This could be an interesting thread. What I can offer to the conversation is
purely anecdotal, but here goes.

First, Sue is absolutely correct about the trend in advertising. Phals are
everywhere, from the NY Times sunday magazine to local furniture ads in the
paper. Every foodie mag worth its salt seems to have them in their ads, too.

Second, many of the folks I know are looking for species (not exclusively,
of course), which is one reason why Redland is so popular. Also, people seem
to be moving away from novelty Catts and toward heirloom plants.

And I am constantly amazed by the numbers of people who are growing orchids.
It seems as though almost everyone has at least a few. Because we are in FL,
that may be due to the ease of growing them, and to the ubiquitousness of
the plants. They show up everywhere from flea markets to farmers' markets to
supermarkets to HD. We were at my son's house for brunch recently, and were
surprised to learn that the most unlikely people (other guests) had "20 or
30" orchids.

A friend of many years, who was the owner of a retail floral business, is
now down here in FL and I was surprised to learn that while he knows a lot
about Phals & Dends, didn't know a thing about growing Catts. You can be
sure that I cured that little problem in short order, and he is now hooked
on fragrant Catts. His collection has grown so quickly that he built a shade
house this year, complete with watering system. Aah, another notch on my
belt, LOL!

Diana