Conservation is our key concern,
so we do things differently than most seed labs.
Big Differences:
We don't charge you to get a flask
from seed that you have provided with parent
photos.
We only make up as many flasks as
people have reserved in advance.
We usually charge the same amount for
each flask, regardless of its rarity.
We don't charge you to get a flask
from seed that you have provided with parent photos.
We want your species seed in order to make that species
available to as many people as possible. We are not certain
that providing lab-grown orchid species at a low cost will
discourage the taking of wild orchids from their natural
habitats, but it probably will help, and it's something we
can do. Perhaps having lots of greenhouse-grown orchids
around the world, grown from seed for greatest genetic
diversity and not just cloned, may someday aid in
restoration of plants to their native habitats.
To entice you to give us the seed, we will give you the
first reflask of the batch. We only do this if you provide a
good photo of the parent plant(s) and sufficient
information, and enough seed to make at least four flasks.
The photo is very important because we also need to entice people
to be interested in the plants, and just another name on a
list really doesn't do that. A photo can really pique the
interest in a person who may never even have heard of the
species. The information is needed because we are doing research
and every detail collected is important.
We only make up as many flasks as
people have reserved in advance.
When it is time to make up reflasks, instead of making
as many as we can, or as many as we think we might sell, we
make just the quantity that have been reserved plus just a
few extra as insurance against problems. This is why we
place the details of a pollination attempt on the web site
as soon as it is done so that notification requests can be
accepted... we need to start gathering interest early so
that when reflasking time comes we will already know who
wants how many. The number
of flasks replated depends entirely on the number of flasks
reserved. Therefore if you are interested in a certain
orchid you must reserve a flask as soon as possible to avoid
disappointment.
By doing this, we conserve our effort, space, materials, and
time with the goal of getting orchid species to those who
want them, and doing it inexpensively.
We usually charge the same amount
for each flask, regardless of its rarity.
Rare orchids or particularly nice specimens usually
command a higher price, but unless there are difficulties
growing a species we don't charge more; we will charge more
if propagation requires extra time or materials, but not
just because it's desirable. By not charging a lot for
something rare, we can rest easy knowing that we're not
helping to perpetuate the high prices that make collection
of wild endangered orchids profitable.
|
