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Malala 2011

Discussion in 'Everything Else Orchid' started by mrbreeze, Jan 28, 2011.

  1. Reyna

    Reyna Orchid Obsessed Supporting Member

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    They are here! Whoo-hooo! My Malala plants are here! They look good!

    Just had to share the joy with folks who I know will understand the excitement. Okay--I am off to extricate them from their nasty sponge backing and get mounting/potting/treating etc etc. Here's a picture. YEAH!!!!!!
    IMG_0807 [640x480].JPG
     
  2. Alexis

    Alexis New Member

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    I totally understand the excitement, Reyna! Have a blast with your new charges.
     
  3. xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

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    I'm excited just seeing your pictures, R! They look awesome! Looking forward to a future report of general health upon arrival and the subsequent rehab :):).
     
  4. mrbreeze

    mrbreeze Anglican Supporting Member

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    My post office sucks! :mad:
     
  5. Reyna

    Reyna Orchid Obsessed Supporting Member

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    In all fairness -- it was FedEx not the USPS. ;)
     
  6. Karen

    Karen Species nut

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    WOOT!
    Mine will be here tomorrow.
    CAN'T WAIT!
     
  7. mrbreeze

    mrbreeze Anglican Supporting Member

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    Weird. Brenda sent me a USPS tracking thingy. I know that the USPS uses Fedex planes to carry their mail. Maybe ....oh who knows. I just know I didn't get my box yesterday. Should be today though.
     
  8. tenman

    tenman Well-Known Member

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    Mine came ok, except for one cynorkis which seems to have no tuber (and the eulophiella, which seems not to be much of a plant). I'm trying to figure out what to do with them since they'd be in dormancy now. And also wondering about what orientation to put them in in the pots when I do pot them up this fall. There is some growth out one end, but I'm not sure if its roots or stems; hence the orientation question which had troubled mankind since the beginning of time: which end is up?
    cynorkisuncinatatuber.jpg
     
  9. Karen

    Karen Species nut

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    The left side of your picture should go up, assuming it's a Cynorkis.
    I use as dry a Sphagnum as I can get to work with, and clay pots for the Cynorkis.
    My imported Cynorkis all started to grow in early September last year.
     
  10. gg68

    gg68 Angraecoid addict

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    Can you explain me someting?
    Does Malala send directly the orchids at each of you, or does an american seller collect your orders, send them to Malala and receive the orchids??
    How does it works with the customs??
     
  11. Reyna

    Reyna Orchid Obsessed Supporting Member

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    Malala ships them all to Botanica -- who handles the broker, customs etc etc. In addition to the price listed on Malala's sheet, we all pay approximately $12 per plant for additional fees. Then Brenda at Botanica gets the package, divides it up and ships them to us. It is a very nice thing for Brenda to handle. She could very easily just order for herself, but she lets the rest of us join in as well. Then we pay for shipping from Montana (Brenda) to our various locations.
     
  12. Marni

    Marni Well-Known Member Staff Member Supporting Member

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    Gilles, you can do an order directly with her. I've done it a couple of times with Malala. I don't know how customs/agriculture works there, but here you need an import permit and a bonded broker to handle the plants from the plane to agriculture and then the broker ships them to the customer.
     
  13. mrbreeze

    mrbreeze Anglican Supporting Member

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    I'm giving up on Ang. popowii, and mahavenense; and Jumellea ibitiana. Did anyone get anything alive of those species?

    Overall I wasn't impressed with the quality this time. Everything was generally smaller and more dessicated and I found practically no living roots. Usually once you take apart the sponge mounts and rinse off the muck, you'll find some live roots. Not so much this time around. And I noticed that most of the plants had not grown into the foam. It makes me wonder if they're fairly recently mounted, or if maybe Malala has been selling a lot more plants recently. :confused:

    So I ended up with three DOAs and probably two others that most likely won't make it. The rest have a fighting chance. How'd y'all do?
     
  14. xmpraedicta

    xmpraedicta Prairie angraecoid nut Supporting Member

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    I had one DOA - ang popowii which looked like it had been dead for a few days already...not even a live leaf.

    Same here with the sponge - only a few had grown one or two roots into the sponge. After soaking, maybe 50% of plants had viable roots. Still somewhat optimistic though - equitans came back to life from a single viable root specimen last year.

