$20 000 orchid
 

Incidently, I've been inspired by the thread http://www.orchidboard.com/community...id-ebay-7.html so I want to start this thread to discuss about it.
A few days ago, I've come across an orchid while searching for a red phrag and I found this:
Orchid Web: Phrag. besseae 'Robs Choice' AM/AOS 4N
and as you slipper fan know, this clone is well known to produce bright red flower.
here's the link from other forum:
The King of besseae. 'Rob's Choice' - Slippertalk Orchid Forum- The best slipper orchid forum for paph, phrag and other lady slipper orchid discussion!
The offspring of besseae 'Rob's Choice' AM/AOS - Slippertalk Orchid Forum- The best slipper orchid forum for paph, phrag and other lady slipper orchid discussion!
I think it looks gorgeous and I'd like to have a division of that. However it is way over my budget :biggrin:
Feel free to give any opinion and discussion about it. Please don't bash Orchid Limited if you disagree with the price. I've been a customer of OL and I give OL lots of respect.

Awww...we don't do bashing here ;)

This is a stunningly beautiful flower but even if I had that kind of money, I could never bring myself to spend it on a plant when people are living on the street and can't take care of their families. :(

I ocasionally browse orchidweb's stuff- they have an amazing variety, but I SAW this plant this summer and had trouble swallowing the number, but once again its their plant and thats their call

I cant imagine how you would treat a plant of such expense-
I give a nod to what sue said above- i think even if I had that money, it could be put towards far more important things

That is amazing, but even if I had $20,000.00 to spend on an orchid, I would be so afraid of killing it and nothing to show for the $20,000.00 spent! Could you imagine?

Fantastic for sure.....BUT worth the money? There are collectors that are willing to pay any amount for such a special specimen. In 2005 in Japan a Neofinetia falcata went for $70,000. But most went for $1,000 + in the auction for a Neo. falcata

I can't even begin to comprehend having that much money to spend on a plant . .. or wanting to. but what other people do with their money is up to them. And if they were intent on cloning it or hybridizing it I guess they could make a massive profit off of it . . . .but $20,000 . . .wow

Hmmmm, I'm not sure what we're debating or giving opinions on here. But here goes.

The beauty of the flower? It is stunning! I'd add a phrag of that caliber to my collection without hesitation!!

The price? I'm a firm believer in free enterprise. In my opinion, the plant is worth whatever it will bring, whatever a buyer is willing to give for it.

The seller has every right to ask whatever he pleases and the buyer has every right to either accept or decline.

If I had 20,000 bucks to spend in any form or fashion I chose, I wouldn't buy the plant. With my luck, it'd expire on the drive home.

Plus, I'm not a breeder and it would be a shame to let it languish until death in my greenhouse when it's genes need to be shared with the world.

I wish I did have 20,000 dollars to give, though. I'd go to Wal*Mart and secretly pay for people's groceries like that one guy did.

I'd also help support 'no-kill' animal shelters and back anti-cruelty laws. Help provide more land and care for the zoo animals. Help finance foster care for abused animals. Try to save the rain forests.

I guess I've spent my $20,000. I need MORE MONEY!!!!! Anybody wanna buy an orchid for a good cause?

(anybody wanna tell me why my smilies don't work?)

I would imagine that a plant like that is geared mostly towards someone who's looking to produce something with the plant, and turn a profit. I deal a lot with reptiles, and a while back, there was the big ball python craze, with new morphs and forms popping up almost every month, and going for extremely large amounts of money (i.e. $100K leucustics, $40K+ piebalds) and these snakes were bought up, I believe, almost exclusively by breeders looking to produce these snakes and turn a profit on them. Since, the prices have reduced drastically...but when something's rare, and in demand, you can get what you want for it, if you're pitching to the right crowd.

You might have disable them ... When you go to advanced to answer a post .. scroll below the window to the Additional Options and uncheck the box next to 'Disable smilies in text'
If that doesn't work .. let me know ;)

Well said DebsC. I think MOST people would agree the money could be spent in better ways. I just wish I had more to more sharing.

No Dorothy, the disable smilies in text box isn't checked.

Well, 20K isn't really that much. If you buy it as a business expense, and plan on producing even only 20K plants(which isn't much by any means!) that's only a cost of 1$ per child plant. And usually they produce in the hundreds of thousands to millions of plants.

