What determines your purchase?

[Duane McDowell]

For me, it has to work in my growing area and with my level of willingness to care for the plants. Then it's a question of aesthetic - what is the proportion of flower to foliage, how are the blooms presented, what percentage of the year is the plant in bloom, what does the foliage look like when the plant is not in bloom, etc...
I've ended up specializing in very tiny miniature orchid species at home, and miniature to compact Cattleyas at the greenhouse.
Fantastic question - one that breeders need to be paying attention to!

[mab3362]

For me currently, select cattleya and laelia species or primary hybrids of awarded or select parents. No clones, unless historic or vintage culitvar. I used to by everything, but found out what I like and what works for me.

[RosieC]

For me, I'm still trying new Genuses that I've not grown before to see what works for me. But also when I've had success I look for more of that genus.

So recently I've had success with paphs so I'm thinking I'll be getting more paphs next.

I'm also guided by where in my house I have space and what is suitable for that. I have lots of space in the greenhouse just now so I'm looking for cool growers I can put out in there.

[RJSquirrel]

1 criteria now.....
I only buy mostly paphs bec they grow for me.
They don't make me so sad turnin to rot in a pot. I keel everything else...I try not to but **it happens ya know.

I don't know enough to be able to grow a wide variety of orchids...Not good enough at this and don't have the conditions available for them to grow if I was good.

Ill get an odd orchid here and there but I know its going to its death in most cases...But I still try


thats about it...

ohhh when you have windows and need more space? you can use the slick hangers and get a few more plants in there

and I always check FirstRays to start off before I go anywhere else to see what kind of pretties he has in stock..I wiped him out tonite
Such great plants he has

[kiki-do]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

1 criteria now.....
I only buy mostly paphs bec they grow for me.
They don't make me so sad turnin to rot in a pot. I keel everything else...I try not to but **it happens ya know.

I don't know enough to be able to grow a wide variety of orchids...Not good enough at this and don't have the conditions available for them to grow if I was good.

Ill get an odd orchid here and there but I know its going to its death in most cases...But I still try


thats about it...

ohhh when you have windows and need more space? you can use the slick hangers and get a few more plants in there

and I always check FirstRays to start off before I go anywhere else to see what kind of pretties he has in stock..I wiped him out tonite
Such great plants he has

Great to know about FirstRays! Thanks for that info. Also, I think it would be good to find out what others from Texas area have good luck growing. If I remember right, Royal is from Texas and grows different varieties well. You could pick his brain about what works well for your area. Just a thought.

[quiltergal]

My orchid tastes have changed dramatically over the last few years. Originally I was like everyone else. Beautiful Phal clones, NOIDs, big floofy Catts. I discovered I didn't really like big floofy Catts all that much so they were the first to go, followed by the NOIDs and some of the Phal clones. I discovered I liked species a lot, so I'd say at least 50% of my collection is species. I like weird/unusual looking flowers which has launched me into the world of Bulbos and Pleuros. I grow in the house so space is seriously limited. I'm trying to winnow the collection down to 70-75 or fewer. It's an all day job to get them all watered on the weekend. I haven't purchased an orchid since August. Prior to that the last purchase was in March. I'm much more disciplined than I used to be.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. I tend to prefer species over hybrids, but depending on how things go, I will consider select hybrids.

2. I tend to purchase miniatures to medium sized plants due to space limitations. Occasionally the large or extra-large ones will make it into the collection.

3. I tend to like brightly colored or interestingly patterned flowers. I will not turn down plants with muted or neutral colored flowers, but it depends on whether I find them to my liking.

4. Flower size is irrelevant for the most part. Although I like to strike a balance in my collection so I'm not stuck with a huge selection of plants with tiny flowers.

5. I can grow a variety of plants from a variety of different temperature ranges, but I prefer plants that grow cool to intermediate or plants that range from cool to warm growing.

The exception being cold growers. I don't have the expertise nor the money to artificially create an environment for plants that grow above 2,600 m in tropical zones or alpine growers.

6. I prefer plants with a fragrance, but if they don't, it doesn't bother me.

However, in the orchid family, this is not a problem! The majority of orchids are fragrant.

It just depends on whether they smell good or bad. Either one is fine for me. The ones that smell awful brings me some joy in that I like to see how people react when I either tell them the flowers stink or see their reaction when they actually smell it. (I know, I'm a bad, bad boy... )

7. I can grow a variety of plants with different light tolerances, but I prefer plants that grow in shade to moderate indirect light.

8. Ease of culture. Basically, "Will they withstand me being away for a long period of time?" I try to limit the amount of plants that require constant vigilant care under my growing conditions.

