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Yes, fumigation kills a lot stronger plants than kovachii. There can be a fairly high mortaility rate. You here terrible stories from people who have imported plants into Australia. You have to be aware of the risk. I had a whole lot of plants imported in last year and it has been a battle. All survived the quarantine process although there are a few which don't look like they will survive long term. None of them are growing vigorously. The quarantine process is stressful and it takes a long time for the plants to recover. Weak plants won't survive it.
 
Yes, fumigation kills a lot stronger plants than kovachii. There can be a fairly high mortaility rate. You here terrible stories from people who have imported plants into Australia. You have to be aware of the risk. I had a whole lot of plants imported in last year and it has been a battle. All survived the quarantine process although there are a few which don't look like they will survive long term. None of them are growing vigorously. The quarantine process is stressful and it takes a long time for the plants to recover. Weak plants won't survive it.

Is it really as expensive as quoted on the Australian Govs Quanrantine site? http://www.daff.gov.au/biosecurity/import/plants-grains-hort/fees-charges

I only want to import a blooming size kovachii from the US and wonder if you can give me an idea of the costs associated with doing so in regards to all the quarantine stuff?

I just had a item I sold to someone in the US via ebay get lost as USPS lost it, and I had to refund the buyer the money and also lost my item and know all about the dissappointment of international shipping. Apparently their has been a lot of snowstorms and rainstorms in the New York area, where my item was sent, and USPS has put a lot of mail on hold and it is backing up in storage facilities until the weather gets better but ebay sided with the buyer even though I provided tracking and I am so upset that I have lost my item, which was irreplacable and an rare expensive robot, and now I have no money or my item and am so frustrated and angry.

Any help with a quote on how much you think it would cost to import one orchid of flowering size would be helpful as I would really like to buy a kovachii sooner rather than later so I can shut down my online accounts as I am tired of the heacaches they cause.

If anyone knows someone who wants to ship a blooming size kovachii to Australia let me know as if the cost of the plant plus quarantine is under AUD$500.00 then I think I am going to have a shot at importing a plant myself.
 
My plants were just a small part of a larger order involving multiple people and many plants so the costs weren't so bad. It is not really viable to import a single plant.
 
I have called the local quarantine facility and found out all the information. It is not very expensive really and I am surprised it is easier than I expected. In fact I wouldn't say it was that much of an inconveniance at all.

If you were like me and confused by the Department of Agriculture site just use the ICON tab to search the ICON database about importing orchids. As their a very low risk plant you can relatively easily import them even out of flask. Also call your region office and they can fill you in on the details.

The quarantine officer was surprised when I mentioned I might be importing the plants from Peru, and said they had never had any plants come in from Peru before. They are used to orchids coming in from Asia.They were also surprised when I said I would only be interested in importing one or two plants, as usually people import hundreds at a time.

You basically get charged for the paperwork, two inspections, the first being on arrival and then the next is three months later. Because the Australian Government shut down it's quarantine green house last year as our government is cutting costs like crazy at the moment, you have to find a private greenhouse that provides a quarantine service for the three months that the plants need to be kept their, and so this will also be a cost. Also as their are very few greenhouses in Brisbane/ Queensland as we already have humid weather, you can not put them in a shadehouse, it has to be a greenhouse and one that facilitates quarantine. You have to provide all the details of where the plants are quarantined to the quarantine office.Then after the three months the quarantine officers go and inspect it at the greenhouse and inspect the plant visually and are looking for signs the plant has grown new growth and thus is healthy.The officer even said sometimes if your getting them sent through the mail that the parcel goes to your home address and all you do is notify the quarantine office and bring in the parcel for inspection and then put it in the greenhouse for 3 months. It all seems pretty relaxed. But this is just off the top of my head from what I can remember so may not be 100% accurate.

Also any bare rooted plants will be treated with chemicals. Although if no pests are found if you look at the list on the Department of Agriculture site you will find their are plants that are exempt from the Methyl Bromide treatment but only if no pests or pathogens are found and will use an insecticide instead. Although like with everything this could be subject to change. At this time Phragmipedium is mentioned on this list of plants exempted from mandatory Methyl Bromide treatment.

The only reason I was thinking of going with bare rooted plants would be because they are larger and more likely to survive.

But I think if I do import anything it will be a flask of kovachii seedlings as this is much easier and cheaper. But none of the suppliers in Peru seem interested in shipping here. From what I can remember the quarantine officer said that flasks were just visually inspected on arrival, and if everything looked healthy were allowed in. But you still needed all the appropriate documentation.

The quarantine officer I spoke to said it is fine to import orchids from Peru as long as I have the Import permit, Invoice, Packing list, CITES, Photosanitary certificate and a declaration by the seller that the plants were grown in a nursery setting and not pulled out of the jungle.

