The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

Subject: Wow, Orchids at Lowes!
From: "Sinister"
Date: 6/10/2004 12:57 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id: k.net

The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?



A better question would be "any stores like Lowes that might have healthy
orchids"?

-



theoneflasehaddock

Home Depot , on occasions has a decent orchid or two , but mostly I find
they are an orchid graveyard, and the best orchid I have bought from Home
Depot was a Dendrobium "red prince"....I belive its a strain of Dend nobile?
Bright days!
Todd
"Sinister" wrote in message
hlink.net...
The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

"Sinister" wrote in message thlink.net...


Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

i occasionally find orchids with actual tags in them at home depot;
they're usually not in great shape though. i think it really depends
on the location of the store and its proximity to orchid
nurseries--they'll carry local stuff.

to wit: at a not-too-local home depot last week, they had a bunch of
very nice looking plants with real tags and a nursery name on them
(and some with no tags but little blue ribbons on them claiming they
were AOS awarded. um, yes.); i of course had to get the untagged
harlequin phal with some fuzzy white stuff on it and that frankly
looked like it had crown rot, but it was one of those "oh WOW!" things
so i got it anyway. (did the HP, alcohol and ultrafine routine on
it while repotting; it hasn't dropped dead, and the black spotty stuff
hasn't spread, so here's keeping my fingers crossed.

--j_a

My local HDs and Target stores carry Orchids on a pretty much non-stop
basis. The plants, while abused, are always healthy with no pest problems.
They do get under- and over-watered, though.

These also pretty much always come with proper tags on them. Oh, and a
majority seem to come from McLellan Botanicals( www.orchidexperts.com ).

Sam

"Sinister" wrote in message
hlink.net...
The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

Our local home improvement stores all carry them. Occasionally you can find
a nice one with a tag. WalMart has them, and even KMart. More often than
not, though, they're not great plants.

Diana

"GaWd" wrote in message
.. .
My local HDs and Target stores carry Orchids on a pretty much non-stop
basis. The plants, while abused, are always healthy with no pest problems.
They do get under- and over-watered, though.

These also pretty much always come with proper tags on them. Oh, and a
majority seem to come from McLellan Botanicals( www.orchidexperts.com ).

Sam

"Sinister" wrote in message
hlink.net...
The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't
label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals
either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

GaWd wrote:

My local HDs and Target stores carry Orchids on a pretty much non-stop
basis. The plants, while abused, are always healthy with no pest problems.
They do get under- and over-watered, though.

These also pretty much always come with proper tags on them. Oh, and a
majority seem to come from McLellan Botanicals( www.orchidexperts.com ).


I was actually impressed with the orchids at Franks Nursery & Crafts
(may or may not be in a location near you), last week. In the interest
of full disclosure, I did work for them for a year. In the interest of
fuller disclosure, that was 10+ years ago, and I wouldn't trust them to
keep a philodendron alive much less an orchid.

These must have been fresh off the truck. They were labelled with
crosses (said crosses compatible with the phenotype, even). No grower
information, although I could probably figure it out if I had to.
Prices were, well cheap..., disgustingly cheap, actually, for some nice
two spike phals, some with branched inflorescences, all with good
quality flowers. Probably mericlones of awarded or selected plants,
although there was no clonal information on the tags. If I grew phals,
I might have been tempted by some of them. You would be hard pressed to
visit one of our local orchid growers and find plants as nice as these
in full bloom (at least this time of year).

It looks like it will be more and more difficult for your mom and
pop orchid vendor to stay in business, with this kind of competition.
At least if you want to sell phals. Puts even more emphasis on service
and carrying things that don't really fit the 'pot plant' market. The
big box stores will get them hooked, but the little guys are going to
have to work hard to reel in the fish.

