The future of orchid growing

[jeremyinsf]

So, I’m curious to have a discussion about long term thoughts on orchids, here in mid-2013.

One of the larger orchid greenhouses here in the SF bay area is closing soon. I had a long talk with the owner about how much things have changed over the years. He’s been ‘doing orchids’ longer than I've been alive (I’m 35) and is burnt out. What today demands is no longer compatible with his business and it’s not sustainable for him to continue (my words). I've had the same discussions with other shops and at some level, there seems to be consensus:

Over the last 15 years or so, a $35 Phal with 5 flowers on it has become a $10 Phal with five *branches* of flowers on it. Yes, that’s what they go for at Trader Joe’s here now… $9.99. That’s not sale or clearance or whatever, that’s a fully grown, maybe even multiple spike plant.

Like many things in today’s society, they have become DISPOSABLE to most people. They are bought for the pretty flowers on them –right now-, and then in a couple months, the whole thing is thrown away, and they just go buy another and repeat the cycle.

I’m bringing this up, because we on this forum are inherently different. We enjoy this, we invest in it, and we grow them for the long term. This is a fun hobby, at a minimum. But what happens as these trends continue, and the places we go to, that we have come to trust, can’t survive? I don’t want a $10 Phal to be the center of my collection. I want Paph Bruno, Paph Druryi, and other things that I would never, ever find at Trader Joes. I want to go to a nice greenhouse, with very special plants, that has been taken care of over the years.

We may be willing to spend (when possible) money on nice stuff, different stuff, amazing stuff. But mostly it's the general public that 'moves product' that pays the bills for these places.

So, what do people think will happen over the next 15 years or so? I know we don't have a crystal ball, but I would love to hear thoughts on this topic.

[Bud]

I suggest for those small orchid farms to change the orchids in their catalogue.
Supermarkets and the cut flower industry are in the market for easy growing long term flowering mass produced orchids.
Supermarkets and flower shops will not buy species or special hybrids that is not available all year round or orchids flowers with short shelf life....and this kind of orchids are what the collectors and hobbyists would be buying.

[Island Girl]

It's sad, I hate the way this society is about disposable things (never mind not having enough land-fill space for everything). I would hate to see any of our trusted knowledgable growers/nurseries go out of business, and in the short time that I have been growing "hobby grade" orchids (grew lowes Phals for years, didn't quite know where to get the more unusual ones), I've seen a few businesses go out of business. It's a shame, but I do understand the small amount of hobby growers are apparently (lol, despite how many addicts there are!) not enough to sustain a business. I'm curious as to what everyone else will say as well...

[HighSeas]

I can't really comment with any commercial knowledge regarding the state of the industry.

I do think that places like Trader Joes, Lowes and Home Depot "spurs" a great deal of public interest in orchids. At least some of these people become more serious about the hobby and branch off to the Nursery's and commercial growers.

I know that when I started, there were NO orchids in grocery stores and no such thing as Home Depot or Lowes. That's got to be a lot of people who never discovered them. The only reason I did, was a friend who went to Hawaii and brought me back an orchid gift.

I can understand why people don't want to spend a lot of money on a plant that they aren't sure they can grow.

I would imagine that being a commercial grower is very hard work. I can see how someone would experience burn out.

I would imagine that the profits ARE down. Our economy is in the dumpster. People don't have jobs. People have lost their homes. Taxes ARE going up. With so much uncertainty, people aren't spending money as they used to.

[AnonYMouse]

Depending on where in the bay area (most), property value trumps orchid profits.

Think of other hobbies. What was done to past the time 75-100 years ago has disappeared. There has been some resurgence of needlework (crosstitich, quilting, etc) but not widespread. These hobbyists have similar supply issues (specialty stores are few and far between).

Enter the 21st century and e-commerce. I think smaller greenhouse operations have to develop business plans based on E-bay, Amazon and their own online shops. Species and named orchids were NEVER for the common person. Doesn't mean you are/were rich, just different from the masses.

I don't think Rod McLellan (local orchid legend) ever got rich from orchids (he might have from Supersoil) but his descendants did from selling the business property.