The suppliers are all very friendly and nice contacts but don't give much away in terms of if they have any kovachii stock at this time etc. I am kind of thinking maybe kovachii might be one to put in the too hard basket as so far nobody seems to have any available.

I have been in contact with somebody who grows Phragmipedium kovachii here in Brisbane and they told me they do struggle but can survive in our climate. I was told to keep them moist in the coolest part of the greenhouse/shadehouse. The grower I asked also suggested not to purchase a seedling under 10cm. They keep theirs in pots sitting on a bed of sphagnum moss and have also heard of other growers who sit their pots on damp sand. They told me you can have success with kovachii here but that it just requires a little more effort.

I did have the Department of Agriculture links to all this info here but the links became inactive for some reason so I deleted them as I thought maybe they deactivated them for some reason.

Hope this helps.
 
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Yes, I would recommend the largest plants you can afford, If you're ordering from Peru either Peruflora or Manrique are recommended if you need me to contact them let me know. I think large gravel and sphagnum with another material like coarse spongerock, to keep moist yet with spaces for air, would work fine. Good quality R.O. or distilled water also.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have tried contacting a lot of kovachii suppliers and didn't really get anyone that interested in selling but am happy to say I have found one outstanding seller who I may purchase from in the future. The main thing stopping me is that I am afraid of killing any plants I do purchase, and at the price and rarity of kovachii this is something that is sure to keep myself away from kovachii for the near future.

Although still find myself mesmerized by kovachii and I just found this nice video demonstrating the large size of kovachii and thought it was interesting and gave me an inoculation of kovachii to cure my fever lol. The video really gives the viewer an scale of the size and how the size is just such an impressive characteristic and really blows you away.

Also I have been reading the scent of scandal after my kovachii interest lead me to go and purchased another copy for myself after gifting the first one to a family member and can't help but notice their is an earlier book called the scent of scandal from 2004 about a aromatherapist and I wonder if we have another scandal on our hands lol.

My impression of the book so far, from only reading the first chapter, is that nothing escapes Pittman and the book really is very detailed and informative. I can't help but feel for the orchid community it may be perhaps a little too detailed in exposing every aspect of the hobby, and perhaps things not wanted to be known to the general public lol. But still so far it has exceeded expectations and is interesting.

Here is that link. It's great Pittman actually does interviews and talks about kovachii as nobody else does and is great for those of us who need a regular kovachii fix. I wonder if Pittman reads this forum or if he owns a kovachii? I was going to ask if Kovach was a member here but then someone mentioned he is no longer alive and I didn't want to ask. I do always wonder though what he thought of all the stuff we write about him on these forums. Sad so many of the main people in the book are deceased and you really feel that it is already starting to become history in our lifetime which is weird.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/01/30/new-rare-orchid-brought-to-st-paul-winter-carnival/

I am starting to get a crazy idea of traveling to Peru and documenting the kovachii pollinator lol.
 
I would buy one now but am having trouble committing to purchase one mainly because I am also probably realizing their care will be more involved than what I originally thought. I have recently purchased a Cephalotus follicularis also known as an Albany Pitcher Plant and find if I don't water it for two days it dries out and its lids close to try and keep it'self moist so I make sure I water it every two days now by the tray method. It is only in bright light and never gets sun on its leaves and it still dries out quite fast. If I can keep it alive for 6 months I think it would qualify me to beable to take on a orchid as Cephalotus is very delicate and hard to grow. The pitchers resemble a slipper flower.

The dealer I have spoken to is very nice and I will probably stick with them. I would mention their name but find it's probably best not to as that way I don't create expectations of them for other people who may read this in the future in case they ever stop stocking kovachii in the future.

Thankyou for the offer to talk to a seller on my behalf. I really appreciate you would go to that kind of trouble. But unless they are selling them for a fair price I think their is no reason to contact anyone for me. I mean I am almost at the point of not even bothering to purchase a kovachii as to be honest I really don't need one and could live without one lol. I mean it is a very self indulgent luxury to have when you really think about it, I mean I think of all the poor desperate souls in Peru scratching out a miserable living with all the poverty around Lima and here I am worried about a kovachii. I need to get some perspective lol especially after dealing with Aibo people lol. Although saying that I go reaching for the scent of scandal book-as the book says their are some people who are just not satisfied with the run of the mill orchids.

Regarding the lost parcel I sent to New York it has finally turned up and the person is really happy with it. The item I sold them was a Sony Rolly and are a lot of fun if you ever happen to come across one but I found I enjoyed having the money more lol. Hope you people in America/Europe get some respite from those awful snowstorms over the summer, I don't know how you live in those kind of conditions. It's so unnatural to us here in Australia to put up with conditions like that.
 
