Buying online...Orchids.com?

[kindrag23]

Originally Posted by lexusnexus

I can see this hobby is going to be similar to one of my other passions, model railroading. A nice locomotive loaded with sound is a few hundred dollars, or more.

Honestly u find what works and what does not work for you. Then u become really picky at what you acquire. I strictly look for things in the catasetum/mormode/cycnode/gramm range since I got on here. They work well in my environment especially our bipolar weather lol.

[dreamynights]

Sorry to bump up an old thread!

I've only bought orchids from stores like home depot and trader joes. Of course those stores don't take great care of their orchids and is often in soaking wet medium with rotting roots. Im considering buying better quality orchids online and came across this thread. I am wondering if the stores mentioned in this thread use better potting medium so you don't need to repot until maybe a year or so later?

[Stray59]

Dreamynights:
I know nothing about Orchids.com, but have had great luck with several dealers on Ebay, learned to go for the "Buy it now" - if the plant is auctioned, I often pay more than I want, just because it is SO DANG HARD to not lose!!!
As far as Hausermann's, I have been a HUGE fan of theirs for decades....if you have a chance, you should visit their greenhouse - they grow about 400,000 orchids each year of some phenomenal species and names. They have always been very accommodating whether on the phone or in person. The last orchid I got from them was a HUGE "Marjorie Hausermann" Cattleya for $35.00 - It arrived with 9 bloom buds all of which opened beautifully. For a mail order orchid - you couldn't beat it.
That's my input - good luck finding a good supplier - I have found several online, but you need to really research them some.

[Whimgrinder]

I recently bought two Cattleyas from Orchids.com (Norman's Orchids) and there will NOT be a second purchase. Here's how my transaction went...

I ordered two large "in bud" Cattleyas and I was emailed two days after the purchase to have them tell me that one of my selections wasn't available "in bud" as they had all bloomed out weeks ago (why, you may wonder, was it still listed on the web site as available "in bud"?). So I asked them if another variety was available as a substitute and they said yes, they could sell me the other one as a substitute. What they did NOT tell me (my fault for not investigating on my own behalf) was that the substitute they offered me was TWICE the price! So they gladly shipped my plants and I found I had paid far more than I had budgeted. The other plant was chosen as a bit of an afterthought, mainly because the shipping cost was quite high and in such cases I don't like to buy just one plant and pay $30 or more to ship it.

Both plants arrived in promptly, and both were badly in need of repotting. The Plant that was my "add-on" was in a 5 inch clear plastic liner pot stuffed with badly decomposed Sphagnum and obviously had a lot of root loss. It had two leads before they selected it for shipping but had one lead very carelessly hacked off, and all of the roots on the other lead (which had two growths hanging over the pot edge) had been chopped to mere nubs. The surviving lead did indeed have buds in the sheath, but they have failed to develop and something tells me they ain't gonna. I'm praying the poor thing starts some new roots so I can rescue it from its sad pot of decayed Sphagnum.

I contacted these people to express my displeasure for 1) sending me the $$$ plant as a substitute without clearly stating the fact that it was twice the price of the one I had originally ordered and 2) for sending me the second plant in such a sad state with roots hacked off and one lead removed. (no, nobody promised me there'd be two growing leads, but the removal of one lead suggested someone didn't care what the plant looked like when I got it, or perhaps a diseased lead growth had been removed to disguise how stressed the plant was?)

The response I got was very lackadaisical at best. They wanted a photo of the hacked-up plant before they would discuss a replacement (I didn't bother, since it seemed like it was likely to be an exercise in futility) and told me it was my responsibility to determine the price of the substitute plant - which in principle I agree with - but the attitude written into their response was uncaring and made me feel like all of these complaints were unfounded and not something they wanted to deal with.

Its one thing to ship an order that doesn't meet a customer's expectations, but something else entirely to send a message after the fact that shows they just don't care once they've got your money. I'm glad I didn't spend more than I did.

Now, Hausermann's on the other hand, has been exemplary to deal with and I will go back to them again and again. Nice people, responsive when asked questions, enthusiastic to have me shop with them, and they send large, impressive plants that exceeded my expectations every time. (For under $20 I got a massive plant of LC. Irene Finney with six leads and a leafspan of two and a half feet!)

I remember Hausermann's from when I was a teenager buying my first Orchids in the 1970s, and they are clearly still in business because they do things right. Five stars for Hausermann's. No stars for orchids.com

[dbarron]

Well, as long as someone else said it, I'm also quite happy with my Hauserman buys!

[gngrhill]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Well, as long as someone else said it, I'm also quite happy with my Hauserman buys!

I have always been happy with Hausermann's, however I just received an order from them today of two plants. One had hardly any viable roots. I did email them just to see what they say.

[dbarron]

Originally Posted by gngrhill

I have always been happy with Hausermann's, however I just received an order from them today of two plants. One had hardly any viable roots. I did email them just to see what they say.

Would love to hear their response. My plants have all always exceeded my expectations (though I have felt some definitely needed repotting when I received them).

[Joseia]

I've been very pleased with the plants and service from Hauserman's, Carter & Holmes, First Rays, H&R Nurseries and Big Leaf Orchids. Highly recommend any of them.

[Subrosa]

Since nobody else has mentioned Andy's in this thread, consider it said. Another very good eBay vendor not mentioned is orchidblaine at Orchids For The People. And although you will likely pay a premium, mostly species on eBay, aka Marni Turkel provides excellent examples of unusual and desirable orchids.

[Leafmite]

Hausermann's has always sent me great orchids. Exotic Orchids of Maui, Al's Orchid Greenhouse and Andy's are great places, too.