I need a new lab

[Tony]

I'm tired of the lab I'm currently using killing everything I send in, who is trustworthy with Paphs in the US?

 

[littlefrog]

Would love to know the same answer for phrags...

 

[Justin]

I am using Orchid Origins in MI.

 

[Tony]

My pod of anitum after three years, in "final stage flasks". Pissed off is an understatement.

 

[BrucherT]

My pod of anitum after three years, in "final stage flasks". Pissed off is an understatement.

This was sent to you?

 

[Tony]

That's the picture I got when I asked for an update. I don't expect to ever receive a viable flask at this point.

 

[Hien]

My pod of anitum after three years, in "final stage flasks". Pissed off is an understatement.

My question is:
1) is the species Anitum a hard one to germinate & increase in size inside flask ? from what I heard, some orchid species are quite hard to achieve successful in pollination , getting a pod, and finally germination (3 chances to fail) , not even mention about protocorm growth.
2) you may have to compare this situation with other anitum flasking of other breeders to know the percentage of success to assess the situation .
From what I heard, the medium formula needs to be different for different species,
there are endless studies/researches on this topic .
3) once you achieve germination , some species just sit there and not growing (I would venture to guess that this is due to artificial growing in flask , there is no root for absorb nutrition , just whatever thru the cells' envelopes versus in nature, the symbiotic fungus invasion into the protocorm and feeding the orchids, and make the protocorms grow .
4) when you talk about "final flask stage" do you mean these protocorm are ready to be sent to you ?

 

[Tony]

They were marked as final stage flasks close to a year ago meaning they've been replated for the last time and should be ready to ship within 6-12 months. They suddenly disappeared from my account and then came back as "waiting for germination, which prompted me to ask about their status. It took four emails over the course of three weeks to finally get a reply and that is what they currently look like. No answer as to where the final stage flasks went but that clearly is not one.

Anitum definitely can be slower and touchier but this isn't an isolated problem with one pod, literally everything I've sent in the last three years has disappeared into a black hole. I've also lost two pods of tigrinum, roths x tigrinum, WBW x Yang-ji Hawk, WBW x anitum, haynaldianum x tigrinum, haynaldianum, WBW x WBW (my two AM plants crossed), two different PEoY x WBW, as well as a few Brassia and Phalaenopsis. I may get something back from my FCC Nottara selfed but I'm not counting on it at this point. The only thing I've actually received from all the seed I've sent are these roths x tigrinum that they tried to deflask and grow without my approval, failed with, and sent to me to die within a week.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Unacceptable!!
Too many hickups to be considered innocent accidents.
How did you find out that they were trying to deflask and grow roth x tigrinum without your permission?? All these sounds too crazy to comprehend!
By the way, the business I recommended you requires that what you send in are marked with codes that only you can identify.
The lab can guess the genera of the seedlings based on leaf morphology but that's about how far they can get. Much less to zero temptation to mess around with clients' properties.

 

[Tony]

How did you find out that they were trying to deflask and grow roth x tigrinum without your permission??

They list approximate plantlet counts from flask surveys every few months and the pattern of low and failed yields started to become really noticeable last year, with all the seed I had sent in it became obvious it wasn't just one or two iffy batches of seed. I asked about it and he mentioned those plants being grown in his greenhouse in an attempt to salvage them. By then it was down to two doomed plantlets that didn't last a week after being sent to me.

 

[Tony]

By the way, the business I recommended you requires that what you send in are marked with codes that only you can identify.
The lab can guess the genera of the seedlings based on leaf morphology but that's about how far they can get. Much less to zero temptation to mess around with clients' properties.

How do they deal with plants that have special needs if they don't even know the genus initially? From the flasks you showed me they obviously have it figured out but it seems unnecessarily difficult on themselves being that restrictive.

 

[Happypaphy7]

How do they deal with plants that have special needs if they don't even know the genus initially? From the flasks you showed me they obviously have it figured out but it seems unnecessarily difficult on themselves being that restrictive.

From what I understand, it doesn't really matter. At least not as much as some make it out to be.

 

[tnyr5]

Ohhhh it matters. Dear God, does it matter lol. That said, no lab should ever ask for more than the genus of each parent, and because of that, unless you trust them completely enough to give them everything (bad idea), there are some things that, in my opinion, a third-party flasker just won't be able to do.

 

[spujr]

Hi Tony, sorry to hear your troubles! Frustrating indeed!

You mind sharing the lab name (IM is okay if you don't want to make it public)? Sounds like a lab I would want to avoid.

I had a friend in Hilo that had a business deflasking but don't know if he is still doing it.

 

[Tony]

I don't want to turn this into a name and shame, the lab I used has been a valuable part of the hobby for many years and I don't believe there was any malice or malfeasance in play. That being said if anyone is seriously looking into labs for their future use pm me and I'll share.

 

[BrucherT]

I don't want to turn this into a name and shame, the lab I used has been a valuable part of the hobby for many years and I don't believe there was any malice or malfeasance in play. That being said if anyone is seriously looking into labs for their future use pm me and I'll share.

I hope there’s a way to share without shaming. Maybe PM? Or a hint? What you’ve shown here seems like seriously problematic stuff, particularly the unauthorized, disastrous attempt to grow on.

 

[Duck Slipper]

I agree with not wanting to cause any problems on a public forum…
I also do not want to use the same flasking service.

 

[BrucherT]

Private messaging?

 

[annica.jarvela]

Sad to hear of your problems Tony. The PEoY is Prince Edward of York, is it?

 

[Tony]

Sad to hear of your problems Tony. The PEoY is Prince Edward of York, is it?

Yes it is.