Multiplying behind my back

[Leafmite]

And that is why we join an orchid society. Who else understands our addiction and can sympathize? No one at my society would blink an eye at a hundred or two as several have added additions to their homes for their orchids! Others have converted their basements to grow space. Your MIL would probably be shocked, poor thing, if she talked to our members. My orchid collection is considered tiny.
Good luck, Bud. You have a beautiful collection. I love all the pictures you post. The orchids do have a habit of migrating as we fall in love with more of them.

[The Mutant]

Oh, dear... I thought I had had the great orchid fever for two months but it turned out to be only about one instead.

During this month my humble collection of nine Phals have increased to 25! And this is not counting my Schwerter order of seven more Phals (which I hope they'll ship before the end of this year)...



Oops, forgot the P. equestris and the equestris hybrid (it wasn't an equestris...) I bought yesterday. No wonder my friend said I had to stop buying more Phals.

And unfortunately she's right.

[Daethen]

Mutant, if she is right that you need to stop buying more phals, does this mean that you will now be branching out to other orchids? It can't mean that it is time to quit buying orchids all together!

[The Mutant]

Weeell, I can't seem to stay away from those darn Phals anyhow. After I wrote my "I should stop buying more Phals" I started participating in an orchid auction where I'm bidding on three Phals, one schilleriana (I have one already, but this one's foliage is more mottled) and two equestris, 'Orange' and 'Blue Lip'. I hope I'll win at least the 'Orange'.

I'm not ready to be branching out to other orchids just yet, but I do have some possible candidates that I might be interested in trying when the Phal fad has cooled down for a bit.

[Carpe Diem]

The Mutant...Most of my orchids are from Ebay, but I dont bid on them, it only brings the price up. I put them on my Watch list, keep my eye on them and bid at the last moment (about 6 sec. to go), if the price is still reasonable. If I'm at work when the auction ends, I place a maximum bid before hand. Yes, I have lost out on a few with this method, but there is always another opportunity. Sometimes, after losing an auction, the vendor will send a message saying: "I have another one just like it". If I still want it, and yes I do , I let him know and pay the auction price.
My orchids are from various sources, but mostly from a vendor right here in my State (Wisconsin). He has wonderful, healthy plants and I never had a problem. His 100% rateing is well deserved.
One other thing, I never bid on a plant where the vendor doesn't have a picture posted of the actual auction plant.
I'm now at the end with my unsolicited rant. If it helped, great! If it annoyed, sorry!

[The Mutant]

It didn't help, but it didn't annoy either. I bet it helped someone else though.

The auction is kind of private (it's on the Swedish orchid forum I'm a member of) and the seller has uploaded pictures of the plants. They're seedlings both of them but that's even better. Then I get to raise them and watch them grow into mature plants.

It's good that you've found a way to get your orchid fix to a reasonable price.

Oh, I've have an equestris 'Apari' arriving tomorrow. I'm so thrilled!

[Bud]

Thank You, Leafmite ! I like collecting beautiful blooms...and if possible fragrant...I am not a snob, to just collect rare and weird flowers: the important factor is: it must be a specimen and well established to bloom in a year...as much as possible I avoid seedlings.
I like my Ebay seller from Florida and one from California...
I hate bidding: I look for the "buy it now"
I just bought three vandas to bloom in a year for $3.99 with a $6.50 shipping...hopefully its the same color as the clone parents

[Daethen]

Carpe Diem, I hope you and I are not bidding against each other. My favorite seller on ebay is also from my home state of Wi. And I buy the same way that you do, last minute snipe!!

[Carpe Diem]

Daethen.... hello from the Northwoods! My favorite seller is in Larson, Wi. I think we shop at the same place.

[Daethen]

Yup, we shop at the same place. We will have to compare notes so that we don't end up bidding against each other. He is the one that I got the plants from that are in my ROOTS thread. He does have some awesome plants. I really hope to make it to his greenhouse someday.