Places to buy orchids
 

Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

I buy on eBay, from Norman's Orchids, Home Depot, owe's, and local grocery
stores. I have gotten some very nice plants from all these. If you buy
from Lowe's and Home Depot they have a 1 year guarantee, just keep the
reciept and take the plant back if it dies. Mostly just checking the plant
over and making sure it looks healthy and you'll get some nice plants. On
eBay I don't buy from anyone with less that 98% positive feedback.

Shell


"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

I buy on eBay, from Norman's Orchids, Home Depot, owe's, and local grocery
stores. I have gotten some very nice plants from all these. If you buy
from Lowe's and Home Depot they have a 1 year guarantee, just keep the
reciept and take the plant back if it dies. Mostly just checking the plant
over and making sure it looks healthy and you'll get some nice plants. On
eBay I don't buy from anyone with less that 98% positive feedback.

Shell


"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

To say that the Lowes-type stores carry inferior plants may be taking it too
far. Some of their stock is excellent, others outright suck. It is very
dependent on the maintenance at the individual store.

There are lots of mail order places on the web that carry good stuff at good
prices, and some that are exorbitant. I've only had one plant available at
over $20 in about a year.

What to look for in an orchid? That's a much bigger question than you
think. In my opinion, it's sort of like wine - what do YOU like? Other
than that, and a million lines of "form" and "growth" recommendations - I'd
say that the most important thing to look for is something that will grow
under the conditions (light, temperatures, humidity, your watering
tendencies) that you can easily provide. That means doing a bit of study
and analysis, and reading, before buying, but it's probably the best in the
long run.

I wish I'd known that when I started growing orchids over 30 years ago!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

To say that the Lowes-type stores carry inferior plants may be taking it too
far. Some of their stock is excellent, others outright suck. It is very
dependent on the maintenance at the individual store.

There are lots of mail order places on the web that carry good stuff at good
prices, and some that are exorbitant. I've only had one plant available at
over $20 in about a year.

What to look for in an orchid? That's a much bigger question than you
think. In my opinion, it's sort of like wine - what do YOU like? Other
than that, and a million lines of "form" and "growth" recommendations - I'd
say that the most important thing to look for is something that will grow
under the conditions (light, temperatures, humidity, your watering
tendencies) that you can easily provide. That means doing a bit of study
and analysis, and reading, before buying, but it's probably the best in the
long run.

I wish I'd known that when I started growing orchids over 30 years ago!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

My local Lowe's store occasionally has very good orchids. It varies greatly
from store to store. Other recommendations would be:

- Look for a local orchid society. They will probably invite speakers from
out of town that will sell plants.
- Look for a local botanical garden with orchids so that you can see some
different plants in bloom.
- Look for nearby orchid shows.
- When on vacation or business travel, look for an orchid grower or
botanical garden nearby.

There appears to be an AOS judging center that meets at OSU on the third
saturday of each month at noon. This would be a great place to go see
plants, and to ask experienced orchid growers from your region about sources
for plants.
Great Plains Judging Center
Oklahoma State University Horticultural Center
400 N. Portland
Oklahoma City, OK
The contact person for that center is Berniece Miller, 10721 Sunset Blvd.,
Oklahoma City, OK 73120-2437. You may want to send this person a note
asking how to attend the judging sessions.

Just seeing a picture of a flower on the web doesn't always tell you enough
about the size of the flower vs. the size of the plant, and lighting can be
manipulated to help out the colors in a picture. You can buy very good
plants online and from mail-order sources, just be careful to look for
reputable sources and don't place a large order from a vendor until you know
something about them.

-danny

"hi" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

hi wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

The problem with Home Despot and Lowe's isn't that they have inferior
plants. The plants are often excellent quality mericlones. The
problem is that they are often incorrectly labeled and poorly cared
for by the store.

It looks as though there is an orchid nursery about 1.5 hours drive
from Oklahoma City in Ardmore. http://www.sworchids.com

Also check out http://orchidmall.com for a huge number of mail order
sources. You'll be buying correctly labeled plants from a small
business instead of from a giant box store. If you buy seedlings, it
is certainly possible to buy a quality orchid for less that $20.00.
Sometimes they are less than $10.00 (check out H&R Orchids, for
instance).

Nick

hi wrote in message ...
Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

The problem with Home Despot and Lowe's isn't that they have inferior
plants. The plants are often excellent quality mericlones. The
problem is that they are often incorrectly labeled and poorly cared
for by the store.

It looks as though there is an orchid nursery about 1.5 hours drive
from Oklahoma City in Ardmore. http://www.sworchids.com

Also check out http://orchidmall.com for a huge number of mail order
sources. You'll be buying correctly labeled plants from a small
business instead of from a giant box store. If you buy seedlings, it
is certainly possible to buy a quality orchid for less that $20.00.
Sometimes they are less than $10.00 (check out H&R Orchids, for
instance).

Nick

Subject: Places to buy orchids
From: hi
Date: 8/26/2004 10:48 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.



Try www.gardenwatchdog.com, and search under orchids as the category. They have
an option to put in your zip-code and get the closest places to where you are.

Alternatively, try www.oakhillgardens.com, they have healthy plants and good
prices.

-



theoneflasehaddock

You have an orchid society in Oklahoma City (check their Web site).
They're having an auction in October--that could be a good source of
inexpensive plants and grower information.




In article , hi wrote:

Hi,

I've got a couple of beginner's books for keeping orchids and want to get
some. I've read that Lowe's, Home Depot and the like carry extremely
inferior orchids. This may be too much but is it possible to buy a decent
orchid for $20 or less? I'm not sure where to look for them. I live in
the oklahoma city, ok area. Also, any help on what to look for in an
orchid would be great.

Thanks

I have acquired a number of Phals from Lowe's and discovered that it is usually
best to repot at the first opportunity. The ones I have gotten were potted in
sphagnum moss which was way too compressed in the pots, and there was a lot of
root rot. Clear pots, fir bark, and styrofoam peanuts have made them do
better.

Jim