Mornin' OGDers, I've been growing and buying orchids for over 45 years. That dates back to before the era of mericlones. (I still have the first catalog that Orchids Orlando sent out in the mid-60s offering the first mericlones.) We have been spoiled here is west central Florida for many years as we have had many backyard orchid nurseries that offered nice orchid hybrids and species for very modest prices. Incidentally, Orchids Orlando's first mericlones were 2 1/2" pots, mostly for around $7.50 if I remember right, not cheap for a little plant back then. Prior to mericlones' intrduction one could only dream of owning any of the prize-winning orchids of the day and those were priced in the hundreds of dollar, if available.
Now everything under the sun in orchids is available for comparatively moderate prices and with the internet, one is able to comparison shop. But I do take exception to buying 2 1/2" seedlings of various species for $18, $24, $28 or even more -or worse, 3" or 3 1/2" pots with a little orchid in it that should still be in the 2 1/2" pot- approaches the usurious because I know that with modern lab techniques, thousands of seedlings can be raised, and they take up little bench space at that size. But to price them at prices as suggested above, strikes me as a bit greedy when you could make your bucks on volume profit. If all fairness, there are situations that may warrant a higher price, say, r epeatedly poor germination of a rare, or a very desirable species, with a lot of expense resulting in only a few seedlings raised large enough to sell. But I think that is not the norm. Granted, the cost of heating fuel that has been a topic of conversation on OGD recently will and does factor into the final price, but I still do comparison shopping and one can find some excellent bargains if one takes the time to look around. And in so doing 'boutique nursery' pricing can largely be avoided. Don't get me wrong... I would -and do occasionally- shop from the high priced, small plant places, but only if I am not able to find something that I 'cannot live without' somewhere else. Frankly we can get spoiled with such hefty seedlings and plants as can be gotten from the Oak Hills, H&Rs and Tropical Orchid Farms. They have their systems worked out and are doing volume profit. But I don't any longer advocate buying orchids from big chains like Home Depot and Lowes as the product is frequently mislabeled or unlabeled and when unpotted to see why it isn't thriving once you get it home often you find that the roots have been trimmed way back and the mix it was in was only to hold it in place 'til it was finished blooming, at which time many are just tossed into the trash anyway and another one is bought to enjoy 'til it is out of bloom. Sad, this scenario, to my way of thinking. I've actually found some very desirab le plants/mericlones sitting on the bench in bloom at HD or Lowes. But it is usually an uphill battle, I have learned, to keep these alive and get them to start growing again. One Epilaeliocattleya I had been looking for for years was, surprise!, in bloom on a HD table. It has taken two years in my care for it to recover enough to start growing properly again. It nearly died at first. Now I may get flowers next year. I now have to be very hard pressed to justify buying orchids anymore at HD or Lowes. So it is important to decide what kind of money we want to pay for what size and quality of orchid. I have decided that -with rare exception- it is better to buy a healthy, vigorous orchid that should bloom for me in one or two growths than to nurse a tiny seedling along for years in hopes of seeing a flower. And I really do not mind paying a little more for a bigger plant, for that reason. But lawn clippings for a C-note, no thanks. Just my two cents worth of input here, which won't buy even a potclip these days. Take it for what it's worth. Cheers! Paul Mitchell == _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