    Best are aer. francoisii, which looks awesome with live roots and new leaf growth. Dollii is also a huge healthy thing with some live roots, much better than what I got last year.

    Now to figure out rehab - not too hot, not too cold, humid, but not too wet, breezy but not too windy, bright but not too bright......sigh...:confused:
     
  15. T. migratoris

    T. migratoris Active Member

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    This was my first Malala order so I really have no frame of reference. Based on my conversations with you and others though, I'd set my expectations relatively low. I understood the potential for attrition and had factored it into the mindset when I ordered. That said ...

    I ordered ten plants. When I opened the box only one was clearly deceased - Ang. rhynchoglossum. The other nine had nice green leaves poking from beneath the newspaper wrapping so I figured hey - 9 out of 10 is far better than I'd expected. Then I unwrapped them. Again, I expected some trouble all things considered. But only two or three of the remaining nine had obviously live roots and the roots on the rest were either in extremely rough shape or absent altogether. Think Phalaeonopsis in 10-year old fine fir bark. If there's any potential for life in these plants I'll consider myself fortunate.

    It's obviously too soon to draw conclusions and I still remain cautiously optimistic. And I extend a huge thanks to Botanica for messing with this business in the first place. They put up with a lot of hand-wringing when it would clearly be a lot less trouble to just import for themselves. However ... if all the Malala shipments come in like this I might think long and hard about what I order next time.
     
  16. mrbreeze

    mrbreeze Anglican Supporting Member

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    That was my point. They *don't* all come in like this. I think this was my fifth order overall and this is definitely the worst in terms of plant size and quality/health.

    Definite thanks to Botanica though. The first two orders through them had some amazing plants to go with the questionable ones. Every previous order, I've had at least a few plants where I knew if they died it would totally be my fault. This time, if any of them survive I'll consider myself a freakin' orchid growin' hero! :rolleyes:

    But having said that, I've been amazed at these plants abilities to come back from the brink. They might sulk for years before either croaking or bursting back to life. The spirit of the Ang is strong.
     
  17. Karen

    Karen Species nut

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    It was a tough year, for some plants.
    Others, like A. dollii are twice the size of last years.
    It just depends.
    You take your chances!
     
  18. Uluwehi

    Uluwehi angraecoids, dendrobiums and more Supporting Member

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    My plants came in on Friday and now that they are all mounted and sorted I feel better. I had a 12% dead on arrival rate. Another 15% are quite precarious and I will feel fortunate if I can bring them back from the brink.

    IMO, importing from Malala is at best an expensive, fraught enterprise only worth it for the craziest of us. The importation process is traumatic for these plants but these are all rough plants to begin with. They are a shadow of the vigorous, seed-grown plants of more commonly available domestically-sourced angraecoids (with some exceptions). What they lack in vigour, they make up for in new genetic material. I see Malala as an invaluable pipeline for those of us who are interested in introducing (or re-introducing) species into cultivation via seed production and/or enhancing the gene pool of already-cultivated species.

    Some of us are very keen on getting as many of these species into flask as possible. So for those of you who feel like they are missing out, don't feel too bad. Your patience will almost certainly be rewarded in the coming years when healthier, more vigorous seedlings come on the market that you'll be able to enjoy without having to go through the expense and anxiety of import or the delicate business of re-establishing them.

    My condolences Mike and Calvin. :mad:
    My Ang. popowiis dropped all but one or two leaves in transit and one was DOA. One of the two Angraecum mahavavense was DOA, the other's youngest leaf is black but doesn't pull out when tugged gently, so I hold out some hope. Sounds like I was lucky with Jumellea ibityana in that mine arrived in good heath.

    Calvin, that's great! Only one of the three Aerangis monantha (françosii) arrived here alive. Karen and Calvin, I am happy to add to your satisying reports that the Angraecum dollii plants I got this year were much better than in previous imports.

    I am sorry to hear of your losses. The Angraecum rhynchoglossum I ordered was DOA too.
     
  19. Uluwehi

    Uluwehi angraecoids, dendrobiums and more Supporting Member

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    They look so good :clap:
     
  20. gg68

    gg68 Angraecoid addict

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    When I was to her, I collected some pods...most of them were rotten or were not old enough to we sowed, but I succeed for some...for example for Angraecum humbertii which seeds have germinated a lot...
    A friend of mine who was in Madagascar last week will give me soon some more pods from Malala!!:D