Recommended Online Orchid Sellers, Questions About Orchid Care.

[alecStewart1]

Hello friends!

So looking to find somewhere to get my first orchid online, and I was wondering what y'all recommendations are.

I found

OrchidWeb by Orchid Limited: Buy Orchids and Orchid Supplies - OrchidWeb

Andy's Orchids: Andy's Orchids'

As two that stick out to me the most from looking at their websites.

I live in Texas, so I'm looking for some more warmer weather orchids or possibly something I could keep at my desk in the office (I have a desk humidifier I could use). I really like the Neo/Vanda orchids, but Phals, Cattleyas, Oncidiinae, Dracula and Dendrobium are lovely as well. Really, there's not any that aren't appealing in some way.

In regards to care, I have a few more specific questions:

• Tolerable PPM for Orchids
  
  For my carnivorous plants and other house plants (Begonia maculata, Calathea Ornata, Satin Pothos and a few more) I use a ZeroWater filter and tank that gets my ~250PPM apartment tap water to 0-5 (I use a tester I bought, not the one they provide). I imagine orchids appreciate low PPM water as well or even prefer it, but I was curious if it's as big of a deal as it is with carnivorous plants.
  
  
• Dealing with Shipping Shock
  
  I was curious what's the recommended way to deal with shipping shock for plants bought online. With some the carnivorous plants I have, it's recommended to pot the plant (if not already potted) and put that in a bag to get humidity to 90-99% to help the plant adjust, and after a few days of the bag being closed you slowly open the bag and let the plant adjust to the humidity of it's new environment.
  
  I don't know if this is the same for orchids, so I thought I'd ask.
  
• Fertilizing
  
  For my carnivorous plants I feed them roughly ever 3 weeks to a month, as most of them catch their own food outside or some fungus gnats or occasional bug I've caught inside. For the houseplants it's about every other month during the growing season.
  
  Do orchids need frequent fertilizing, or is it more spread out than other plants?
  
• Dormancy
  
  For the plants I have that have a dormancy period I usually just leave them outside until it starts getting more frequently 50 degree Fahrenheit and below. Then I just stick them in a fridge or garage. For most carnivorous plants, it's highly recommended to give them a dormancy period.
  
  Is it also highly recommended to give orchids a dormancy period, and, if so, are there any different ways to do so besides the ones I've mentioned?

Thanks for any advice you give!

[estación seca]

There's a whole Forum here dealing with vendor feedback. From the left yellow menu choose Forums then look for it.

Orchids tend to handle shipping well. New arrivals can go into their normal environment. Most people put them into another space for isolation for days to weeks to ensure they didn't bring any pests with them.

Fertilizing is a huge topic. Various orchids need different fertilizer regimens. It's impossible to generalize to the entire family. You can use the Search | Advanced Search feature in the menu above to look for particular genera and fertilizing.

Most orchids don't need anything resembling dormancy. Some do. You'll need to read about particular plants you want to grow.

[Roberta]

Some are a lot easier than others to grow without special setups. Phals, in general, grow easily under house conditions. They like the same temperatures that we do, don't need a lot of light (but likely will benefit from some supplemental light to extend the "daylight" period to 12 hours or so), aren't sensitive to water quality. Of your list, Draculas would be the most difficult - they need pure water, and want to stay damp, but even trickier, some (but not all) grow their flowers downward or to the side, so need to grow in hanging baskets. There are some species that are better-behaved (growing at the base of the plant above the medium) so you'd have to really do some research there. The others, everything in between. For Cattleyas, consider the "mini-Catts" , species and hybrids. Check out Sunset Valley Orchids

For fertilizer, orchids (mostly) grow very slowly and so don't need much. Get the rest of the culture right, fertilizer is the "fine tuning". Lots of research to do... and lots of fun in your future.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by estación seca

There's a whole Forum here dealing with vendor feedback. From the left yellow menu choose Forums then look for it.

Orchids tend to handle shipping well. New arrivals can go into their normal environment. Most people put them into another space for isolation for days to weeks to ensure they didn't bring any pests with them.

