What is your strategy/criteria when acquiring orchids?

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by Ray

In order of priority:

1. Do I want it?
2. Can I grow it in my conditions?
3. Is the particular plant healthy?
4. Is it at a good price?
5. Do I have room for it?

That was my past strategy. :|

[SaraJean]

Originally Posted by dshallpost

SaraJean, not only was your post informative, it was beautifully written and a pleasure to read. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I was especially interested in your point about buying them young and training them to up in your medium, your environment. You really conveyed how much it all means to you.

Aw thanks
Don’t get me wrong, I understand why seedlings are not recommended for new growers (edit: and I am definitely a new grower) but I’ve so far had good results with a little bit of care. Some orchids are just so hard to find without spending a fortune on. If I destroy the roots that’s even more painful. I do have a few C. aclandiae, C. schilleriana, and 2 C. dowiana. All of those were way out of my price range for large blooming size and all I kept reading about was how finicky they are and kept seeing the words “rot”, “help”, “frustrating”, and “another attempt” attached to these three. So tried to read up as much as I could, found a couple of each for cheap in 2” or 3” pots (fully expecting to kill at least one of each), repotted at the correct times, got them established, and surprisingly all are thriving. I’ll just rehome the ones I don’t like

[AnonYMouse]

We're suppose to be rational about this?

[camille1585]

This is a very nice thread, it's interesting to learn how other plan/view their purchasing habits. For instance, I see that several like to buy seedlings, which is something I rarely do. I used to be completely irrational and would buy anything and everything that caught my eye and that would more or less fit my conditions. For many reasons, one of which is that I want to keep my collection at a manageable size, I've been much more picky in recent years.

My criteria/habits:
1- Must be small/compact (standard Phal size or smaller- and spikes don't count in my size criterion) unless it's a plant I really love, in that case I'll maybe make an exception

2-Must fit in my growing conditions. No more tinkering around and giving special care (cooler, warmer, more humid...) to some orchids. I can do it, but I want my culture to be close to '1 size fits all' due to lack of time.

3- Preferably from a genus/alliance that I know grows well for me. I avoid genera I had trouble with in the past (Dens for instance, but I'm now trying a few again to see if my increased experience makes a difference), and am open to experimenting with a few completely new genera once in a while.

4- I generally buy blooming size or plants max 2 years from blooming. I don't have patience for seedlings. I don't care if it's in bloom or not, though blooming plants are usually the impulse buys.

5- I limit how many plants I buy per year, and shop with a budget in mind. Usually that means shopping at the one local show I have, and 2-3 online orders per year. The past 2 years I bought a lot since I was rebuilding my collection after disease destroyed most of it, but now I want to reduce to buying only 5-6 new plants per year. A lot of my self control is not by choice, my boyfriend has different views on what is "enough" orchids!

6- No multiples, unless it's a hard to find favorite that I'd hate to lose forever, or I end up with keikis from my plants (which I then give away).

7- Over the years I have tried many vendors, and now mainly shop from the same 4-5 vendors that I always have good experiences with (healthy plants, fair size for the price, good customer support). If you want my money you have to show me that you earned it!

[berthabloom]

I only buy plants with ID info, but friends and family buy me gifts that are NoID, as they don't really understand. I have found orchid math works very similar to chicken math- you start with a couple and the next thing you know, they've multiplied into 20 and you have no idea how it happened. But I do try to stick to general varieties that I have had success with previously. And I try to get to the growers at various times of the year and purchase at least one plant in bloom to ensure I always have something blooming throughout the year.

[DVanVorous]

So far I personally have added 2 plants to my collection both are Stanhopeas. The wife is another matter, bless her heart she has added about 10 plants of various genera in the past 2 shows we've been to. So now what is called the "not an orchid room" at the house will be the "new" cold climate orchid room...

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

We're suppose to be rational about this?

That was another past strategy.