Frozen damage from shipped orchids - help!

[hypersparkle]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Glad the grower is being good about it.

I never order in the winter for that reason, and if I do, it's from a vendor in my country (next day delivery). One of the big german nurseries has even decided to halt all orders until March, I think they suffer too much damage each winter.

Yeah, I've learned my lesson. I was hesitant, but had been reassured in the shop that they shipped year round, even to cold areas. Now I know, keep the plant ordering to spring, when it is no longer freezing, but it isn't hot yet!

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by hypersparkle

Yeah, I've learned my lesson. I was hesitant, but had been reassured in the shop that they shipped year round, even to cold areas. Now I know, keep the plant ordering to spring, when it is no longer freezing, but it isn't hot yet!

Sometimes self-control can be hard though! Right now I really, really, REALLY want a specific plant at a German nursery. But shipping from another country (even though it's next door) takes about a week to 10 days, and a lot can go wrong in that time...

[hypersparkle]

Haha, it definitely is. In my case, I was on vacation in Hawaii so I was physically there looking at these plants. I couldn't resist after they reassured me.

[Leafmite]

I buy both tropical plants and orchids during the winter but mostly from vendors that hold the orchids until it is safe to ship. I know I can order from these vendors with confidence. Every once in a while, when warm weather is forecast, I might order from a vendor whom I know ships the orchids very quickly and will use a heat pack. It is very risky so I do this quite rarely. Before ordering from vendors during the winter, always make certain it is a vendor that knows what they are doing.

Many years ago, I ordered some orchids around Thanksgiving from two vendors (Hausermann's and Al's Orchid Greenhouse) as spouse suggested I buy some orchids for myself for Christmas. Just after ordering, winter arrived in full force. I ordered from another vendor (Oak Hill Gardens in Ill., now gone) in late January for Valentine's Day. All three vendors shipped the orchids the last week of March...it was a great week.