Trader Joe's how to

[Wrebbitrocks]

ok. so i'm thinking of going out to trader joe's after reading on the internet that there are good quality orchids there starting at $8! i was wondering if you guys could confirm this or tell me any experiences with trader joe's. if i do buy something, what should i look for? what the plant should look like and how to determaine health, something in full bloom or with buds, in pot or mounted ? thanks

[Cookiemonster]

Based on my experience with TJ-
their plants are very hit or miss, many are no identification- and I've never seen one for $8, always $14

The first plant I got that hooked me onto orchids was from TJ and it was a phal that died within a month-
Word of advice- unpot immediately, to see if it has any bugs, rotten roots ect- I think that is critical, repot it into a medium you can grow in comfortably clean the leaves with rubbing alcohol and isolate from others if you do indeed have em so if it is infected with something it wont spread-

If you have a repuable nursery, grower in the area I'd go there first if not then check out tj they sometimes have some nice stuff

[Wrebbitrocks]

theres no nurseries round here. tucson isn't so great. i haven't found any local growers and id like to get to know some at the tucson orchid society but i never know the date to go. anyways, i didn't know that you could put rubbing alcohol on plants! is there like a special way of putting it on like diluted with water or something. its so strong it sounds like it would dissolve the plant lol.

[Cookiemonster]

hi wrebbit! In good old dry arizona haha. I feel your pain, we dont have a single ORCHID nursery here in Phoenix- so yeah I order online from reliable vendors but the shipping can get you--
What kind of orchid you looking to grow, what are your conditions ?
Yup 70% rubbing alcohol on the leaves will clean up most problems, I use it straight and see if I pick up anything suspicious!
btw our orchid society is having a show next month, wont be anything too large or extravagant but there will be some nice plants for sale hehe

[Marissa]

I purchased a lot of chids from TJ's and I mean "a lot" when I first started my orchid hobby as they are the only place I can get cheap orchids. Yes, $7.99 (Potinaras, Lady Slippers, Oncidums, Phals...) the bigger pots goes for $13.99. There were even some that I got for $5.99. Compared to those big box stores, I find TJ's prices very reasonable.

Cookiemonster is right, you have to repot right away, which I do on most orchids that I purchase regardless of the source.

You may wanna go in the morning also to get the nice ones, as told by their employee they get the shipments at night or early in the morning and if you wait in the afternoon all the pretty and cheap ones are already gone.

I'm thinking the law in AZ has a lot to do why you have a hard time finding orchid grower there

[Wrebbitrocks]

i know right. not only that but sometimes i want to buy something and it says it can't ship to az. it annoys me and i dont know why they cant just send it. anyways i'm looking for a dendrobium phalaenopsis. its been the only plant that i haven't managed to kill out of the many i've gotten. i have 2 and one has two spikes on it. i also have an oncidium. i grow them in my bedroom with 3 windows: one east, west, and south. the sun never hits them directly. the light coming in the windows brightens up the room which is painted white fairly good and the leaves are a medium green i think. i wish i could post pics but i don't have a camera...yet. air movement is always there during the day with a fan. temps during the day in summer never get over 90 during winter over 75 and nights in summer are in the 70s now its like the mid to high fifties. im not sure about the humidity but i do spray them once in the morning round seven before school starts and round 2:30ish when i get back and they dry almost instantly which i find wierd considering they get drenched and are all dripping water from the leaves. they dont have any humidity trays since i read they make no benefit in one of my posts. i water the dens once a week on saturday or sunday round 10am depending on the dryness of the pot and the oncidium the same with another watering on wednesday morning since someone told me that they dont like to get too dry. i want to try the phals and paphs since they say that they're easy orchids but i dont know if theyll like me since i've killed them before but then again i have gotten a little better

[Ray]

The reason they cannot ship to AZ is because of the state's requirement that all plants entering must be bare-root and either treated for- or certified as being free of Japanese beetles.

In order to gain such certification here in PA (it's probably similar elsewhere), all vents and openings in the greeenhouse must be covered in a screen to keep the insects out, and you must have a double-door (think "airlock") at every entrance.

[BikerDoc5968]

While I don't frequent TJ's, the times I have been in the store and looked at their chids, I've never seen anything less than $15.00 and most are noids......I don't know this as fact but I think they get their chids on consignment so they never change the price....they just return the chid to the grower.

[Lisa]

I have got some awesome orchids at TJs!!!! In fact some weekends we make the rounds of several of the stores in the Sacramento area just to look for something good. They cost from $7 to $10 and some have IDs and some don't. I say go, buy, enjoy!!

[Cookiemonster]

Ray thats interesting- I thought it was something to do with the citrus I often find the two states with the most difficulty to order from are HI and FL-
They also have a list of insects and diseases they worry about mostly having to do with citrus, palm trees and the little agriculture we got going on.
Anyways it is frustrating as hell that we are limited -

Wrebbit, I killed my first few phals too and many others, thats how you learn unless you've tried something that is totally incompatible with your growing environment- Im sure TJ has em, mine had a few phal dendrobiums when I was there last on saturday, some phals, miltonias, one paph, a few random oncids ect