If you're just a collector, well I've heard of people collecting cars, and one of those can be in the hundreds of thousands. You can buy a house for the cost of one of these cars. So it's all relative. People spent more than that on the tulip craze, and those were unbloomed bulbs! The people who can afford to collect that one plant are paying at least that much in monthly mortgage. And I think many are already donating money to good causes.

Something we have to keep in mind, and it's hard to do because the majority of us are just ordinary folks, that there are people out there that $20,000. is just pocket change to. They spend that on a dress, watch, or some other "needless thing".
It's beautiful, would I want it? No, I can't keep a $20. paph alive!!!

Al

wow...thanks for giving me all the feedbacks, I agree with what you wrote, DebsC, people should spend it on good cause but at the same time, I think that the plant has a certain value to it. It makes a good breeding plant with proven result and it's unique, that is, it cannot be multiplied for the population's demand. Therefore, it's ought to be expensive.

lol, my boss spent thousands dollars on his watch and shoes, and yet he was like "wow" when I spend $100 on my orchid plant, lol.

All a matter of priorities.
Al

I have also seen another $20 000 orchid at Zephyrus Orchids. It is a Phrag sanderianum 'Rapunzel' AM/AOS and is said to be the worlds largest orchid flower and listed in the Guinness Book. They seem to have quite a few expensive divisions on thier website.

A few months ago it was $35,000!

It is a stunningly beautiful plant! As others have said, it would be worth the $20,000 if you were a breeder and were planning to produce lots of new, healthy plants with it. I hope whoever buys it is able to successfully breed it and pass those genes along. I would never buy such a plant because I would feel absolutely sick if I killed such a rare and beautiful orchid. Besides, if I get my hands on $20,000 I will be spending it fixing up my moneypit of a house.

Well, it's beautiful.

If I liked to grow these and had the money I would definitely buy it.

There are some catts on that webpage that I absolutely drool over. They are gorgeous!!

Like someone else said, people have their priorities. It's like buying a piece of history.

Without doubt. They have listed the clone as the only release until 2016. That gives them 7 years to make whatever money they can from hybridising it. By offering the clone for sale they are at risk of another breeder buying the plant hybridising it and cutting into their profits. Consider the price tag as reflecting what they expect to lose in profits to the competition. Of course by selling the plant for so much, they get the money they would have made on the breeding without having to do any work which is probably why they dropped the price $15K to get a sale. Otherwise, they're left with the propagules taking up space while their stock plant does all the work.

High price orchids such as this one are not meant for the likes of most orchid growers. Sure there are people who spend bundles on rare plants, often of obsolete breeding, but it's really the breeders who can see true value in such high prices.

That's too much money for one plant, IMO, even if it is gorgeous. My absolute price threshold would probably be $150, and that's cutting it close (the plant would have to be well worth my money). :twocents:

Wow, I guess it's the same as selling a buisness... like selling a Goose that lays golden eggs!

I won't buy it if I had the money..
I've heard about some orchids "amateurs" that have let's say only ten orchids but only rare and precious ones, I can understand that's a point of view even if it's not mine : I prefer to have plenty of different ones, for me it's more fun ...

Just a comment after reading through this thread, but (and keep in mind I don't know much about this genus as I have none), but aren't Phrags hard to clone? (or is it just paphs? I might be wrong here).

If in fact Phrags don't clone easily, then even if you are a breeder, it's not like you would be able to clone a million plants, it would still take a little while to profit from the breeding. Does this make sense?

Just wondering the profit margin on the plant.

Sara

Yes, although I understand they've had maginally more success with Phrags than Paphs.

You're confusing breeding/hybridizing (sexual/seed propagation) with mericloning (asexual/vegetative propagation). While the popularity of mericlones has limited the market for seed grown Cyms, Phals, etc, seedlings still dominate the market for genera like Paphs and Phrags. If you're buying unflowered seedlings or seedling flasks, most people will look at the quality of the parentage to judge the quality of the plants you're buying. Award quality parents are usually seen as giving better odds at producing award quality offspring so good quality parents will atract more sales. Restricting the competition's access to your high quality breeding stock means you have a monopoly on selling that plant's seedlings.

Although a stunning plant to say the least, by no means worth $20 000. Not even if your your going cross it with others for profit. And I hate to bash a company, but that entire sight is full of overpriced, under appreciated plants. Its a cash crop.

I have worked in greenhouses and suppliers all my life and there is no way i could ever sell a plant at that kind of money. I hope this is no indication of where this lovely hobby is headed. Because the price of the parents will be factored into the cost of the seedlings. Which will mean a more expensive plant for the general consumer or hobbiest.

Such a pity.