Small budget? No problem!

[Hawaiian_Guy]

Raising orchids can sometimes be a rather costly endeavor for the beginner, but it doesn't have to be. Trust me, I've known friends that maybe just wanted one plant, go out and spent say $25-50, only to mess up on it's husbandry later on and then the poor plant dies. I gotta be honest, that breaks my heart. So that being said, you could say I'm an orchid rescuer. By that I mean, I always buy poor, sickly looking plants. The ones that vendors usually want to toss into the garbage. Now here's the thing, like today for instance. I'm walking through Home Depot and I catch a vendor chucking orchids into a shopping cart. Literally tossing them. I wasn't even in there for orchids, but the mistreatment of those plants caught my attention. Well I asked the lady what she was gonna do with 'em and she said she was getting rid of 'em. Well, I took a few off her hands, but I did end up paying a paltry sum; $12 for 3, since she saw dollar signs hanging over my head, lol.

Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is not to be afraid to purchase a plant that looks like it's on it's last limb. You can barter with the manager or vendor and get them for half or maybe even a third of it's original price if it's missing flowers or it looks like it's gonna die. I know, I know, who'd want that? Well, anyone that can see past a sad looking plant and know that with a little TLC it can be brought back. I've scored a lot of orchids that way, saved a lot of money, and had the pleasure of saving and enjoying one of the most beautiful plants nature's given to us. Try it sometime, you'll be pleasantly surprised!