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit
LittlefrogFarm - e-mail me for a list

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 16:51:26 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

These must have been fresh off the truck. They were labelled with
crosses (said crosses compatible with the phenotype, even). No grower
information, although I could probably figure it out if I had to.
Prices were, well cheap..., disgustingly cheap, actually, for some nice
two spike phals, some with branched inflorescences, all with good
quality flowers. Probably mericlones of awarded or selected plants,
although there was no clonal information on the tags. If I grew phals,
I might have been tempted by some of them. You would be hard pressed to
visit one of our local orchid growers and find plants as nice as these
in full bloom (at least this time of year).

It looks like it will be more and more difficult for your mom and
pop orchid vendor to stay in business, with this kind of competition.
At least if you want to sell phals. Puts even more emphasis on service
and carrying things that don't really fit the 'pot plant' market. The
big box stores will get them hooked, but the little guys are going to
have to work hard to reel in the fish.

Rob

I know in the Midwest - Klehms's is supplying some of the big box
stores. I saw his tags on plants at HD in Madison, WI.

Here the King Soopers grocery has both Den and Phal with tags.
The discounts don't seem to follow the condition. About Easter
King Soopers also had standard Cym. in bloom.
HD and Lowes have some, generally showing their age on the racks.
I just don't seem able to time it correctly to get something
fresh off the truck. Their Phal hybrids and Colm / Oncidium
crosses are priced equal or higher than the local Orchid house.
It is a shame because they are generally in such poor shape.

SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php

These must have been fresh off the truck. They were labelled with
crosses (said crosses compatible with the phenotype, even). No grower
information, although I could probably figure it out if I had to.


Lots of times the deliveries here seem to have the exact cross(if a hybrid),
and lots of times there is also the copywrited name and any AOS info.
Sometimes there isn't and you get the generic "oncidium" stake when it's
really a Colm., or "Phalaenopsis", but most of the time I get good info when
I'm tempted to buy one from one of these stores.

My wife and I had an argument and she ran out to HD to sate my orchid
appetite and make amends. When she came back, she presented me with a
beautiful orchid, but it had no stake! After explaining why the stake was
important, wer went back to HD a day or two later and got a stake off of an
identical orchid. :-]

:shrug: I have a thing for cheap HD orchids.

Sam

Be careful (on a number of fronts).

"Professionally grown" does not necessarily implied "grown well." Root rot is something to watch
for, as in the case of Lowes, HD, and the like, that is often "professionally grown for the mass
market that will throw it away when it dies." Not that there aren't good bargains to be
occasionally had, it's just a caveat.

The fact that they are unlabeled would make me suspicious of the ID as the species aphrodite. You
may very well be right, but ...

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Sinister" wrote in message
hlink.net...
The last place I expected to find professionally raised orchids, I found
spray after spray of Phal. Aphrodite at Lowes.(Of course they didn't label
them "Phalenopsis Aphrodite", just Phalenopsis, like they were the only
kind!) So big and beautiful and so many blooms to a cane I thought it
would make the orchids tip over. Nero Wolfe himself couldn't have grown
them better.

All they had were Phals though... I'm not that big a fan of Phals either
but had I been they had the lot!

Any other stores like Lowes that might have Orchids?

Well, I won't claim I'm a master at identifying orchids, but they certainly
looked like Aphorodities and from the company that Lowes orders from I
wouldn't be surprised... And They may be unlabeled simply because Lowes
knows absolutely dick about orchids and expects the people that buy them to
know even less.
As for root rot...I would have to repot them or inspect the root system to
know for sure. To do that I would have to buy them and I dislike Phals as a
general rule. But you may very well be right, and that would co-inside with
the theory that Lowes knows absolutely dick about Orchids.


-Sinister

There are lots of suppliers of orchids to Lowes, HD, and the like, and some of them even have pretty
good plants. I'm still a bit wary though - more based upon the retailer's understanding of orchid
culture than anything, but i have seen "fresh," inbound shipments that look like crap.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Sinister" wrote in message
nk.net...
Well, I won't claim I'm a master at identifying orchids, but they certainly
looked like Aphorodities and from the company that Lowes orders from I
wouldn't be surprised... And They may be unlabeled simply because Lowes
knows absolutely dick about orchids and expects the people that buy them to
know even less.
As for root rot...I would have to repot them or inspect the root system to
know for sure. To do that I would have to buy them and I dislike Phals as a
general rule. But you may very well be right, and that would co-inside with
the theory that Lowes knows absolutely dick about Orchids.


