Top story addition at Bos Orchids

[MrCym]

Very high-walled houses at a very innovative company. The hanging plants are spaced so as not to shade the lower benches excessively. An innovative sling carrying the upper level pots, all with their individual water drippers.

[richardb]

Always incredibly interesting to observe commercial growing innovations. Makes us amateur setups feel so feeble.

[Diane56Victor]

I like seeing how others grow their orchids too. Sometimes seeing someone else's growing area can spark an idea that might benefit my growing area.
Commercial growing is just the bees knees for getting the most from plants.

[Gary S]

Yes a big setup, but how do you get at them - they must be more than 20 feet high.

[MrCym]

Hydraulically raised I'm sure.

[Gary S]

I hope so, going up and down a tall ladder all day to service them would be a nightmare.

[Australis]

It's hard to say from the photo, but I wonder if the hanging space is on a conveyer type arrangement and they have access at one end to cycle through the plants and remove/add as needed.

My biggest concern with this approach is that it leaves no room for error with viruses if those hanging plants are dripping onto the level below. The haze in the image suggests there might be a clear perspex layer between them, though, to prevent such an occurrence.

[MrCym]

No film, it would interfere with air movement. I did not see a virused plant at any nursery I visited but of course I had limited time and only visited the best ones.

[Australis]

ORSV, CymMV and OFV can all be asymptomatic if plants are grown well, in my experience. Professional nurseries seem like the perfect conditions for asymptomatic cases, if a virus was to get in. To have a multi-level setup like that suggests that they must have excellent plant hygiene and infection control procedures.

[MrCym]

That was readily apparent. Much of the recent orchid virus “research” has been done at lower level Universities with often shonky Professors. Cutting edge research is developing media with inhibitors that denature specific viruses from either infected seeds or clonal issue. I am unable to go into much detail because the technical aspects are propriety in most cases.
But a little tip for an enthusiast who finds a large plant suddenly expressing clear viral symptoms from say a dirty pot or an unsterilized wire stake. In my scientific experience, viruses don’t seem to go backwards. On the rare occasion where l spot a recent infection, l can almost guarantee the oldest bulb(s) are clean! Now, you have to flame your cutting shears or dip them in a 20% solution of Sodium Hypochlorite with every cut but the effort is usually rewarded with a totally clean restart!