Suggestonsfor quarantining...I'm such a newbie : )

[beautifulbunny]

Hi everybody,

I'm very much a newbie, in fact, this much, lol:

I've been reading the pest and disease section to know what kinds of things to look out for, but when bringing the little pretties home and indoors, could anybody recommend a good way to quarantine them so the house doesn't go through at least 10 plagues? : ) Everything I've seen has been in beautirul, blooming shape, but I'd love to start out on the right root-foot as it were and find past-their-bloom orchids so that I can repot into s/h clay balls.

Any suggestions certainly would be appreciated, I just want to do this right as possible from the start : )

Thanks so very, very much!
Bunny

[articuno75]

Well, you'll probably get a ton of answers to this. Everyone has their methods.

This is what I do when I get a new plant. The first thing is a Brookn Recipe bath. This solution is enough that it will kill bugs and fungus that is on the plant. Cleans the whole thing up too. What I do is make enough that I can submerge the plant, pot and all, into the solution and I leave it in there for about a half hour or so. After the dip, I rinse the plant throughly and then if it needs a repot I do so then. If not, I set the plant away from my other plants for about a week. On day 2 or 3 of ownership I will spray with Bayer 3 in 1. Usually by the end of the week I have the plant intergrated with the rest of the clan. I have never had a bad plant requiring quarantine.....So far....(LOL, knock on wood. )

[exasperatus2002]

Also when soaking your new orchids, while they're in quarantine, handle them last to avoid cross contamination.