up. He's got new stuff too (and quite a mix!). A few photos from this month are *here*. (I didn't take any photos of paphs but he does have some )


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## NYEric (Oct 27, 2008)

The system admin meanies won't let me enlarge the photos but thanx for posting!


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## MoreWater (Oct 27, 2008)

NYEric said:


> The system admin meanies won't let me enlarge the photos but thanx for posting!



If there's a particular photo you'd like to see larger, PM me.


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## SlipperFan (Oct 27, 2008)

Looks like its coming back nicely. Thanks for keeping us posted.


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## Corbin (Oct 28, 2008)

I am glad to see that he is overcoming this obstacle


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