Cattleya sources Europe

[stevendown]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone living in Europe has advice. I used to live in the States and there were a huge number of -to me- great options to source cattleyas. I am thinking about the breeders primarily, such as SVO or even Krull Smith.

There seems to be a number of nurseries in the EU, I am familiar with the bigger German ones, or even the likes of Orchid Garden in Poland or Luke Orchideen, but I don’t seem to see anyone who would be bringing in new hybrids from the States or would be doing their own hybridizing.

Where do you all go for new breeding, or for the classic hybrids? I find my self hard pressed if I wanted to get something classic even, think along the lines of George King, or Ports of Paradise. I understand some places will ship to Europe, but of course the shipping and phitosanitary costs can be a pain, even on a pooled order.

Why would there be such a shortage of breeding, similar to what we see in the US?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience, and hopefully, your favorite places to shop.

Best,