Fertilizing is a huge topic. Various orchids need different fertilizer regimens. It's impossible to generalize to the entire family. You can use the Search | Advanced Search feature in the menu above to look for particular genera and fertilizing.

Most orchids don't need anything resembling dormancy. Some do. You'll need to read about particular plants you want to grow.

All good info, thank you! It looks like Neos have a "winter rest" period where you tend to water less. Phals and Catts mostly seem to just have the period where they aren't growing flowers.

I've seen some places say Neos should get a light fertilizing once every 2 weeks. Phals and Catts I'd have to look some more.

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

Some are a lot easier than others to grow without special setups. Phals, in general, grow easily under house conditions. They like the same temperatures that we do, don't need a lot of light (but likely will benefit from some supplemental light to extend the "daylight" period to 12 hours or so), aren't sensitive to water quality.

I found a few interesting Phals looking around at forum suggested vendors.

Phal. Chia E Yenlin 'Variegata' (Sogo Yenlin 'Coffee' CCM/AOS x Formosa Cranberry) / Orchids.com

Phal. Kaoda Twinkle 'Chocolate Drop' AM/AOS (P. schilleriana x P. Malvarosa Valentine Pearl) / Orchids.com

Phal. Chia E Yenlin 'Variegata' (Sogo Yenlin 'Coffee' CCM/AOS x Formosa Cranberry) / Orchids.com

Phal. Phyllis Corkern 'Pumpkin' (Sogo Rose x Yaphon Perfum) / Orchids.com

Phalaenopsis Mituo Special Vivien - Seedling
– Big Leaf Orchids

https://bigleaforchids.com/products/...-new-seedlings

The last two are seedlings, but I don't particularly mind.

Originally Posted by Roberta

For Cattleyas, consider the "mini-Catts" , species and hybrids. Check out Sunset Valley Orchids

From that site and looking at the mini Orchids, the SVO 9901, Ruby Delight x Slc. Mem. Trudi Marsh, looks like it could be interesting. So does SVO 9766, Candy Sparks x New Year's Gift!

[Roberta]

If you order online, do check through the Vendor Feedback forum. I think you will cross orchids.com off your list, make your own judgement. Certainly would not be my first choice.

[Jmoney]

Roberta is right. do yourself a favor and order from the dozens of vendors who provide good quality plants and service. orchids.com is not it. I made that mistake once many years ago and based on the feedback that is the norm.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I think you will cross orchids.com off your list, make your own judgement. Certainly would not be my first choice.

Hmmm, looking around it seems to be a bit too mixed on opinion for my taste. Pity, the ones I listed that interested me look very interesting. They seemed to have a huge collection.

I did find 2 similar ones from J&L:

Phalaenopsis Chia E Yenlin- Variegated Multicolor Leaves - J&L Orchids

Phalaenopsis Sogo Yenlin '''Coffee A386'''- Variegated Multicolor Leaves - J&L Orchids

Hausermann looks like a good vendor, too. Smaller selection on Phals.

I think one thing is the shear amount of orchid sellers is a bit daunting.

[Jmoney]

I should add that several well-known phal vendors do not care if they sell virused plants, including one in your home state. Perhaps this is not applicable to many orchid growers, but I am finding a relatively high percentage of virus positivity in phals, even among stem propagated plants. (to be clear, I do not have any experience with J&L and I am not referring to them).

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Jmoney

I am finding a relatively high percentage of virus positivity in phals, even among stem propagated plants.

Hmm that's mildly concerning.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by alecStewart1

I think one thing is the shear amount of orchid sellers is a bit daunting.

Precisely. As you build your collection, go slow. And do benefit from the experiences of others. You'll note that the people who have contributed to the Vendor Feedback forum are, in general, people who have been quite active on the board, particularly the negative experiences, and that is by design. One can't post negative reviews until being an active member for awhile - one can't join just to complain. As your collection gets larger, you will feel more comfortable taking the occasional chance. But start out with the top-quality vendors. You, and your plants, will be a lot happier.