Where Buy Different or Unique Orchids

[tebbibowman]

Hello! Brand new here!! So excited.
The really cool orchid shop near me closed. It’s a Jungle is no more. Now, the only choice for orchid are grocery store orchids. Don’t get me wrong. They’re lovely. But, I’d some variety. I had a house with a perfect orchid window. Had some nice orchids. Divorce. Moved. Single mom. Blah blah blah. Orchids died. I just bought a house with great orchid windows! I’d like to ask my sons for orchids for Mother’s Day. Where can I get something that’s not what the local gas station sells? I’m not looking for the most exotic orchids in the world. Just some different varieties. Thank you!

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

Where are you located? Won't happen by Mother's Day, but over the summer and fall, shows are going to be starting up again - and those are wonderful places to find variety - and also see what you are getting, and talk to the vendors about what will grow under your conditions. For more instant gratification, there are some terrific nurseries that sell online. (Including plants in bloom) So if you can talk a bit more about what you're seeking, lots of contributors to the Board will be happy to share information about their favorite vendors. Once you have identified some sources, it's really important to do a little bit of research about the plants that you want to buy, to make sure that you have the right conditions for success. An "easy orchid" is one for which you can provide good conditions without a lot of effort and expense, and that is different for each person.

I have gotten some really nice things from Carter and Holmes. For smaller Cattleyas (and lots of other nice things) , consider Sunset Valley Orchids. Just for a start...

Also check out the Vendor Feedback Forum (it is toward the bottom of the Forum list) to see the experiences of various Board contributors with an assortment of vendors. There are lots of them where people have had positive experiences and gotten some outstanding plants. (You'll also find a few where the reviews are less good, so you will know when to choose somebody else, there are plenty of good ones)

[SouthPark]

Local orchid nurseries or even orchid nurseries that sell orchids online (by post/shipping) generally have good variety.

The first thing is probably ------- looking at some orchid flower pics online, in order to get a list of targets. Orchids having flowers just like what you see (online or in books) and want. And then go from there ----- as in asking orchid nurseries etc.

Some orchid sellers on ebay are serious orchid enthusiasts or can even be people that run actual orchid nursery businesses.

There are various ways to acquire particular orchids. Sometimes involving a lot of patience and long-time asking around.

Sometimes it's not possible to find a particular orchid - due to scarcity or the orchid stays under the radar, or might not even exist anymore. But there's generally enough variety out there to make up for it.

Also - totally agree with doing some reading and/or asking - to make sure that the kind of orchid we want to grow can actually survive in the conditions what we have in our growing area.

And some orchids can grow in particular areas - but if the temperature doesn't follow some trend - then the plant can grow, but may not produce flower spikes (and flowers) ------ eg. a lot of Cymbidium orchids - temperate climate ones that is.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

Go to the Vendor Feedback forum for some ideas.

[SouthPark]

The Vendor Feedback (link here) area is certainly helpful - as people have come together to put in comments about particular vendors - good experiences and/or not-so-good experiences.

Also noting that some cases started with not-so-good experiences ----- but ended up in being a good or better experience ------ as sometimes there can be misunderstanding to begin with.

And it is not always the case when a bad experience is due to a nursery doing the wrong thing. It all depends on ----- actual situation.

[Mountaineer370]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! Sadly, over the last several years, many orchid growers have closed their doors permanently. Since I started growing orchids just six years ago, we lost two wonderful ones in my state.

Hopefully, shows will be able to safely resume in the not-too-distant future. Again, those may or may not be within easy driving distance. Many of us mail-order orchids, and as already suggested, the vendor feedback area can be helpful in that regard.

I want to second the advice to research different types of orchids to learn which ones are most likely to do well in your growing conditions, meaning what are their needs as far as light, temperature, humidity, and of course, space, if yours is limited.

Best of luck to you, and don't hesitate to ask more questions here.