Your orchid collecting habits question... - Orchid Board

Lady Tottington · #1 05-27-2010, 04:47 PM

Hi all! So, how many of you collect only AOS named orchids vs. how many of you collect anything that is spelled o-r-c-h-i-d?

I guess what I'm saying is a collection of random and possibly "no id" orchids not as nice to have as opposed to an all strictly tagged and heirloom orchid collection?

I don't even know if there is a value in an orchid collection, or is the value really only to the collector him/herself?

Tell me about your collecting habits and what you look for? I am sure the answers will be quite varied, but I'm curious... I guess partially because I have several no-id orchids, but I had to start somewhere

secretasiansam · #2 05-27-2010, 04:50 PM

my only requirement is that it cost under 10 bucks. i think im at 28 now.

jkofferdahl · #3 05-27-2010, 05:25 PM

A good part of the value of your collection lies in what it means to you. Probably most of the value. Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of the value. Sure, for insurance purposes I keep track of what I paid for my plants, but I hope to never use that. I've given plants away but never sold them. Selling them just feels wrong to me. I have two daughters but neither of them came with a price tag.

I remember when my daughters were young and everyone wanted Beanie Babies (does that age me?). Books were written to value them, estimates of how their value would rise were always touted. My girls should both be millionaires! Of course, the stupid things are worth the price of a piece of cloth and a few beans now, not the hundreds of dollars expected. Orchids are plants, not an investment. Buy what you like, and if you get one that's been awarded it may or may not grow and bloom well enough to equal the awarded plant in your care. You may also buy an unbloomed seedling, for a few bucks, only to see it develop into an FCC winner. Enjoy the ride.

jkofferdahl · #4 05-27-2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

A good part of the value of your collection lies in what it means to you. Probably most of the value. Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of the value. Sure, for insurance purposes I keep track of what I paid for my plants, but I hope to never use that. I've given plants away but never sold them. Selling them just feels wrong to me. I have two daughters but neither of them came with a price tag.

I remember when my daughters were young and everyone wanted Beanie Babies (does that age me?). Books were written to value them, estimates of how their value would rise were always touted. My girls should both be millionaires! Of course, the stupid things are worth the price of a piece of cloth and a few beans now, not the hundreds of dollars expected. Orchids are plants, not an investment. Buy what you like, and if you get one that's been awarded it may or may not grow and bloom well enough to equal the awarded plant in your care. You may also buy an unbloomed seedling, for a few bucks, only to see it develop into an FCC winner. Enjoy the ride.

I guess I didn't answer all of your questions. I grow in windows with lights for assistance. My plants are on racks. The house temperature drops to about 55 at night in the winter, and up to maybe 72, while both extremes are higher in warmer weather. Humidity is aided by a humidifier. My best luck has come with Phalaenopsis and mounted miniatures, so I have perhaps 10 minis and maybe 80 Phals out of perhaps 120 plants total.

Rosiefuture · #5 05-27-2010, 11:16 PM

I think I got my first orchid about 11 years ago. It was a Cat and was given to me by my mother in law. I gathered a few more such as cyms and epidendrums over the next few years but to be honest I didn't look after them very well. Then in 2004/2005 I had a massive change in my life, I lost about 100lbs in weight and my whole attitude changed. With the attitude change came more of an appreciation of the things around me and one of them was the orchids I had. I had collected quite a few by then but they were a pretty ratty bunch due to my neglect. I started to research what each type of orchid liked and had much more success with them. I still killed off quite a few but others flourished.

I have probably 250 orchids now, most of them are outdoors and I'd say 150 of them are cyms. I particulaly like pendulous varieties like the Sarah Jeans. I have always brought a few orchids into the house when they have been flowering but I have never had permanent 'house orchids'. Then about 6 months ago I bought a few rescue phals and a whole new part of orchid growing has opened up for me. I have about 10 noid Phals but about 10 days ago I went to the specialist orchid nursery and bought 7 more named seedlings. Phals amaze me with their growing capability.