-Sinister

"Ray" wrote in
:

There are lots of suppliers of orchids to Lowes, HD, and the like, and
some of them even have pretty good plants. I'm still a bit wary
though - more based upon the retailer's understanding of orchid
culture than anything, but i have seen "fresh," inbound shipments that
look like crap.


You are right about root rot Ray; Lowes, Home Depot, Franks, Target, Kmart
and others have a habit of keeping the fancy contaners/plastic wrap filled
with water. I've spoke to a couple of Plant associates and they know it's
too much water but they say they are just doing what their managers told
them to do and that their managers won't even bother to read the care
guides.
More proof that one doesn't have to be intelegent to be a manager.
(one of my pet beliefs)

Subject: Wow, Orchids at Lowes!
From: Susan Erickson
Date: 6/10/2004 5:17 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 16:51:26 -0400, Rob Halgren
wrote:

These must have been fresh off the truck. They were labelled with
crosses (said crosses compatible with the phenotype, even). No grower
information, although I could probably figure it out if I had to.
Prices were, well cheap..., disgustingly cheap, actually, for some nice
two spike phals, some with branched inflorescences, all with good
quality flowers. Probably mericlones of awarded or selected plants,
although there was no clonal information on the tags. If I grew phals,
I might have been tempted by some of them. You would be hard pressed to
visit one of our local orchid growers and find plants as nice as these
in full bloom (at least this time of year).

It looks like it will be more and more difficult for your mom and
pop orchid vendor to stay in business, with this kind of competition.
At least if you want to sell phals. Puts even more emphasis on service
and carrying things that don't really fit the 'pot plant' market. The
big box stores will get them hooked, but the little guys are going to
have to work hard to reel in the fish.

Rob

I know in the Midwest - Klehms's is supplying some of the big box
stores. I saw his tags on plants at HD in Madison, WI.

Klehms is mainly supplying Home Depot... but they supply a lot of home depots
in the midwest.



Here the King Soopers grocery has both Den and Phal with tags.
The discounts don't seem to follow the condition. About Easter
King Soopers also had standard Cym. in bloom.
HD and Lowes have some, generally showing their age on the racks.
I just don't seem able to time it correctly to get something
fresh off the truck. Their Phal hybrids and Colm / Oncidium
crosses are priced equal or higher than the local Orchid house.
It is a shame because they are generally in such poor shape.


Yeah. It's gotten ridiculous. I wish more people knew how much better the
orchids are, better selection, and cheaper at nearly any local orchid supplier.

Around here, about 3/4 of the places selling orchids are selling ones from Oak
Hill. Usually with the tags still in the pots, often at twice what they paid
for them.

-

theoneflasehaddock

Subject: Wow, Orchids at Lowes!
From: dusty
Date: 6/11/2004 11:00 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id: m

"Ray" wrote in
:

There are lots of suppliers of orchids to Lowes, HD, and the like, and
some of them even have pretty good plants. I'm still a bit wary
though - more based upon the retailer's understanding of orchid
culture than anything, but i have seen "fresh," inbound shipments that
look like crap.


You are right about root rot Ray; Lowes, Home Depot, Franks, Target, Kmart
and others have a habit of keeping the fancy contaners/plastic wrap filled
with water. I've spoke to a couple of Plant associates and they know it's
too much water but they say they are just doing what their managers told
them to do and that their managers won't even bother to read the care
guides.
More proof that one doesn't have to be intelegent to be a manager.
(one of my pet beliefs)



At least some of them water them. WHen I used to live in Niagara Falls, the
Home Despot there refused to water any of their plants, EVER. Since they didn't
sell out, this guaranteed no plant could survive for too long. It might be why
only a few cactus, and nothing else, were healthy there.

as a side note, an Epidendrum I got for $5 back then is finally blooming
again!

-

theoneflasehaddock