Buying Oncidiums in Europe

[Zaskia]

Hi, what are some reputable orchid nurseries that sell Oncidiums online and based in Europe? Most sites I've found seem to have very few of them. For example, I like Schwerter Orchideenzucht but they say they don't sell those much. I know Orchid Garden have a few but I'm a worried about ordering from them.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[jcec1]

I've used Orchid Garden in the past with no issues.

[camille1585]

I have also read very mixed reviews about Orchid Garden, and decided against ordering there. I'm talking about orchid garden based in Poland, and not orchid garten in Germany.

Orchideen Lucked has a decent selection of Onc types and I highly recommend the vendor.
Orchids & More in Germany has a rather large selection of Onc species, but I have yet to order from them. I have read that they generally have quite good plants. I'm planning to order some plants from them after the summer holidays.

[rbarata]

I almost don't buy online so I can't help you. But my perception is that they are not hard to find in the EU, in fact they're common.

[Shadeflower]

this is the stuff that flower shops generally stock Buy top quality orchids - FloraStore

The shipping is as much as an orchid and they generally do not arrive in good condition. If you are lucky the plant can recover but most of the time they are in such a poor condition and sold in full flower putting additional stress on the orchids that it is hard to keep them alive.

These commercial orchids are not meant to survive longer than a couple of weeks in people's homes. They are not great candidates to start with, if you lose the orchid it just discourages you from the hobby which is not that hard. In hindsight a lot of my supermarket purchases were bad decisions.

The best oncidium I would recommend for anyone is a Tiny Twinkle, there's lots of different colors.

The tinky Twinkle seems to be an extremely seasonal orchid, it's available once a year it seems but not many stock it at all most of the time but that is the one you want to get.

I've thought in the past, right I can't get the one I want so I'll get something similar that is maybe a bit bigger but then you always still want the first one, usually end up finding it in the end and then you are stuck with the one you didn't really want.

It's not too bad, one can always give one away but its best to get the one you want even if you have to look a bit longer. It certainly beats getting one that won't survive.

Unfortunately the oncidium tiny twinkle is what I would classify as a commercial orchid so sold cheap in poor condition but they are pretty resilient and well worth finding one.

There are lots of oncidiums but most of them get rather big, the tiny twinkle is a hardy orchid and it stays compact but the fragrance is powerful so best of both worlds.

wichman sometimes tocks them but at the moment they seem to be out of stock: Suchergebnisse fur: 'Tiny Twinkle' | Orchideen-Wichmann.de - Hochste gartnerische Qualitat und Erfahrung seit 1897

[Zaskia]

Thank you for the recommendations Camille! There are a couple of very pretty ones on Orchids & more! I might try to get one from there.

I agree with Shadeflower about waiting till you get exactly what you want. I'm trying really hard to resist the impulse of just buying every pretty orchid I see. So I'm shopping around. My first Oncidium was bought from a supermarket on impulse when I knew nothing about orchids and the pseudobulbs were completely shrivelled up, the roots rotten... I'd rather buy from good orchid nurseries, especially as I only have 7 orchids (soon to be 11). So many options when one's collection is in it's early days.

I'll keep the tiny twinkle in mind. It's always nice to save on space!

Thanks for all the advice!

[rbarata]

So many options when one's collection is in it's early days.

In a few years, when your collection gets bigger, you'll still be faced with so many options.

[Zaskia]

Originally Posted by rbarata

In a few years, when your collection gets bigger, you'll still be faced with so many options.

Very true! I'll certainly run out of space way before I can even buy all my absolute favourites.