SVO List

[Jmoney]

ivaneae is back in stock! Fred says he found a few trays that were out of order. I missed out the first time so I confess to placing another order. Of course I had to put a few cycnoches species in there to make sure the ivaneae isn't lonely in transit.

[Grim Tuesday]

Got my second batch today! All good looking plants, but I'm not quite as happy as last time. Several fungus gnats flew out of the package when I opened it and I got a few substitutions on plants I was really looking forward to. Instead of "Morm. Aftermath 'Neon Blaster'" I got "Morm. badia 'Yellow' x Morm. andreettae" and its reciprocal, and instead of Cyc lehmanni, I got Cyc. warscewiczii and Cyc. pentadactylon all of which I am a bit lukewarm on compared to the original ones I ordered. I do wish Fred had reached out and checked with me before subbing some of them in the week between when I made the order and he shipped it. Anyone want to trade, especially for a Morm. Neon Blaster??

[RJSquirrel]

Arrived late today. Just had time to unbox and set em out.

[My Green Pets]

I've got a fever... and the only prescription...is more Cycnoches!

[MateoinLosAngeles]

My plants arrived today as well, in good condition. Compared to the plant size of the first release, I can definitely tell they grow very well under Fred's conditions! My catasetinae from the first release still need to catch up to the sizes I got today.

Out of my haul, I gotta highlight Ctsm. pileatum (v. imperiale x f. album) and the Catasandra (Gal. greenwoodiana x Ctsm. denticulatum) which look particularly huge! Excited to grow them.

[Dalachin]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Got my second batch today! All good looking plants, but I'm not quite as happy as last time. Several fungus gnats flew out of the package when I opened it and I got a few substitutions on plants I was really looking forward to. Instead of "Morm. Aftermath 'Neon Blaster'" I got "Morm. badia 'Yellow' x Morm. andreettae" and its reciprocal, and instead of Cyc lehmanni, I got Cyc. warscewiczii and Cyc. pentadactylon all of which I am a bit lukewarm on compared to the original ones I ordered. I do wish Fred had reached out and checked with me before subbing some of them in the week between when I made the order and he shipped it. Anyone want to trade, especially for a Morm. Neon Blaster??

That happened to me on my second Cattleya order this summer. It’s a bummer, especially since I have limited space… I really wanted the plants I ordered, not two of the plants I didn’t order. I’d rather get a refund, but when I reached out I just got offered another free plant on my next order. I suppose it is because he is managing so much volume, and I do appreciate that his prices are relatively low for great plants.

Anyhow I skipped ordering from the second catasetinae batch but I’m living vicariously through all of you!

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by Dalachin

That happened to me on my second Cattleya order this summer. It’s a bummer, especially since I have limited space… I really wanted the plants I ordered, not two of the plants I didn’t order. I’d rather get a refund, but when I reached out I just got offered another free plant on my next order. I suppose it is because he is managing so much volume, and I do appreciate that his prices are relatively low for great plants.

Anyhow I skipped ordering from the second catasetinae batch but I’m living vicariously through all of you!

Yes, it's a shame, and I'm not sure it is a kosher business practice. It's tough because I don't want to make a stink and burn a bridge with someone who grows such interesting plants and is such a big deal in the orchid community. But I also have limited space and am in a phase where I am picky about what plants I choose to grow. And I have never had any other nursery, or really any business at all substitute non-equivalent items without asking. I think I would have preferred a quick email letting me know they were out of stock, and asking if I'd like to cancel the items for a refund, cancel the whole order, or substitute an item of my choice.

Edit: I reached out to Fred with my comment since it felt unfair to say something here without letting him know. He responded by reminding me that the item I ordered was very limited, and he worked very hard to get everything packed up last week so had no time to email people. On a positive note, I asked if he would be able to follow "no substitutions" request if put in the comments of the order and he said he could, so I think I will be doing that going forward.

[RJSquirrel]

It is unfortunate that anyone has a bad experience with ordering plants from SVO.

The add comments box for instructions regarding any substitutions is about the best plan for avoiding buying or receiving any unwanted plants.

Better yet, just list plants that you might want in case of any substitutions.

Maybe others can read this and avoid any further disappointment.

Your order should always make your day when it arrives.

[Clawhammer]

Fred Clarke is the best and I love SVO, but its time for them to invest in some sales / inventory management software and link it to the webpage. It would save them time, cost, and customer frustration. There will always be certain plants in each release that everyone wants to order.

[My Green Pets]

Clawhammer you are saying that they are doing manual inventory updates? So when an item disappears from the list, it's because it has been manually removed? Wow...I thought for sure it was automated.