For the life of me, I can't figure out why these silly stores spend
thousands of dollars on plants only to let them die. They do it with just
about everything.

I guess stores vary within the chains as to how they stock plants. I do know
that some of them take orchids more or less on consignment; they only pay
for the plant when it sells. They have an electronic system for keeping both
store and grower honest. In those cases there is less incentive to take good
care of the plants. There are 3 HDs within easy driving distance of us, and
the quality of the plants varies rather a lot. The closest is also the
newest; that's where we occasionally have found some real bargains. We
bought some Vandas there about a year and a half ago-$10 each, complete with
proper tags. When they bloomed out it was clear that the tags were correct,
too, since they were hybrids that I know.

Diana