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An Orchid Discussion Board

PlantAKiss

Moderator Schmoderator Fluorescent fluorite, Engl
Hello all you orchid lovers  
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I recently ran across another discussion board very similar to the TerraForums...but for orchid growers!  There are numerous forums there that cover many topic including Pests and Diseases, Trading and supplies.  The membership is smallish (about 500) but growing.  The people there seem very nice.  Here is the address for those who might want to check it out and maybe join (I did):

http://forum.theorchidsource.com

While it seems to be a pretty neat place, it is a bit different atmosphere than here at Terra/PFT.  They do have moderators but it seems they do little moderating...the language gets spicey and there's some attitude and mudslinging going on that wouldnt be tolerated here. However it also appears they don't have as many young growers there as you find at Terra/PFT.

Right now there is a rather interesting thread raging...one of their members was wrongly accused by the gov't for illegally importing a rare and protected Paphiopedilum kovatchii.  The "Feds" raided his business, ransacked his house and took all this business records and computer!   It may take a bit of reading to catch on, but its an interesting thread full of intrigue...and really rather horrifying.  It seems the orchid world is, under its face, not as a pretty as an orchid bloom....with corruption and CITES and import issues abounding.  Its been eye-opening.  It will make you think twice about breaking import and CITES regulations.

Anyway, I think its a good place to go for information and fellowship with other orchid enthusiasts.

Check it out.  
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Suzanne
 
A moderator is advertising a competitor!?! I used to check in at the OSF quite a bit. It was and probably still is dominated by refugees expelled from the Gardenweb's orchid forum. There's a lot of orchid knowledge there, but not equal to the CP knowledge lurking in the Terraforums. But TerraForums also show knowledgeable people can be civil. I don't go back to OSF much.
 
lol   Well, The Orchid Source Forum is just a discussion board...they don't sell anything.  :)   I mentioned it just because there aren't as many orchid growers here as there are at OSF so if someone would like to surf there for growing info, its a...source.  lol

And I think you're right.  I've seen some mention of GardenWeb bootings which I found rather amusing since this forum was born because of Spike's nastiness and prediliction for banning people.  Don't know what orchid issues would result in expulsion from there though.  I thought the CP forum was the only one where members got expelled.  lol  We're such a nasty lot.  hehe  
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I will agree that I think the TerraForums is superior in quality...but then again it seems their forum is relatively new.

I tried to get the people there interested in CPs.  heehee  There are some people there growing some CPs...mostly neps it seems.  I try to get converts where ever I go.  
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Gardenweb's orchid forum had some serious volcanic activity a couple years ago; enough to make the CP forum action seem like minor tremors.  Some people were banned for innocent things, as is the Gardenweb's tradition, but many others went far, far out of their way to get banned.

A lot of it happened after Bob of Antec (ladyslippers.com) was banned for directing people to his site for answers to Paph and Phrag questions.  I'll admit a very small amount of it did come across as customer mongering, but there's no better source for answers to some questions.  Other people were later banned for posting links to Antec. Others were banned for inappropriate discussions between consulting adults and quite a few others were sent into exile for random bomb throwing.

OSF certainly is community, but not necessarily full of people I want living next door.  But my best trading partner resides there and I used to be fairly close to some others.  I agree people interested in orchids should pay a visit and see if they like what they find.  Especially if your usual response to smoke is to throw gasoline
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Well, now I gotta check it out...

edit: Now that's a flaming discussion board! I do like the kinship of the PFT board much better though! The orchid people are just as fascinating as the plants....
 
lol  Yeah...its kind of a different feel over there.

Bruce...thanks for the additional information.  Very interesting.  I didn't realize Spike's powertrip extended to the GW Orchid Forum.  It was rather eye-opening reading the thread about Old Wrangler's legal problems.  There was a lot of name calling and people bashing...very ugly!   It really made the orchid world appear quite seemy and corrupt.  I guess their board is more for the serious-to-professional orchid grower because after reading around, I think the atmosphere there would be very discouraging of newbies.  If I were just getting interested in orchids and read all that crap, I think I'd just stick with buying a few orchids from Lowes and reading up on the internet.

