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.

[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 ).