Inexpensive kovachii

[theorchidzone]

We are blooming quite a number of kovachii. I have listed one on EBAY with no reserve. Flower is not great, but I am hoping someone with limited budget can get a kovachii to try. Then maybe next time buy an expensive one.
I missed this one when it just had opened, so it was likely flat for a short period.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/262063120783?
JC

 

[gonewild]

No offense....but... OZ should not sell that plant.

 

[theorchidzone]

Why?

No offense....but... OZ should not sell that plant.

 

[troy]

Interesting......

 

[gonewild]

Why?

In my opinion it does not meet the standard of reputation OZ has earned over the years. It is by far the worst kovachii ever shown.
Selling it does not do the reputation of the species any good justice either.

As I said just my opinion.

 

[ehanes7612]

In my opinion it does not meet the standard of reputation OZ has earned over the years. It is by far the worst kovachii ever shown.
Selling it does not do the reputation of the species any good justice either.

As I said just my opinion.

i would be inclined to agree, and ebay is a place where one's reputation can be shredded pretty fast.

 

[theorchidzone]

I am selling a seedling exactly as shown. Sometimes seedlings turn out well and sometimes not. I imported a few hundred seedlings from Ecuagenera and Peruflora in order to do selective breeding.

I have plenty of very good and excellent ones, but the prices are very high, as you can see on my other listings. And see my webpage.

I am trying to give someone the chance to grow a kovachii, who otherwise might not be able to afford it. They can learn about growing this still relatively rare species and then when they can afford it, they can buy an expensive one.
When I was a student, I could not easily afford any orchid above $10. I grew lots of cheap orchids, I had fun, and now I can afford to own Orchid Zone.

The alternative to selling this for cheap is to throw it away. I didn't want to do that.

If fellow STers advocate throwing the plant in the trash, please let me know.

JC

 

[SlipperFan]

I think as long as you are honest in selling it, you are fine. Besides, this is a first bloom seedling, and we all know that the first flowering of a slipper is not necessarily a good judge of the plant's potential.

 

[gonewild]

If fellow STers advocate throwing the plant in the trash, please let me know.

JC

As a professional breeder you should compost it and not perpetuate poor genetics.

 

[silence882]

I've got no issue with OZ selling this plant. OZ doesn't want it and no one doing any breeding's going to be using it, so why not let someone buy a kovachii for a low price?

 

[gonewild]

I've got no issue with OZ selling this plant. OZ doesn't want it and no one doing any breeding's going to be using it, so why not let someone buy a kovachii for a low price?

Because in a few years OZ will have a reputation of selling crappy plants as opposed to their high standard they have now.

 

[theorchidzone]

As a professional breeder you should compost it and not perpetuate poor genetics.

So you are telling me to throw away a CITES 1 species which is likely endangered?

 

[ehanes7612]

i wouldn't sell it on ebay, myself. perhaps orchidmall.com or even ST..much better chance of selling to people who are more understanding of the quality of the plant.

 

[gonewild]

So you are telling me to throw away a CITES 1 species which is likely endangered?

Yes.

It's not an endangered species, it's artificially propagated and artificially survived. No self respecting pollinator would go near that flower in Nature.


If you do want to use the protecting a species concept then that is an even greater reason to cull out the weak plants that would not have survived if not for invitro germination and an ideal environment that allows "weak" genetic plants to survive to maturity. You need to be the predator and cull the herd.

 

[NYEric]

I'll bid, I love a challenge.

 

[abax]

I agree with Lance on both counts: reputation destruction and allowing bad genetic material out into the general
population. I realize it's a conundrum, but generally most
orchid people have a tendency to want to cross something with something just to see the result. I suspect that's why we see so many bad orchids.

 

[Denver]

I have very mixed feelings on this as it could damage your reputation. But I also see it like you where someone who isn't sure they can provide the right conditions for the plant can have a chance to experiment on a BS size kovachii at a good price.

I do however think that those mentioning genetics are making a major assumption that what orchid people view as a "correct" flower is genetically superior. In terms of surviving in nature that plant could be the best plant in the world-we really don't know...

 

[gnathaniel]

Sell it! I'd buy it if I had any money.

Lance, why do you say this is a weak plant that wouldn't survive in the wild? Looks pretty healthy to me even with a wonky first bloom. Besides, even 'weaker' individuals often carry genes that are valuable to maintain in a population. If we're entertaining grandiose visions of preserving a rare species in captivity, then linebreeding for bigger, rounder flowers is probably a lot worse for the captive population's long term fitness than is failure to cull out subjectively uglier individuals.

 

[Hugorchids]

It's not like bunch of us have these plants up the ying-yang to cull these plants--heck some of us don't even know how to grow them properly--what's the problem for OZ to release some plants for us to try growing them? The same could be said about their roths, there are some good and some bad. There's no reputation damage if he has already told you where they came(not from their own breeding), there's even a flower pic to go with it--fair disclosure, let the free market decide.

 

[naoki]

Well-said, Nat, and I completely agree with Nat. Some of us are into the natural, functional beauty of plants (rather than human defined aesthetics). Not everyone likes pansies. Ex-situ conservation is near impossible, and line-breeding is particularly an enemy to reduce the effective population size. Different people have different values, so there is nothing wrong with line-breeding, neither. But there are people who avoid plants with beauty awards. So this plant looks perfect for those people.