Here at Terra, I think people do whatever they can to welcome and nuture newbies into the hobby.  I guess they don't really care what kind of image they project to the general public over there.  You're right...they make the CP world seem like Candyland.  
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I still think its a  place where you could learn a lot...if you side step the cussin' and name calling.  *eyeroll*
 
GW's orchid forum is a welcoming place for beginners and I check in. But I lurk more than participate. If I had stumbled into something like OSF instead of GW when I first got into orchids several years ago, I might have given up. And many of the more obnoxious people at OSF are no more serious about orchids than many people at GW. They'e just more obnoxious.

But OSF has many good people and, if you ignore the fires burning everywhere, you can get quite an education about orchids. Plus the jokes are better. Just don't repeat them around older relatives.
 
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I didn't realize Spike's powertrip extended to the GW Orchid Forum.

Ah Suzanne, you obviously have no idea of the extent of Spike's madness and craving for power then. After reading herenorthere's post about Bob getting booted, an almost identical thing happened on the Aroid forum about 6 or 8 months ago. There was a guy there named Brian Williams, absolutely top guy, who dominated the Aroid forum (in a good way). He answered everyone's questions and occasionally directed people to his site where he had pics of everything you could imagine. This of course raised the ire of our GW friend and Brian is no longer.

Seems anyone with any expertise eventually runs foul of GW, leaving it full of newbies that are forced to grope around for knowledge amongst each other.

Thanks for the orchid forum link Suzanne, and the "goss" herenorthere, I'm there!

Cheers, Troy.
 
Wow.  I didn't realize Spike treated ALL the forums like he did the CP forum.  
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  I thought maybe the CP crowd was somehow more rebellious.  lol  That's very interesting.  I got smacked (via email) for "not following the proper procedure" when I posted a notice about the speaker event at Meadowview in the Virginia Gardening section.  BIIIG crime!  What was the big deal?  I think more Virginia people saw the notice on that forum than some "Event" listing area.

I visit GW from time to time in various forums (CP, Orchid, Houseplant, Vines, Trees, etc.) but I'm not there regularly enough to know the people.  That's a shame that the restrictions there inhibit the learning process.  I'll bet Spike's list of banned members is HUUUUGE!

Hmmm...I'll have to check out that aroid forum....

Thanks Troy.  
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  • #10
If you like botanical backstabbing then the orchid world is for you! Especially the more "big name" scientific fellows do things (as was experienced by Old Wrangler) to enforce their aspect of taxonomical nomenclature and ensure their position in the "orchid scene" as top dog or whatever The more "power" (or rather notoriety) they achieve the crazier they get. Narcing each other off for plants someone may or may not have, starting rumors about certain people or in the name of "conservation" detaining known botanists at airport customs for "not having plants, therefore they are behavig supiciously".

If you get a chance to read Eric Hansens book Orchid Fever (available most everywhere) which discusses the orchid people (and not so much the plants) it's plenty exciting. The stories and names are all true. I've been reading the contest of wills between Dr. Cribb and Dr. Braem on the subject of Paphiopedilums in their respective monographs and revisions after reading the beginings of their feud in Erics book. I stay off either side of "orchid politics". Such as Old Wrangler and Eric Christanson (who's book on Genus Phalenopsis I really enjoyed reading) or Dr Cribb and Kews crusade against independent botanists. I just read all sides, grow my plants and enjoy the chaos and hope I never get involved!  
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All this is also part of why I do not join any orchid or CP societies. Once you join a group you've chosen a side. I prefer to remain independent in all aspects!
 
  • #11
It does not matter the forum at GW. So long as Spike is involved you can be sure it's the same as any other.
His egotistical behavior even extended to the bamboo forum. I was never officially expelled, but just decided to leave. The "friendly reminders" and politics were just nuts.
I picture Spike as a power-crazed natzi on a puter all day, hidden away somewhere in some deep dark nasty basement, seeking out those with knowledge.LOL
Glad I've found a cooler, more friendly place to hang out online.
Bye for now,
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]All this is also part of why I do not join any orchid or CP societies. Once you join a group you've chosen a side. I prefer to remain independent in all aspects!

