If the smaller orchid nurseries in Australia were to form a consortium or a loose association that united in producing advertising in the publications of local Australian orchid societies or in promotional efforts at local meeetings where the real interest in orchids can be found then that could be a direct challenge to this larger grower. If you are vying for competition in the flower market then that is a horse of a different color though small growers can pool their crops with united sales programs but overhead of such may prove just too much to be worth the effort. In the USA this phenomenon is occurring throughout the agriculture industry as the costs of running a family farm skyrockets and corporate ventures move in and simply out compete them. It is a market economy and the politics of that market really dictate the reality of survival.

Labels Explained: A wealth of information appears on the plant Labels. Try to maintain these labels because plants labeled as unknown lose some of their resale valueas well as their show value. A typical label would look like this: Blc. Memoria Crispin Rosales 'No 2' AM/AOS Blc. Is the abbreviation for Brassavolo, Laelia, and Cattleya; the genera used in the breeding to produce this hybrid. Memoria Crispin Rosales Is the grex (family) name used for the seedlings produced by crossing Lc. Bonanza x Blc Normans Bay. Note the use of capitals in the name to denote a hybrid. When you see Memoria in the name of a plant, it is to memorialize the person whose name follows. Usually, these are people of import or standing in the orchid world, but it can also be the name of someone important to the individual who does the naming. 'No 2' Is the clonal name for this particular seedling. (A mundane name for a beautiful flower.) AM/AOS Denotes Award of Merit, American Orchid Society. Other Cattleya combinations you may see on labels are: Slc. Similar to above except that Sophronitis appears in the breeding. Potinara. Named after Dr Potin. Genera used are Brassovolo, Laelia, Cattleya and Sophronitis. Rolfeara. Genera used are Brassovolo, Cattleya, and Sophronitis. At least 60 of these combinations of Cattleya are used with other Genera. Species names are written in lower case: Cattleya intermedia, Cattleya aurantiaca, Cattleya bowringiana, Cattleya mossiae etc. Natural varieties are indicated by the abbreviation var. and clonal names are enclosed within single quotes. Some examples: Cattleya intermedia var. alba , Cattleya loddigesii var. coerulea 'Blue Sky' Natural hybrids, those hybrids which occur in the wild are indicated by an 'X' in front of the name. Example: C. X hardyana , natural hybrid of C. dowiana x C. warscewiczii. Sometimes you will see the name of a plant x self, which means that the same plant provided pollen as well as the seed capsule. At other times, you will see the name of a plant x sib, which means it was crossed with another plant from the same compot. Ploidy not shown usually means 2n Diploid (3n) triploid (4n) tetraploid AOS awards HCC/AOS-Highly Commendable Certificate-75-79 points AM/AOS-Award of Merit-80-89 points FCC/AOS-First Class Certificate-90 points or higher Those three are specific to flower quality, point rating based on 100 possible points. CCM/AOS-Certificate of Cultural Merit CCE/AOS-Certificate of Cultural Excellence Those two are for the full plant, denoting the grower's skill in growing (and flowering) a plant to big beastly size in pristine condition. A couple others: CBR/AOS-Certificate of Botanical Recognition Awarded to cultivars of species or natural hybrids deemed worthy of recognition for their rarity, novelty or educational value. CHM/AOS-Certificate of Horticultural Merit Awarded to species with obvious horticultural value when they appear in cultivation. The quality awards in Australia are: HCC High Class Certificate 75% and above AM Award of Merit 80% and above FCC First Class Certificate 85% and above AD Award of Distinction....."awarded for some feature outstandingly distinctive" such as the first of those "Black Phals. to be displayed ACC Award of Cultural Commendation awarded for a plant that "exhibits excellence of culture" Awarding Societies RHS Royal Horticultural Society AOC Australian Orchid Council AOS American Orchid Society TOS Thailand Orchid Society JOS Japan Orchid Society OSROC Orchid Society Republic of China etc. Medals Bronze Medal WOC roughly = to HCC Silver Medal WOC roughly = AM Gold Medal WOC roughly = FCC WOC = World Orchid Conference Information from ArthurM, Michigoose and Orrin

_addendum_ I have done some specific research on these mites, mainly because one correspondent mentioned they do not like watering/humidity; however using the same increases likelihood of fungal or mildew problems ... plus some solutions are not helpful for people living in flats/units. Spider Mites die-off or go dormant in winter, when rains are heavy and day time temperatures dip under 10' celcius (centigrade)or night time 4' c. Unfortunately that means moving you/your plants to Jandakot airport or Albany. The garden gnomes might like the holiday, but otherwise it is not practical. For indoor plants, you might try putting them outside at night, if the forecast minimums are around 5'~6' and/or rain. That will slow/retard the infestation. Better still (great idea), either: i). Make a space in your refrigerator and place the plant/pot in there for an hour or two (general space, not the freezer). The spider mites will never know what hit them, because the temperature drop - followed by rise once removed - will be too great for their metabolisms to handle; or, ii). Put your plant/plants immediately in front of the air conditioning outlet, or an air conditioner (not evaporative types). The chill factor at the outlet is usually around the 3'~ 5' mark, even if set for a (BTU) room temp around 20'. As the air stream is more general, you'll need to keep the plant/plants there for four or five hours, part rotating them (cover all sides/undersides) every hour or so. Credit (inspiration) for both these ideas should go to Mike (Trees). In his response he mentioned 'jet sprayers' - usually used on orchards (look a bit like a Bofors gun), or non aerial emergency crop spraying in the wheat belt. Fun to play with, but generate about 130 db (plus) and cost mega bucks. You won't find them at Coates Hire (not suitable for urban use). The inspiration was his comment about the jet-sprayer (watering with) being very effective, in part because it got under the leaves. I thought about it and realized the venturi effect (they are not just pumps spraying water, rather more genuine 'jets' or water turbines ... thus the noise they make) would also be chilling the spray, so both wetting the mites and chilling them at the same time. That made me think air conditioners would do the same trick, albeit without the need for water ... then I realised your refrigerator was the perfect 'reverse incubator', providing you can fit the plant/pot in ... plus have a fast get-away car - in case the better half catches you doing it. As a former PM once said (paraphrased): "life wasn't meant to be easy - for spider mites..." Fighting them requires risks (like getting caught by your spouse) ... but remember you're fighting the good fight. Anyway - its technically very environmentally friendly* and an option for flat/unit dwellers, with fast (over night) success likelihood. [*: Domestic bliss environment,...

The spelling is the problem, giacomo. Try an internet search on Dendrobium undulatum var. broomfieldii. You'll find lots of help there. Cheers, Trish