Orchid order... are these plants ok??

[silken]

I am glad it was resolved. I have bought from Ecuagenera a number of times at shows. Usually their plants are OK. And all have survived the trip and recovered. But some of what I bought were Phrags and Masdies and those likely needed a more wet environment to make the trip. They seem to be a reputable company and gave you a refund.

[Joseia]

I had thought that Equagenera had a good reputation, but those plants did not look good. I would have been very disappointed to have received those orchids. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, but all the plants I have bought online have been excellent plants (First Rays, Hausermans, Carter and Holmes, H&R Nurseries). At least they gave you a refund, which is good.

[isa86]

from what i read online, they always pack the orchids like that. Maybe i had the bad luck of receiving the plants at the end of a long tour of Orchid shows, with the orchids being soaking wet for a long time, it would explain the rot.

But I don't want in any way to be bad-mouthing this vendor, i know a lot of people like them, specially because they carry some plants that are harder to find.
I have good options online, but if i didn't and really wanted to buy something they carry, i would at least be mindful that their packaging is an issue.

Unfortunately, there aren't many orchid shows in my country, and only two specialized orchid stores. I usually order online from european stores.

Thank you so much again for all your opinions, it was really helpful

[naoki]

Originally Posted by Joseia

I had thought that Equagenera had a good reputation, but those plants did not look good. I would have been very disappointed to have received those orchids. Maybe I've just been lucky so far, but all the plants I have bought online have been excellent plants (First Rays, Hausermans, Carter and Holmes, H&R Nurseries). At least they gave you a refund, which is good.

Joseia, as silken said, it is a reputable company. They almost always resolve the issues even if it is not their fault. Their communication is a bit slow, though.

People who would be disappointed by this plant might want to wait for a couple years before they start to buy freshly imported plants, and stick with domestic (or within Europe) sources. I'm not trying to be snobbish or critical, but the mismatch between the expectations of the buyers and the sellers doesn't do good for either side. During the import, many vendors aggressively trim the roots and plants in order to pass the phytosanitary. So they have much higher drop rate. The majority of my purchase is fresh import recently, but I still kill quite a lot of them. This is why those vendors like Seattle Orchids, Big Oak Orchids and a couple others charge quite a bit more to cover the acclimation risk as gerneveyn mentioned. The cheaper price of direct import is appealing, but if they die, it ends up more expensive!

[shadytrake]

It is the challenge of getting some of the rarer orchids not readily available. These guys are on the road a lot so sometimes stuff happens. It really depends on the rarity of the orchid whether I would have accepted those examples or not. If really rare I might have asked for a steep discount to give it a go.

However, I do give them props for always working with you to try to resolve. I have purchased from them twice at shows and have not been disappointed. They even called me International Long Distance to find out if the plants were thriving.

[Wynn Dee13]

I have purchased plants from them at a show and my plants didn't have really any roots either. But I expected that and I got them to put out new roots. They were in the Cattleya alliance. Buying imports is completely different than buying established plants from a vendor in the same country you live in. Even if the plant is bare root it most likely was just taken out of its pot and it only spent a few days in the mail. Imports are in the mail a lot longer and are taken all over to different shows. I wouldn't recommend imports to people that are really new to orchids.
Hope your plants put out new roots for you soon!

[My Green Pets]

The good news is that the types of orchids you bought from this vendor are readily available all over Europe. In fact, if you visit a place like Leroy Merlin or IKEA, you may find a large selection of orchids in their plant sections.

[Jungeoma]

I had asked the Board a long time ago if it was OK to mention Vendor names, with both good and bad experiences, and was told that was all right. Personally I feel, since we all help each other out, we should alert members of sub-par plants.
I watched Miss Orchid Girl's YouTube program where she railed against the 'Just add Ice' people and with good reason. I am surprised that they are still in business. When I first started out I bought some beautiful Cattleyas from Orchids.com. They bloomed for about two weeks and then started to die. Having read that one should repot them, started to do just that and here is what I found. Perhaps had I been more experienced I might have been able to rescue them, but as it was they got tossed. At the time I was exedingly but have bought plants from them since then (with caution).

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by naoki

A couple things which may or may not help is Trichoderma, aspirin (try 325mg tablet in 1-2 liter), and rooting hormones (K-L-N, kelp products etc).

Hi Naoki

I've read a few posts and articles about using aspirin on orchids. I'm wondering what benefits you are seeing, what dosage you use (I've heard 1.75 full strength aspirin per 2 gallons water; does this sound right?), and do you apply to the leaves, to the roots, or both?

Similar questions for Trichoderma. Is this in the form of a seed or root innoculant? Would a compost starter innoculant be likely to include trichoderma? How do you mix, apply, and to roots only, or both leaves and roots?

Thanks!

[bil]

Originally Posted by Jungeoma

I had asked the Board a long time ago if it was OK to mention Vendor names, with both good and bad experiences, and was told that was all right. Personally I feel, since we all help each other out, we should alert members of sub-par plants.
I watched Miss Orchid Girl's YouTube program where she railed against the 'Just add Ice' people and with good reason. I am surprised that they are still in business. When I first started out I bought some beautiful Cattleyas from Orchids.com. They bloomed for about two weeks and then started to die. Having read that one should repot them, started to do just that and here is what I found. Perhaps had I been more experienced I might have been able to rescue them, but as it was they got tossed. At the time I was exedingly but have bought plants from them since then (with caution).

That's in a disgusting state, but I'd give it a go. I'm currently pulling two back from the brink that were way worse than that. Of course they might die tomorrow, but they aren't dead yet!