A new mini phal. Again..

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Those are some pretty little flowers! Certain names come to mind, but can't be sure. who cares it looks nice! haha

Most of mini phals I buy almost always come in the same fashion. Super tightly moss and yet roots look so fine. I wonder how that had been possible in the nursery. mystery...

Enjoy your lovely mini phal!

I also don't think they grow then packed this way... at least not this tight...
I have theory that it's actually meant to help them survive shipping and the store better.
To be honest most of my orchids do not come this way... the ones I normally but confer in good quality plastic orchid pot inside a decorative pot with drainage.
The pots are also bigger and the medium far less packed in there. Still till tight but not nearly as tight...
But most of my NOIDs come from Trader Joe's
This came from home depot...

I didn't even go in for an orchid...Actually ice gotten really good at ignoring the orchid table... oh well.
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[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by fukuchan5459

Great pictures and commentary/descriptions, ordphien. I hope the plant will like its new medium/air movement.

Very nice.

Thanks...
I hope it will too....


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[camille1585]

Nice one!! I have a very similar looking Phal, also a noid. It definitely has some equestris in it. Aside from the influence on the bloom shape, mine is a prolific keiki machine!

[NYCorchidman]

Yeah, it's hard to ignore them at a store even when you don't plan on buying them. lol

Camille- I am yet to find a phal that is like a keiki machine. I read Sogo Gotris is supposed to be a keiki machine when fully mature. I should have kept the one I bought two years ago at a farmer's market. I never found one at the same market this past summer. Maybe I will get lucky in the summer this year. unfortunately more and more phals of the same vendor show very diseased looking leaves and that worries me. They have so many nicely colord phals at a bargain price. but I do not want to bring any unwanted pathogen into my collection.
Tough!

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Nice one!! I have a very similar looking Phal, also a noid. It definitely has some equestris in it. Aside from the influence on the bloom shape, mine is a prolific keiki machine!

I've never even seen a keiki in person.
Well that's not true....
I had a phal that produced 4 basal keikis one year... but this was before I knew much about orchids so I pulled it apart and give the plants away....
I had it potted in straight potting soil at the time so I think I stressed it out lol...

Can you believe that thing lived in potting soil with rarely any watering for 2 years?!? It even rebloomed for me!
Actually it's still alive.. and much happier in bark with more frequent watering lol...
Didn't bloom this year though...
I hope to have a keiki machine one day.
Maybe this will be a keiki machine one day.


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[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

Yeah, it's hard to ignore them at a store even when you don't plan on buying them. lol

Camille- I am yet to find a phal that is like a keiki machine. I read Sogo Gotris is supposed to be a keiki machine when fully mature. I should have kept the one I bought two years ago at a farmer's market. I never found one at the same market this past summer. Maybe I will get lucky in the summer this year. unfortunately more and more phals of the same vendor show very diseased looking leaves and that worries me. They have so many nicely colord phals at a bargain price. but I do not want to bring any unwanted pathogen into my collection.
Tough!

I've gotten pretty good at it...
At least with home depot... they seem to just get the same 30 types of phals over and over.....
But they had this one... and I had to...
Trader Joe's is normally my downfall... thankfully I don't actually grocery shop there... I go in specifically to orchid shop...

I've never ever seen orchids at a farmer's market.... but I suppose it would be hard for them to compete with the prices down here....
$6 is the average price of almost all my orchids....
Actually I can only think of three that cost me more...
My blue phal cost me $10 and the other two $12...
I do have a very few equestris that cost me $50 per plant... but those are it...
Not sure what the prices near you are like...
It's a shame when the quality goes down..
It was interesting in my area... the quality was low and prices high.
The quality dramatically improved.. prices went down...
Selection went up..
All of a sudden it reverted back to the beginning... lots of diseases plants, poor selection, but still lower prices.
No one in my area bought them lol...
After a short time it's back to where it is today...
It's been interesting to watch.


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[NYCorchidman]

I've always bought orchids at flower shops. Then about two years ago, I found out some other places also sell orchids.
For the past two years, the price hasn't changed in any of the places I go to look (and sometime buy).
Food Emporium- phals in 4-5 inch pots at $39
Smaller ones at $19
Whole Foods- phals in 4 inch pots at 19
Home Depot- phals in 4 inch pots at 14-19
Trader Joe's-phals in 4-5inch pots at 23
mini phals at 6-10

Home Depot had really quality phals (white, white with red lips and pink most of the time, every so often green, yellow, purple) when I first shopped there two years ago. Now they offer more varieties, but the quality is just aweful I don't ever buy from them although I've been watching for any change.

Whole Foods- quality is usually good. Occasionally quality is significantly down. the selection has increased, which is nice!

Trader Joes- nice mix with surprised every now and then. Quality is so so. I really have to search for decent looking plants.

Food Emporium- same as Whole Foods, except their price is the worst.

Local farmer's market- there are three vendors that carry orchids. One is specifically an orchid store coming all the way from southern NJ. Their phal hybrids seem to be their own hybrid. great flowers but the plant size is also large, so I don't buy from them.

The other two places sell orchids along with a bunch of different plants. One of them carry basically the same phals as Home Depot does, so I skip them.

