Orchid abuse - WHY?

[cattleya80]

but it does encourages people to try out these plants and thereby give them an opportunity to get all, you know, weird and obsessive and over them. [/QUOTE]

I think you raise an excellent point that most of us were introduced to orchids bought from a box store and latter became bitten by the orchid bug. I guess it's safe to classify those orchids as martyrs.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by PaxTea

An interesting pair of videos: this is how they grow "Just Add Ice" orchids and grade them for the market.

Where's the machine that puts 3 cubes of ice on to each pot?

[AnonYMouse]

The big box NoIDs' main target market is to casual house plant growers or gift givers. That doesn't mean we enthusiasts can't buy them, we are just informed enough to see potential growing issues and act accordingly.

Because of this thread, I just looked at my Phal NoID "Equestris" tag (Rocket Farms). The instructions are actually good. It mentions that this Phal is in water retaining moss and "remove a small portion of the moss and water through that area, avoiding the top dressing to keep it dry if possible".

If all tag instructions are as good as this one, its the big box "caretakers" and end growers that are abusing the chids.

[goodgollymissmolly]

"Unless, 'reputable growers' want a casual customer to buy one orchid a year for a special occasion, their price range is not reflecting the reality of today's economy and what most of us can afford on a regular basis, IMHO"

It is not my place to tell you what to buy. That's entirely your business. Hopefully I can convince someone else not to follow your lead.

That said, my complain is that you buy this "cut flower" stuff and then continually complain about it's quality. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Buy what you wish. Just be aware of what it is expected to be and lay off complaining to us about it. We obviously can't help because you refuse to listen.

Someone made the point that orchids used to cost a lot and were the hobby of the well-to-do since plants were too expensive for the mass market. I agree with the sentiment, but mericloning has not been a net positive development even though it allows cheaper plants for the market.

Even though mericloning has been technically possible since the 1920's, it really did not get off and running in the high volume orchid market until the 70's and 80's and really accelerated in the 90's with far eastern and domestic (US) producers. The orchid hobby has been in apparent decline ever since. Is that due to the presence of cheap plants? It's hard to ignore the correlation of the events. I say apparent decline because the core hobby is probably where it always was.

I would argue that cheap plants have lead to the involvement of "hobbyists" who simply do not progress beyond beginner (by choice or ability, maybe both). They usually just move through the hobby and go on to other things. I think they refer to that as ADHD in children. Serious hobbyists probably continue in numbers similar to earlier times, but the involvement of many at the lower end of the hobby gives the false appearance of a hobby in churn. OOOps that's wrong...it is a hobby in churn, but the churn occurs among the non-committed who earlier were not even involved at all.

I give a lot of basic "what's an orchid" seminars at orchid shows. The majority of those who sit down have their eyes glaze over in the first two minutes. They really do not want to think or learn anything (we are talking basic, basic 15 minute talks here). A few (maybe 10%) listen, ask questions, join or at least show up at a club meeting and go on to become what I call a knowledgable hobbyists.

So it is true....there is a market for cheap plants. Don't jump on me. Just go back and review the historical posts on any internet forum. The producers and retailers of these plants are making money. When that is no longer true, they will disappear. Someone will argue that if it were not for cheap plants they wouldn't have an orchid. That's OK as long as you realize that you barely have one now.

[Ray]

Let's get real folks - if those mass-marketed plants weren't flying off of the shelves, they would not be in continued supply.

Folks who think it's a "sin" that they end up in the trash when they're done flowering need to broaden their thinking a bit. Those plants are a crop grown for that purpose, just as a poinsettia is grown for Christmas season (OK, I know some of you try to keep those too), and a broccoli is grown to put on your plate.

[cattleya80]

I will admit that my failed attempts of keeping orchids helped to drive my passion. I say this because once I was able to "master the art" of orchid keeping, I embarked on a personal mission to save as many orchids as possible.

When someone in distraught asked what he should do after having killed a child, Gandhi said, "Go and adopt a orphan."

[Leafmite]

Last autumn, I ordered some orchids from a place constantly praised here (not Hausermann's or Al's Orchid Greenhouse, my favorites) and I paid a nice sum of money for plants 'twelve to eighteen months from blooming'. What I recieved were small, rootless seedlings at least four years from blooming, in my opinion, if the roots had been decent. One came with brown rot which even treating couldn't cure (I have stopped this before) so I lost that within two days. I was very disappointed. The seedlings still look pretty bad and I doubt they will all live...and nearly my entire collection has started from seedlings, some not long out of flask (seedlings bought at the same time from Hausermann's, much cheaper, advertised as four years from blooming, were larger and look really good right now). At least the mass growers don't ship orchids out in this condition! And, I think the orchids from big box stores make fabulous gifts. I see nothing wrong with them.

[Stray59]

So the debate wages on!
The reason I defend the cheaper Big Box stores or commercial sellers is because I have profited myself from them too many times - since I know the names of orchids, I have been able to snag some really nice older hybrid Cats (Drumbeat, Irene Finney, Ports of Paradise, etc.) and plenty of species (Dendrobium aggregatum 'lindleyi' and specibile, Oncidium haematochilum, Encyclia profusa, phoenicia, and cordigera, Maxillaria tenuifolia, and on and on). Our Lowe's has gotten some really nice "Bagged Orchids" (from Better-gro) in and I snagged a really nice Epidendrum radicans from Trader Joe's. All of these were bought for under $12.00, and were healthy enough that I still have them all 2 years later. Again, we are a capitalist nation and profit is the bottom line - surely we all know this.
But, to each his own! For me - bring on the odd species and good old hybrids at a (more than) reasonable price. And true - like GGMM said earlier, if you are going to purchase a neglected orchid, don't complain, just do it and try your best with it. You know what you are buying when you buy it for a couple of bucks!
I also want to say "Thanks" that everyone has kept a civil tone about themselves when discussing this; often these on-going posts can get ruined when someone starts to get disrespectful of other members! No one will learn anything from someone who is snide or condescending. A person can have some really good, valuable points to make, but if you insult the people you are trying to teach, you lose the chance to educate! As someone who has led classes of various sorts for 20 years, I learned this the hard way, but at least I learned it early on!
Thanks again everyone - good discussion.
Steve

[Vanda lover]

I remember maybe 15 years ago, right about the time I wanted my first orchid, a grocery store phal was $30 to $35. Prices have improved a lot. Now they are often $12 to $18

[Stray59]

True - and I have a friend who breeds and grows PHENOMENAL phalae's (See pics under "Hilltop Orchids" in the Vendor section); he is able to ask and get $40.00 AND UP for his hand-cared-for select phalae's. He was able to leave his full-time work and has made more profit with orchids than he ever did in his 9-5, and gave two other workers full time jobs to boot!!
Steve