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#1
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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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 |
#7
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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 |
#8
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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 |
#9
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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 |
#10
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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 |
#11
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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 |
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