Quote:
Originally Posted by brsucculents
Which Orchid show is the best? There's Tamiami now, there's a Miami show in October, and Redlands in Summer. How does the FTL show compare?
Are the prices reasonable?
|
We have lots of orchid shows in South Florida. Most of the shows are good because we have so many commercial orchid growers in the area. I always attend the Fort Lauderdale Show because I live nearby and I'm a member of the Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society. It's a huge show in a nice large open auditorium. Vendors like Carmela's and Kawamoto come all the way from Hawaii to be there. Tamiami is a large show also. A few Florida vendors that aren't at Fort Lauderdale, like Motes and Ruben in Orchids, are at the Tamiami show. The Redlands show is the granddaddy of them all. It's a huge outdoor show in Homestead Florida, south of Miami. South American vendors are there along with most of the Florida vendors and some from California and other areas. Redlands is the biggest show but it can be a crap shoot because it's outdoors and it's in the spring so you never know what the weather will be. We've had a couple years where there were huge thunderstorms and other years when it's been extremely hot and sunny. I've never been to the Miami show. You really can't go wrong with Ft. Lauderdale, Tamiami or Redlands. They're all big shows. No matter what show I go to, I like to get there early on the first day, usually Friday. That way the vendors still have all their best orchids. As far as prices, the vendors always have some small versions of the plants in 2.5" pots. Those can go for around $10 to $15. Carmela's always has lots of those small plants. The big blooming orchids can go for $20 or $25 on up to $40 for the really big ones.