blooming today....

[mjHuntingtonBeach]

First, a L. intermedia x L.purpurata hybrid from Jewell orchids, nice but not amazing. Also, my C. Janice "Janice Evans" I bought in 2011, and a C. skinneri "Heiti Jacobs" from SBOE in Santa Barbara, given to me by my guy in Costa Rica visiting last year.

A question to others, I bought 6 plants from Jewell Orchids in 2011, all arrived small, dessicated, yellow, my first internet purchase so I didn't know what to expect..... I have been struggling to bring them back to life... two died within six months, a L. tenebrosa that the website promised had at least 3" of growth was a small cluster of short leaves none longer that an inch with no pseudo bulbs and the latest is about to die, others have just seemed to struggle.... I am pretty sure it is not me, I have about 100 various orchids and most do what they are supposed to, bloom, not die or struggle... I see Jewell Orchids advertising on Ebay. and I always think once burned twice shy.... was I just unlucky?

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful blooms!

I have no experience with that seller. I've seen them on ebay. Hopefully others have experience with them to share.

[got ants]

My first experience with that seller was similar. It was a small twig epiphite that came dry as tmber to light a fire. I quickly responded and was told they ship out as dry as possible to avoid fungal problems, and to give it a chance. I emailed a week later and was told a second time to wait some more. In all honesty, the plant did push new growth, but quickly rescinded. By then it was too late to give any negative feedback.

You can look up my user feedback " therealzh " and I have 100% positive feedback. I have never purchased from them again.

Also, I've come to notice they alter thier pics. And many times the pics are not even of the flowers to the plant they are selling.

My advice? STAY CLEAR OF THEM!

[flexdc]

Hey Huntington beach, very nice catts! Thanks for the warning about jewel orchids, I am steering clear of them.
One question, I think I saw a C. Skinnerii in the photos. We're they grown outside year round. Can they endure our winters?
Andrew

[gnathaniel]

Beautiful plants! Your C. Janice Evans is very nice, I really like the contrast of the dark lip-spot and overall pastel colors, and skinneri is always a welcome sight.

Jewell Orchids is located near me and the proprietor, Dave Johnston, seems like a nice guy with a lot of pride in his orchids. Did you let him know the condition of the plants when they arrived? I couldn't say whether he'll refund or replace plants from two years ago, but polite feedback rarely hurts.

FWIW, I have 12-15 seedlings from Jewell and all but one (my fault) have done as well or better than hundreds of seedlings I've purchased elsewhere. Considering the inherently greater fragility of seedlings and dirt-cheap prices Jewell charges, I'm pretty pleased so far. I got everything I have from them prior to moving to GA and all came through shipping fine, but I was only a few hours away so not the most relevant comparison. If I find time to go by their greenhouses this summer I'll put up a report and photos.

[RosieC]

Beautiful! Glad you rescued them.

[mjHuntingtonBeach]

No, I have to say I never followed up with Jewell Orchids. I thought I could revive the orchids I received. So far I have only had success with two of the six, one being the first orchid in the pictures, although even that one seems to grow a lot less vigorously than all the other orchids I have. Another is about to bloom but again, not growing as vigorously as many others I have from various growers. Two have already died.

To FlexDC - I am pretty sure the C. skinneri is not a candidate for outdoor growing in So Cal except for the warmer months. The folks at Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, where I got it, were adamant about that -cool weather will lead to fungal and bacterial rot. In its native habitat in Costa Rica, nights rarely get below 60-65 and are usually warmer. Our 35-55 degree damp winter months will kill them off. But May-October temps outdoors should be fine. I had mine outdoors for those months, brought it in when it got cooler.