Wise words as usual from you Josh, I am of exactly the same opinion. I try to remain out of the politics, it's about the plants and after all, we're all just here to enjoy our hobby. IMHO my hobby is one area of my life where I want to indulge myself and not worry about any other bs that might be going on. If I can meet other people like you guys and chew the fat on this forum, maybe help out a bit, then I'm happy.

Cheers, Troy.
 
  • #13
Its funny how that word "Nazi" pops up whenever Spike's name is mentioned.  
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 I had no idea he was like that in all the forums.  That must be all he does all day long..."Off with their heads!!"

I have had a number of people mention that book "Orchid Fever" to me...and there was a movie too wasn't there?  I will have to get it and read it. I've heard its good.

I had no idea the orchid business was this way.  It is ironic that a plant of such beauty attracts such ugliness and corruption.  I guess because its big business and ego, pride and money get in the way.  What a shame.  It does make me wonder about species plants you might buy off eBay.  As a buyer, you'd have no way to know if they were legal or illegal.

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  • #14
Wow Troy, I didn't know anyone else thought this way! I thought I'd probably be blasted for not supporting "the cause" or whatever. The only shame is I can't get their magazines without joining - I'd like to be able to buy it off a newsstand or something.

Plantakiss, Orchid Fever is kind of a who's who of big names in the orchid world or maybe just the most "infamous charachters". But throughout history such goings on have surrounded orchids and even things so common nowadays as the Gardenia have had fights over their discoveries and even leading to murders and "dissapearances" of other botanists. Indeed a zany world! Since having a species named after you or rather said to be discovered by you is going to be an eternal thing, That causes a lot of envy I suppose.  

If you care to read about that sort of thing (as well as other adventure type tales) you could take a look at The Plant Hunters by Tyler Whittle which tells stories from the famous plant hunters of the victorian age. I should add however, this book is written in pseudo-prose and a bit irritating to read! A true "chapter at a time" book...!

The movie you mention is called "Adaption" and written from the book The Orchid Theif by Susan Orlean. Ihis details one fellow who tried to start a tissue culture propagation of the Ghost Orchids from the florida swamps with the assistance of the Indian tribes. He even supposedly never touched the plants but was persued by the feds for his activities. I'm not a big movie fan so I haven't seen it yet (I think it's been out like 5 years
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)!
 
  • #15
I think the major difference between CPers and orchid enthusiasts is that lots of orchid enthusiasts have trouble getting along with others.  And have a hissy fit if they can't have what they want.  Maybe what they need is some milk and cookies followed by a nice nap
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.  My impression is those with a few orchids in windows or under lights (and I count my 50+ as a few
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) don't tend to be that way.

This forum's conservation section shows lots of us CPers would try to find someone who poached rare CPs, trying to get the person arrested.  Call me cynical, but I think many orchid enthusiasts would try to find the person so they could buy one of the plants.  Call me naive, but I think most CPers get more pleasure knowing some Sarracenia jonesii survive somewhere in the southeastern US than they would having one in a pot at home.  That way of thinking seems far less common among orchid enthusiasts
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  • #16
(pops up from behind a rock) Why do you all hate orchid growers so much? I have 15 of them! (qucikly ducks back down expecting trash to be thrown)
 
  • #17
I don't think that was the point of these posts.  I think the point was their are a lot of bad eggs in that bunch.  Most of the people who have responded so far ARE orchid growers, so to hate them would be kinda lame, don't you think?

SF
 
  • #18
Hehehe, sounds like they could make a "Best in Show" type of movie about the hardcore orchid crowd.

I started in cps just because they're fun and cool. It was the incredible community here, specifically, that has turned me into an obsessed nepenthes freak.
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Seriously, this is an unusually high-quality group of people. I joined the BACPS, the local cp society, and found that they, too, are just quality people out to enjoy the hobby. Something about cps must bring out the good in people!

I like orchids, and have a few, but I must have some sort of brown orchid thumb as I can't even get the easy ones to live, but I can grow just about any nepenthes or drosera.

Capslock
 
  • #19
All you need is Orthos Book "All about growing Orchids"...it tells you everything you need to know about lighting and fertilizer balance....
 
  • #20
I'll admit I'm hooked on orchids too. I have 3 of the in the ghouse and 4 native C. acuale plants. They are such a good companion and so easy to grow along with Nepenthes.
 
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