The other place is where I usually pick up phals.
Good selection, all have name tag, price is $10 for minis and 25 for a regular phal with one spike and 28 for two spikes. (this is an increase from last year when they sold all phals for just 20). Still not bad compared to 35-45 at flower distric or 50 to 100 at neighborhood fancy flower shops.

I also go to a Chinese lady a bit out of my neighborhood where she sells phals for 20. Well, she sells any orchids for 20, except for nobile dendrobium hybrid which go for 25.

I never get bored in this city!!!

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I've always bought orchids at flower shops. Then about two years ago, I found out some other places also sell orchids.
For the past two years, the price hasn't changed in any of the places I go to look (and sometime buy).
Food Emporium- phals in 4-5 inch pots at $39
Smaller ones at $19
Whole Foods- phals in 4 inch pots at 19
Home Depot- phals in 4 inch pots at 14-19
Trader Joe's-phals in 4-5inch pots at 23
mini phals at 6-10

Home Depot had really quality phals (white, white with red lips and pink most of the time, every so often green, yellow, purple) when I first shopped there two years ago. Now they offer more varieties, but the quality is just aweful I don't ever buy from them although I've been watching for any change.

Whole Foods- quality is usually good. Occasionally quality is significantly down. the selection has increased, which is nice!

Trader Joes- nice mix with surprised every now and then. Quality is so so. I really have to search for decent looking plants.

Food Emporium- same as Whole Foods, except their price is the worst.

Local farmer's market- there are three vendors that carry orchids. One is specifically an orchid store coming all the way from southern NJ. Their phal hybrids seem to be their own hybrid. great flowers but the plant size is also large, so I don't buy from them.

The other two places sell orchids along with a bunch of different plants. One of them carry basically the same phals as Home Depot does, so I skip them.

The other place is where I usually pick up phals.
Good selection, all have name tag, price is $10 for minis and 25 for a regular phal with one spike and 28 for two spikes. (this is an increase from last year when they sold all phals for just 20). Still not bad compared to 35-45 at flower distric or 50 to 100 at neighborhood fancy flower shops.

I also go to a Chinese lady a bit out of my neighborhood where she sells phals for 20. Well, she sells any orchids for 20, except for nobile dendrobium hybrid which go for 25.

I never get bored in this city!!!

I think trader Joe's had the best selection quality and prices for me...
My plants are almost always in extremely good health from there.. selection is great and changing constantly...
It's $6 for any orchid in a 5 inch pot or smaller. $12 for the rest of the orchids.. and $20 for the group plantings where you get about 4 orchids in a nice pretty pot...
HomeDepot gets phals... the same 30 kinds that every other store gets in...
Once in a great while they get cymbidiums in... the phals are $8 and the cymbidiums are $20... the health of the plants a gamble though.
Lowe's gets in mainly dendrobiums, phals, cattleyas, and once in a great while an oncidium or two.
All their orchids cost $15.they plants mainly come in good health. Can't beat their $2 - $6 out of bloom sale rack though.
Ralph's and other grocery stores get a very small selection of phals at around $25.... always in poor health.

None of the flower shops carry orchids near me! Just cut orchid stems for arrangements.... which cost more than a live orchid...

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[SJF]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

I've always bought orchids at flower shops. Then about two years ago, I found out some other places also sell orchids.
For the past two years, the price hasn't changed in any of the places I go to look (and sometime buy).
Food Emporium- phals in 4-5 inch pots at $39
Smaller ones at $19
Whole Foods- phals in 4 inch pots at 19
Home Depot- phals in 4 inch pots at 14-19
Trader Joe's-phals in 4-5inch pots at 23
mini phals at 6-10

Home Depot had really quality phals (white, white with red lips and pink most of the time, every so often green, yellow, purple) when I first shopped there two years ago. Now they offer more varieties, but the quality is just aweful I don't ever buy from them although I've been watching for any change.

Whole Foods- quality is usually good. Occasionally quality is significantly down. the selection has increased, which is nice!

Trader Joes- nice mix with surprised every now and then. Quality is so so. I really have to search for decent looking plants.

Food Emporium- same as Whole Foods, except their price is the worst.

Local farmer's market- there are three vendors that carry orchids. One is specifically an orchid store coming all the way from southern NJ. Their phal hybrids seem to be their own hybrid. great flowers but the plant size is also large, so I don't buy from them.

The other two places sell orchids along with a bunch of different plants. One of them carry basically the same phals as Home Depot does, so I skip them.

The other place is where I usually pick up phals.
Good selection, all have name tag, price is $10 for minis and 25 for a regular phal with one spike and 28 for two spikes. (this is an increase from last year when they sold all phals for just 20). Still not bad compared to 35-45 at flower distric or 50 to 100 at neighborhood fancy flower shops.

I also go to a Chinese lady a bit out of my neighborhood where she sells phals for 20. Well, she sells any orchids for 20, except for nobile dendrobium hybrid which go for 25.

I never get bored in this city!!!

Is it Silva Orchids at your farmer's market? I think they attend the Chelsea market.

[NYCorchidman]

SJF- The orchid only vendor from NJ is Silva Orchids.
One of the other two that I buy most of my phals from is from somewhere in LI.