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Thanks, it is no problem to ask a vendor if they want another customer. You really should get some of the easier orchids, even Phrags, to get a hint of the requirements to grow Pk. They do require some work unless you're growing something that grows in your back yard. Glad your package was delivered. Regarding the weather, i would rather have cold than hot. :)
 
I would get the easier to grow plants but PK has so much mystery about it and with it being so recent a discovery it's all I can focus on for now. Perhaps later my tastes in orchids will mature beyond this one type.

Just saw some photos of kovachii from Orchidwebs facebook page. I never realized the flower was as large as seen in those photos. The 'slipper' part is as large as a man's hand! The detailed photo of the 'slipper' part has me wondering how the animal enters and exists those holes? To my untrained eye it looks like the flower is not set up to have a pollinator walk through a trap and exit through any opening to pollinate the flower? Am I wrong or correct lol. I really should research my stuff before making a fool of myself on here.

The size is just so large I have to wonder if the pollinator is not an invertebrate at all but a much larger animal such as a hummingbird? I know when it comes to Pitcher plants that the larger the pitcher it means that they are having an association or symbiotic relationship with a larger animal than the traditional insects for instance N. lowii has evolved to gain most of it's nutrition from shrew droppings and had evolved a large size, open lid and very strong dense pitcher to cope with the shrews weight when they come to eat the nectar from the lid of the pitcher.

I cant help but wonder if the larger size in PK means also they produce larger amounts of pollen and that something larger than your average insect is feeding on that. Plus the flowers being so large also may mean the pollinator needs a visual cue to locate the flower and sophisticated vision is more so associated with the larger sophisticated mammals and birds. Also it apparently produces no scent so whatever is pollinating it must be relying on a visual cue to locate the flower, and in the mists of the cloud forests during the wet season the size of the flower is really starting to make sense as for anything to see the flower it would have to be large to stand out in the rain and fog. The color also makes sense in the context of this natural setting where it would have to be vibrant to attract the attention of a visual pollinator, especially if the fog and rain obscure it from view so easily. I am so curious as to what is actually pollinating this plant.

Whatever it is has to cope with the heavy rains seen during the wet season and I wonder if that rules out a lot of insect pollinators? I am leaning towards it being a hummingbird.

I read a lot of people have success growing Phragmipedium in an ebb and flow system so could always investigate that to ensure success with anything I did purchase.

I'm hoping to only purchase maybe one plant or a few seedlings in flask for around the US$500.00 range including shipping if that gives you an idea of the kind of money I am thinking about spending. I am not wanting to spend thousands this time around on my hobby as after owning Aibo and having a three thousand dollar robot walking around the house I kind of ended up hating it in the end because it cost so much money.
 
Ok so just watched footage from YouTube of hummingbirds pollinating flowers and rule out them being a slipper pollinator. The flowers they pollinate are usually elongated to fit their long beaks.

Have done my research and it seems slippers are pollinated by insects that enter the pouch and are forced to walk through the pollen and past the reproductive parts in order to escape.

So my guess is the pollinator is a large invertebrate and am guessing it is either something whose life cycle coincides with kovachii blooming.

Whatever it is it must be discrete as nobody has yet seen it so am guessing it is probably a nocturnal pollinator which would explain the large size and vivid color of the flower much better.

I have seen photos of someones trip to see N. lowii in the wild and at one point they were holding a giant slater the size of their hand, and it was curled up so must have been larger when uncurled. Here slaters only stay within the millimeter range at most. I can't help but wonder if the kovachii pollinator is some super-sized tropical bug that needs to ingest a lot of nectar to sustain it's bulk.
 
Just off the top of my head I'd speculate a bumblebee as pollinator in situ, any flower that looks purplish to us tends to really 'pop' in UV light, which bees apparently see pretty well. They also keep warm better (fuzziness!) and therefore fly at higher altitudes than most insects. Ex-situ the pollinator is more likely to be a toothpick or pencil... Nocturnally-pollinated orchids, on the other hand, are often 'serviced' by sphingid moths and tend to be white or green with strong nocturnal fragrance; look at most Angraecoids for an example, or Brassavolas and Rhyncholaelias for a more neotropic-represented group.

And seriously, with your interest in orchid pollinator syndromes you still won't deign to grow anything but Pk?! :p No offense intended, but despite its numerous charms there are MANY more interesting orchids than this one finicky Phrag...
 
Thanks for this really interesting information! I am completely clueless lol.

Yeah I otherwise had some pretty wacky ideas about what could be pollinating it. Thanks for clearing this up.

What can I say the size is just so impressive, if it is anything like what I have seen in that video I posted.

Although sure their are probably lots of other more interesting orchids. The interest for me lies in how something with such a massive and vivid colored flower which is screaming out for attention eluded everyone until now. I still want to know why it chooses to flower in the wet season while the others flower outside of the wet season.
 

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