[tucker85]

The days of a local nursery that specializes in orchids and sells to local residents is probably coming to an end. Those were not very profitable operations to start with. Large orchid nurseries with sophisticated web-sites can take orders from growers all over the world. Those are the businesses that will continue to supply the hobbyist. Right now breeders create new hybrids and sell flasks or seedlings to large nurseries that sell them online to growers like us. Another trend will be specialization. There are already businesses that specialize in phals (Big Leaf Orchids), paphs (Piping Rock Orchids), vandas (RF Orchids) or cattleyas (Odoms Orchids). There are even places like Orchidview that specializes in in one species, phal. Violacea. I think that trend will continue also.

[nikkik]

I think this is such as interesting post! My husband and I have had this discussion often. When we were talking to the president of our orchid society and his wife they expressed not liking to pay a lot for plants. I have two small children and I stay at home with them, my family is on a budget, but since this is a hobby I love; I am willing to spend a little more for a quality plant from a quality grower. I know some in the hobby who want quantity over quality, but small growers need to profit from their time, energy and resources. They just can't afford to sell plants at big box store prices.

On the flip side, I don't think most growers have caught up with the times. As AnonYMouse had stated many small growers haven't tapped into E-Commerce. It is sometimes a daunting task to find a particular plant, especially if you don't live in a place with many orchid greenhouses.

[Pilot]

Every business experiences these things, of course. Photographers balk at the digital revolution of the image sensor as every person with a cell phone and Instagram feels they can now call themselves photographers. As a photographer, it's fun to see what people come up with but in the end they don't have eddy from down the street documenting their weddings or other major life events and not to the same level of quality (I won't say creativity as that's a relative term to be sure). But as with plants, and as with photography, at some point the industry as a whole allowed certain things to happen-- at one time you could get portraits done at sears or jc penny.... But those are now gone and photography still exists and continues and gets better... And with our orchids, we know, that failing to adapt our conditions to meet that of the orchid, or vice versa, means the pant will suffer and perhaps die. The same goes for a business. This does not mean that the business was doing something wrong, exactly, but for the given conditions, it could not survive. Selling off a business or property and closing down your grow operations simply means you haven't adapted to market conditions. Krill and smith, for instance, receive a bulk of their profits not from a few phals listed on their site, rather, they do landscaping for Disney. The orchid side of the business is a joy for them and that's why it is there... The money maker provides the opportunity for them to grow orchids and I'm willing to bet they make little, if anything, on that side of the business.

All that to say that sure, it is sad to see a long time grower go out of business and the ten dollar white Phal at trader joes will still be selling and they'll keep getting tossed in the trash, but until people vote against disposable products, such as these, by not buying them, they'll continue through their fad until the fad fades away. I try to explain to people that every time they b something it is like saying to the market, yes...more please. Until you stop casting that vote in favor, the market will respond in kind. What does that means for us orchid nuts? It means we will continue to vote for those people mentioning above like big leaf, or new world orchids, or the few others and they will get our business.

Quantity over quality is never good... What is the use of your quantity if it comes without quality?

[AnonYMouse]

My dad grew orchids. Looking back, he must have snuck out to McLellan's to get plants and supplies. LOL

In some ways, plants are more accessible now than during my dad's lifetime. Growing up, I only saw catts, dens, phals and cyms and none of them all that exotic (IMO). The sheer number of genera available now would have staggered him.

Even NoIDs were not that available back then (perhaps they weren't NoIDs), so all orchids were special. So orchids have all ways been a niche market. Classify mass produced plants as "commercial" then the remainder would equate to (sales volume, interest, nut-job hobbyists like us) similar niche market.

Here's a future job title, Orchid Broker-search the globe to find that particular specie or hybrid and deliver it to your door.

---------- Post added at 12:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 PM ----------

Off topic:

Originally Posted by Pilot

photography still exists and continues and gets better...

I DO miss b&w film photography. Digital isn't the same.

[Leafmite]

I don't buy plants to toss but to treasure. Many of my plants have been with me over twenty years. If a plant becomes unpopular, I find a new home for it, even noID phals and Norfolk pines. I enjoy the process of plantkeeping. I buy mostly tiny seedlings so the orchids are definitely a long-term deal, as with my fruit and nut trees.
Businesses need to be online and, if into orchids, pay to advertise or attend events so that people can find them. I won't buy from a place I don't know exists and if I am looking for a certain orchid, I would love to find it on a website or see it at a show before negotiating to buy it. The easier it is to buy the orchid, the better, but I have written Email to vendors who don't have an easy to use site and arranged the sale that way.