Q I recently had an orchid tested for virus and it was positive. Additional testing of other orchids yielded similar results. I told the vendor from whom I purchased the plant that it was virused, but they did not provide a refund nor did they seem to care. What can I do to help control virus and get a refund from a commercial grower that sells a virused plant? I now have every plant tested before taking it into the greenhouse. Where can I learn about orchids locally?

A You are right to keep suspect plants isolated and to have them tested. Remember to use clorox to sterilize the bench where the plant came from. Unfortunately, orchid viruses do not always show symptoms that the hobbyist grower can discern. For practical purposes, orchid viruses are incurable. Hygiene in growing and repotting is the key to not spreading virus to healthy plants. When a vendor sells you a plant with virus, and you can prove this, demand a refund. It may be necessary to provide the vendor with a copy of the virus testing results, so he or she can see indeed the plant was virused.

An excellent resource for learning about growing orchids in your area is your Affiliated Society. Many offer regular meetings where you can chat with fellow hobbyists, show off your plants, hear a lecture and even swap and buy plants. You will find a list of AOS Affiliated Societies on orchidweb.org; this list is also printed in the AOS 2002-2004 Orchid Source Directory, which is given as a benefit of membership to all AOS members. —Andy Easton.