An example of a group of orchids that may require a lot of attention, are species within the genus Lepanthes and Lepanthopsis.

9. This kinda ties into the ease of culture criteria...

I prefer epiphytes and lithophytes over terrestrials.

I find epiphytes and lithophytes to be less problematic than terrestrials for the most part.

Although, there may be a few terrestrials I do like and grow, epiphytes tend to be more rewarding for me.

There's also more literature about epiphytes than terrestrial orchids.

10. I like flowers that are uniquely shaped.

A couple of my favorite groups of orchids to grow tend to be Pleurothallids and species from the genus Bulbophyllum.

I will not turn my nose up on good old Cattleyas, Cymbidiums, or Phalaenopsis, though!

[kiki-do]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

1. I tend to prefer species over hybrids, but depending on how things go, I will consider select hybrids.

2. I tend to purchase miniatures to medium sized plants due to space limitations. Occasionally the large or extra-large ones will make it into the collection.

3. I tend to like brightly colored or interestingly patterned flowers. I will not turn down plants with muted or neutral colored flowers, but it depends on whether I find them to my liking.

4. Flower size is irrelevant for the most part. Although I like to strike a balance in my collection so I'm not stuck with a huge selection of plants with tiny flowers.

5. I can grow a variety of plants from a variety of different temperature ranges, but I prefer plants that grow cool to intermediate or plants that range from cool to warm growing.

The exception being cold growers. I don't have the expertise nor the money to artificially create an environment for plants that grow above 2,600 m in tropical zones or alpine growers.

6. I prefer plants with a fragrance, but if they don't, it doesn't bother me.

However, in the orchid family, this is not a problem! The majority of orchids are fragrant.

It just depends on whether they smell good or bad. Either one is fine for me. The ones that smell awful brings me some joy in that I like to see how people react when I either tell them the flowers stink or see their reaction when they actually smell it. (I know, I'm a bad, bad boy... )

7. I can grow a variety of plants with different light tolerances, but I prefer plants that grow in shade to moderate indirect light.

8. Ease of culture. Basically, "Will they withstand me being away for a long period of time?" I try to limit the amount of plants that require constant vigilant care under my growing conditions.

An example of a group of orchids that may require a lot of attention, are species within the genus Lepanthes and Lepanthopsis.

9. This kinda ties into the ease of culture criteria...

I prefer epiphytes and lithophytes over terrestrials.

I find epiphytes and lithophytes to be less problematic than terrestrials for the most part.

Although, there may be a few terrestrials I do like and grow, epiphytes tend to be more rewarding for me.

There's also more literature about epiphytes than terrestrial orchids.

10. I like flowers that are uniquely shaped.

A couple of my favorite groups of orchids to grow tend to be Pleurothallids and species from the genus Bulbophyllum.

I will not turn my nose up on good old Cattleyas, Cymbidiums, or Phalaenopsis, though!

Sounds like me.... you will buy almost anything! A true blue orchid nut!
Famous last words "I prefer.....but"

[another.one]

I buy whatever looks pretty to me and that I can afford. I tend to lean towards oncidiums though. They were my first love and still hold a special lace in my heart. Lately my love of the oncidinae is turning me towards the minis(especially the Twinkles) and this led me into the micro world.
I don't have a windowsill to put my lovelies on but I do have a very large patio window that gets lots of light... Hanging micros there in their pretty glass baubles seems like a good idea... Next paycheck!
I am also looking into vivarium set ups and enclosed mini eco-systems... I guess I am still at that beginner stage where: I wanna do it all!!!

[Claire25]

Hey, this is a fantastic thread! Really enjoying everyone's responses...I am currently trying to make up my mind between two possible orchid purchases, so I guess what I ultimately decide will kind of define what determines my own purchasing motivation.

Option A for me is to buy an uncommon and therefore expensive variety of a species of Laelia I've been jonesing after for a while. With shipping costs I would be spending around 70 bucks.

Option B is to buy the "regular" color form of this species at a lower price from a different vendor, and then justify the shipping charge a bit by sneaking a couple cheapie orchids onto my order as well.

I only buy seed-grown plants, but I won't turn down a mericlone if it's given to me. I also tend to follow through on mini-obsessions within this hobby; right now it's rupicolous Laelias, next year it might be Central American Encyclias. Regardless of this, I really only get excited about species orchids, and I avoid anything that will overwhelm my windowsill before it's big enough to bloom.

It probably is too obvious to state, but I find that shipping cost plays a big role in determining my orchid purchases...I don't have enough space any more to buy large orders of orchids, but I also HATE spending the same amount on shipping as I would for the one or two plants I find that I do have room for.

Edit: In writing this, I think I just made up my mind. Rarity won out over quantity.