Where to get inexpensive $15-20 orchids

[ALToronto]

Canada is a very different place from the US. You'd think a HD is a HD wherever it is, but the difference in management policy is huge between American and Canadian stores. No garden clubs here, and no bargain shelves either. I guess suppliers here are hungrier.

[klc1960]

Nice job, The Orchid Boy!!

[silken]

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Canada is a very different place from the US. You'd think a HD is a HD wherever it is, but the difference in management policy is huge between American and Canadian stores. No garden clubs here, and no bargain shelves either. I guess suppliers here are hungrier.

I agree that Clouds is a good place especially if you are willing to wait a year or two for blooms. Their plants are healthy and they provide excellent service.

I also agree, HD and Lowes in Canada are not the same in many ways. HD's Phals are almost always in the $24.00 range (Walmart's are $14.00) and there are no orchids or just Phals as far as I know at Canadian Lowes. None of those wonderful bag babies etc. I haven't seen anything but Phals at HD in years. One HD employee even tried to tell me Canadian HD and U.S. HD are different companies but I find that a bit of a stretch. They are likely a different subsidiary of the one large company. I love being Canadian but not as an orchid grower

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by The Orchid Boy

My vote is for Lowes. Here in the U.S., they usually have quite a few named dendrobiums, phals, oncidiums, and cattleyas. It seems they have been stocking more and more orchids with name tags. I always look at their clearance rack. Once in a great while they'll even have a maxillaria. First Rays Orchids (located in U.S., not sure if they ship out of the country) has some type of more unusual jewel orchid for $5.00.

Originally Posted by ALToronto

Canada is a very different place from the US. You'd think a HD is a HD wherever it is, but the difference in management policy is huge between American and Canadian stores. No garden clubs here, and no bargain shelves either. I guess suppliers here are hungrier.

Believe it or not, each The Home Depot can actually be radically different from each other even within the US. I've been to several The Home Depot stores here in Southern California, and each store from each city carries a different selection of orchids, with the one located in Hollywood being the one that had the highest selection of orchids I've seen at any given point in time, so far. The one in Hollywood carried adult blooming sized Vandas and even Angraecums on top of the usual Cymbidiums, Phals, and Epidendrums that one time while I was there, which many of the other The Home Depot centers which are located in nearby cities that are only about 10 - 20 miles away never ever carry.

I've also been to a few Lowe's locations here in SoCal, and I couldn't even find a single Maxillaria species or hybrid in any of the Lowe's I've been to as of yet. I have occasionally come across Bag Babies here too, but they are not a regular thing.

At least here in the US, I've found places like Exotic Orchids of Maui or Oak Hill Gardens, among a few places, to be a far more reliable source of inexpensive exotic stock. The trade-off may be that they are large established seedlings rather than adult blooming sized plants.

If you're looking for a more reasonable and easily attainable method of obtaining orchids from international sellers that sell their plants at affordable prices where the CITES and the phytosanitary certificates are handled for you, then look to those that frequent orchid shows such as Ecuagenera, Orquideas del Valle, or Floralia among some.

And for those who are in the US who would like to purchase some extremely rare stock from international sellers who do not make the orchid show rounds, but don't have a permit and don't want to pay full price for the shipping and handling, and CITES and phytosanitary costs, there are a few of us here on the OB who do have permits to import plants. I know that Ronald Hanko is one of them, as well as me. Occasionally we will put up posts asking if anybody would like to get in on an international order for some plants as a group. I recommend keeping an eye out for those posts for those who may be interested in getting stuff from the places (internationally) we may be looking at getting plants from (shameless plug, I know ).

[silken]

Our orchid society places pre-orders from places like Ecuagenera, Ching Hua, Ten Shin and other dealers whenever there is an Orchid show that we can attend. The one we regularly attend is in Edmondon, Alberta in late Feb. (500km away) and I am just going thru the lists and trying to practice some restraint!!

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by silken

Our orchid society places pre-orders from places like Ecuagenera, Ching Hua, Ten Shin and other dealers whenever there is an Orchid show that we can attend. The one we regularly attend is in Edmondon, Alberta in late Feb. (500km away) and I am just going thru the lists and trying to practice some restraint!!

And how are the prices?
Personally, if the price range exceeds my wallet capacity, no point of driving.
That was the original question - affordable orchids.

[dendro king]

my sugestion is just to look on ebay.

[silken]

Originally Posted by rlilia

And how are the prices?
Personally, if the price range exceeds my wallet capacity, no point of driving.
That was the original question - affordable orchids.

That's why I mentioned these ones. You can download their price lists from their websites but basically Ching Hua has bloom size plants for 8 to 10 dollars for a lot of them. They add a buck or two for shipping and handling but I don't think I have ever paid more than $15.00 for a plant from them. They charge a little more for the ones on their vendor tables at these shows so its best to pre-order and you get more choice that way too. There is a Paph I want from them that is $75.00 so I guess I will pass but Paphs take more import permits etc. Ecuagenera and Ten Shin have many in the 20 dollar range and larger ones for more if you want them. Clouds here in Canada has small to large seedlings for from $10.00 to $15.00.

An orchid show is always fun to go to anyways and a great chance to see many different orchids in bloom and get some hard to find ones.

I would also suggest to the original poster that if there is an orchid society near you, to consider becoming a member. Ours has a sale table where member's sell divisions of their plants or ones they no longer want and we have raffles for some as well.

I'll also add that it is very impractical to consider getting your own shipment into Canada because you need to pay for the import permits such as CITES and Phytosanitary papers and I know one of those is around $85.00 if not more. And then hire a broker or go thru the thrill of clearing them thru Customs yourself. So that negates the inexpensive prices right there. That is the beauty of attending an orchid show or being in a society that orders from one. There are many vendors from places like Ecuador and Taiwan to pre-order and buy at the show from which you could never hope to buy from as an individual. They are doing all the paper work and paying the shipping on hundreds or thousands of plants and you get the benefit of that by only paying a small mark-up on their prices.

[mattryan]

I have gotten named onc's. macodes petola, named phals from a grower....Orchids in our tropics (they have a web-site). They are very nice. I have gotten named Onc's, phals from a grower/garden centre.... Bradford Greenhouses. I have gotten named cyms and my only, but easiest named dendrobium from... Home Depot. Also picked up 2 named orchids from.... Sheridan Gardens 70% off because they were out of bloom, only to find out 1 of them is a pyschopsis papilio that is working on another bloom as we speak. Sometimes you just have to be lucky. Call around and ask if they sell orchids. You'd be surprised at the deals you can find, right here in Ontario. I've made deals to take the orchids off their hands once they go out of bloom.

Cheryl

[dickjo]

They people that bought Oak Hill Orchids were selling species seedlings for 10 for $40.00. If you look up Oak Hill you can find them