Chris,
I would like to chime in and share some of my experiencees with Thailand. I have been buying plumerias from Thailand for a few years now and it took me a while to develop HONEST and reliable sources. The fact that you have found just that means you are very fortunate. However, I have to say that while there are indeed good Thai sellers, there are also just as many dishonest ones that would sell you a commmon white labeled as 'Dane" or another expensive hybrid without a second thought. Yes there are dishonest people in the whole world, BUT, the rest of the world is not the center of the plumeria trade at the moment. Thailand is; with more new cvs coming out of it than anywhere else.
Having been burned myself by what one friend of mine living in Thailand calls the "Chatuchak Surprise" (plants purchased at the market by fly-by-night sellers that later bloomed as common white), and, after working extra hard to find my reliable sources, I can say first hand it is not a direct insult to the Thai people as a whole, who are generally very sweet people, but, rather a word of caution for all people just starting out in importation of plants-- that there are many dishonest and fly-by-night sellers over there who are making lots of money of foreign trade through venues like Ebay.
There was BIG money in plumeria for a couple of years, and, as a result, many unscrupulous sellers magically appeared overnight, claiming to have nurseries, when in fact, they did not. They purchased plants here and there from the markets from other fly-by-night sellers and many people got screwed---really so.The demand was so hot two years ago that the temptation was a big one for anyone wishing to make fast money.
One friend of mine who lives in Bangkok and who is not Thai, says that he is daily amused at the carelessness and outright cut-throat dealings of the average Thai plant sellers (who are not the big players). He has been living there for 15 years and can tell you a lot about the local market in the Bangkok area. Some Thais have gone as far as to bribe officials to help shut down their competition through "violations", have bribed export brokerages and shippers to not deal with the competition. Others who are more established yet still keep a booth at local markets, simply will keep dropping their prices to ridiculous lows just so the plumeria booth next to them at the market can no longer afford to sell and goes out of business.
One seller I know in Chiang Mai got his entire field of plumerias and other tropicals set on fire and burned to the ground. The neighbors all knew who it was but were afraid to tell him, saying they believed the man's bad karma would come upon them if they got involved and gave any information to help in the investigation. The man was never caught and my friend lost a lot of money as well as his dreams.
Once again, there are some wonderful Thai people, many of whom I am happy to know and to do business with; some I call friends. However, the demand for Thai cultivars has indeed brought out a lot of bad people who only care to cash in now and then simply disappear later.
Another note--a good Thai friend of mine warned me that many of the plants being purchased by the plant sellers on Ebay--,most of which are picked up at the local markets, are infected with a host of viruses and disease. These plants pose a menace to collectors here in the USA if their collection plants were to be exposed to them. Many of the market sellers are either ignorant of plant diseases, or, simply do not care. This is why it is so important for American buyers to know from whom they are really getting their plants. For the average buyer with a small collection it is probably better and safer to deal with an American seller of Thai varieties who is established with good connections for healthy plants from Thailand.
It will be interesting though to note what happens this coming year with the bad economy as well as a major saturation of the market with a dizzying supply of plumeria varieties. Values for imported plants started falling this past summer and God only knows what will happen this next season. I suspect there will be fewer of the Thai EBay sellers as the BIG FAST money of the "Plumeria Bubble" is now a memory and many will move on to new ventures. The days of new plants selling for well over $100 is, on a large scale, over. Hopefully this will thin out the market to a sane and rational condition with the committed, tried and true sellers sticking around. Even though prices are going to continue to fall, at least those that remain in the business will be fewer and trustworthy, whether Thai, Israeli, German, American, or whatever.
By the way, I haven't seen your golden leafed variety yet. It is quite pretty.
You do indeed offer some nice plants, Chris, as well as excellent customer service. I am glad to see you are among those sticking around in the business.
Happy New Year to you and to everyone else on Daves!
Brad