Of my other orchids I have heaps of noids and they are just as precious to me as the named orchids. I've even given some of my noids their own names. lol A lot of my noids were originally named but in the past I was never very careful with the name tags. They either got lost or the writing faded too much to be read.

I am by no means an expert in the growing of orchids and I'm learning heaps from this board every day. I just love that my collection is changing and developing and to me, what is written on a little plastic tag isn't extremely important. The pleasure I get from watching them grow and bloom is and I just love passing on doubles at repotting time. Many of my friends have small orchid collections that I have passed on to them.

Marion

RJSquirrel · #6 05-28-2010, 03:43 AM

yay,

I'm a noobie so pay no mind to me, but collecting or not collecting an orchid or orchids is really a very personal thing.

I see 2 distinct groups..The Scientific people and the Grocery Store 10 dollar orchid people like me. I don't know about others, but I'm already seeing the noses being turning up on my kind and I think thats very unfair bec its all love we give them whether its awarded or been a noided.

So your collecting or not collecting should reflect the type of response you expect to get with the orchids you have.

Me, I just collect the ones that talk to me

Lady Tottington · #7 05-28-2010, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

So your collecting or not collecting should reflect the type of response you expect to get with the orchids you have.

Me, I just collect the ones that talk to me

This is true... so far it's only me and my family and what I really want is to nurture, and somehow these little plants help me feel that I'm accomplishing that.

I think collecting the ones that talk to us is a good strategy.

RosieC · #8 05-28-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

I see 2 distinct groups..The Scientific people and the Grocery Store 10 dollar orchid people like me. I don't know about others, but I'm already seeing the noses being turning up on my kind and I think thats very unfair bec its all love we give them whether its awarded or been a noided.

You should not feel like that. There are lots of people here (including me) with loads of NoID's we just love. I think I'm in between the two. I don't think the groups are actually so distinct.

A good 80% of my orchids are NoIDs and I'm so excited as many of the Phals are spiking just now and I can't wait to see them flower again

But at the same there is (at least here in the UK) a limit to the variety available as Grocery Store orchids. When I look arround the grocery store ones now (I always have to look even if I don't buy) I don't see anything of interest because I've pretty much got most colour combinations of Phal you can find at grocery stores. I will still pick up the odd one with when I see an ocasional one in very different colours to any of mine and I'm still on the lookout for a good harlequin, which I would buy as a NoID if I see a good looking one.

... so now I favour those I can get on-line and I have started to find knowing the name and thus the parantage to be important to my understanding of why they look like they do. There is a whole world of Phals (just to pick one genera) when you start looking at species and primary hybrids, that you would never see in grocery store ones. That does not make the grocery store ones worth less to me than the ones I get online. It just adds a whole world of extra interest.

So to answer the original question. I think the value of a collection is almost entirely in the enjoyment the owner can get from it. No point owning an orchid worth loads of money if you hate the sight of it in my opinion. If you fall in love with a NoID then it is worth far more to your enjoyment than a tagged one that you are not so keen on.

I buy both, but having limited money I would rather save it for something interesting from an online grower or when I visit a grower... but I still grab those discount rack ones when there is something I fall in love with.

Angurek · #9 02-07-2011, 11:48 AM

I used to collect a little bit of everything, but now I'm focusing most of my attention on species. I'm also trying to be less impulsive and more informed on the purchases I make. I don't wanna buy orchids that wouldn't do well in my growing conditions.

I'm taking a short hiatus from buying any more plants because of a recent disease epidemic, but in a few months, I'll be getting orchid fever again.

jrodpad · #10 05-27-2010, 05:36 PM

Great question Lady T.

I can't speak to value as I'm still building my collection and can't even imagine having something big enough or important enough to divide up and sell. I'm really just trying to keep all the orchids alive and happy.

I started collecting NOID phals and have moved on to more specific types of orchids - though not necessarily named orchids. I worry more about growing conditions, ease of care and genera than an orchid's AOS name or progeny.

For my named orchids, I do like the fact that if I accidentally murder the poor thing (**cough**) I might be able to find a replacement.

-J