Rare orchids, how to find out?

[Kelo]

I've been wondering if there is such a thing as a rare orchid list? On trawling my way through eBay I find 'rare' orchids for auction etc., I don't believe most of them are truly rare but how do you know? - apart from the less than five figure sums asked for them. Is it an 'insiders' orchid circle of people who know what's out there or can the common man find out what is out there too?

[RJSquirrel]

is what "RARE" means on ebay is one "RARE"LY buys them..

in fact it might be so "RARE" on ebay even the person selling it hasnt seen it

botanist are now searching ebay for "RARE" orchids bec they aren't many left in the wild

what is RARE to one might be OVER done to another

[Zozzl]

If you see something on Ebay that says "rare", just Google it. If a bunch of people are selling it, it is not rare. I have seen some of the most common plants listed on Ebay as being rare.

That being said, sometimes a plant that is a non-mericlone may still be rare even if there are mericlones of it.

[Kelo]

Yes, the definition of "rare" is quite wide in eBay terms which is why I always have Googled something. Are there enough truly rare orchids, whether they be hybrids or species, out there for "serious" collectors? There must be a way other than Google to find out.

[Zozzl]

I don't know of a rare orchid list, although as far as species go you could look up endangered orchids. You could also go take a look at Troy Meyers Conservatory online as he grows a lot of rare ones from donated seed.

[Kelo]

That's interesting, thank you. If I were ever in the position to pay huge sums of money I probably wouldn't as I doubt they would hold their value. Or would they?

[Zozzl]

Not too many people get rich in orchids. Personally, I wouldn't invest a lot in anything unless I was an expert on whatever that was thing was.

I like mutual funds myself

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

"Rare" can mean rare in the trade or "rare" in the wild.

There are certainly quite a few orchids that are rare in both the trade and the wild.

Some are rare in the trade for various reasons. One of them being the level of difficulty of growing them. Another one is because there is such scant amount of information about the orchids that people who end up with them are absolutely clueless about how to grow them correctly and end up killing them.

There is obviously the thrill of finding and owning a rare orchid, but it could possibly also mean you're on your own to figure them out. Just something to think about.

[Kelo]

LOL very true! I'm not remotely tempted at the moment but one day I just might!

[Paul]

"Rare" as you have no doubt noticed, is WAY over done on eBay.

I don't look at eBay often, but when I do, I generally find myself completely skipping anything that says "rare" in the title -- to the point of not even pausing to read the rest of the title. I'm just so tired of bozos claiming their stuff is "rare" that I refuse to waste my time on their ad. It's kind of like my reaction to commercials if I'm watching the telly -- as soon as a commercial starts, I hit the 'mute' on the remote.

As others have said, a list of "rare" orchids would be quite subjective. Not to mention that just because someone tells you it is rare, doesn't mean you'd like it enough to ever want to own it -- no matter how good a deal you could get on it. (Heck, even if I had the money, I'd have no desire to own an Impressionist painting for any reason other than its resale value. I'd certainly never want one on my wall.) If one buys an orchid, it should be because one likes the flower/plant not because of its rarity. And as others have also said, always best to check for other sources for those "rare" eBay orchids. More often than not, there are cheaper sources for them.