Ecuagenera?
 

I'm interested in some of their Epidendrum species. What is your feedback? Healthy plants? good service?


Thanks guys.

Our society ordered from them and picked them up when they were in Canada at an orchid show last Oct. My own 3 (2 masdies and an encyclia) were just fine and the prices seemed very reasonable compared to some Canadian company's prices. I've just contacted them to hold another plant until Oct. when they are back at the same show this year. They were very pleasant and don't seem to mind holding it for that long. The encyclia cordigera has a new growth now and my masdies have been surging along all winter with many new growths and one has a spike almost ready to open now.

I've had pretty good experience with them and they seem to be more careful about the quality of plants than in the past. In the past I've gotten some plants that were dead, but on my last order they did not send a couple of things I wanted because they were not well established or doing well. Be aware, though, that there is a fee for each plant on top of the actual cost.

I have only had one experience with them. They attended the Illinois Orchid Society show this past March. I ordered a number of Lycaste, Ida and Anguloa to be picked up at the show. As Ron has stated, there was a $4/plant charge over the cost of each plant. Some were much larger while others were smaller than my expectations. All were bare root and in good condition with at least one new growth. The prices were reasonable for this type of plant. I don't know that I'd order for mail delivery all the way from Ecuador because of the shipping time and cost. I live in SE Michigan and have family living in the Chicago area so for me to travel to that location to pick up plants was easy. They (Ecuagenera) has a rather extensive show presents so if they happen to be someplace close I would definitely order and pick up.... this gives you the choice of accepting or not. They do bring a great number of other bare root plants for sale at the shows!!!!!! Boy, that was long-winded!

All my masdevallia come from Ecuagenera, great plants and great price, last week I bought a Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, but not a purchase online, I always chose the plants in exhibitions.

Last fall Ecuagenera came to a show in my area and I was able to hand pick 2 plants that I had enquired them about online, Epidendrum schweinfurthianum and Stanhopea reichenbachiana. Both came wrapped in sphag with good roots and I felt the prices were reasonable, thou I forget now exactly what I paid. lol
I found them to be very friendly too.
The Epi had 3 growths over 24" tall, now one of those is at 32" and I have a new growth at about 12". It also appears to be sending out 4 bloom shoots.
The Stanhopea was a 10 bulb plant and has grown 4 new bulbs that are almost mature. I hoping it blooms this summer.
I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat.:)

Judi

Ecuagenera comes to our Edmonton show yearly. This February I took the plunge and ordered quite a few from them (I placed the order in December). Included was a Schoenorchis fragrans, not an easy plant to ship in the middle of winter. All plants, without exception, are still in excellent condition. I find their service very good and am already saving up for next year's show (or the Calgary one in October). I agree with others though: it would be better to pick plants up at a show, rather than having them go through postal services.

Be careful Roby, D cuthbertsonii isn't the easyer orchid to grow, expecialy in Naples :goodluck::D:D:D

(Ti ho beccato!)

Raimond

Dried plants
 

I just pick-up my plants yesterday from SEPOS show and both plants are in very dried sphagnum moss and one of the plant lost all leaves. It appears that the plant never get any care once they arrived in this country. They don't water the plants and let it sit inside the box for a long time. Ecuagenera will not responsible for the plant you order. Beware.

I am very satisfied with Ecuagenera in the the past four purchases with them. They send me an email of their catalogues with prices, dates and places of their shows; I make a list of my orders and then pay for it via Paypal= then they mail the plants to me ....it arrives well packed and fresh as if it came directly from their garden.
*one occasion: I had a tiny miniature plant that arrived dehydrated and almost dead= I sent pictures of it via email and they sent a replacement with larger almost specimen sized healthy plant. I managed to revive the other plant so now I have two of the orchids.

I've pre-ordered from Ecugenera many times and have always received great plants. One time I could pick them up at the Mid-America show but the other times they are shipped to me when they arrive Stateside.

I usually get Masdies, Lycaste, and Catts from them plus some odds and ends.

Brooke

I haven't bought from them but, this year, they had beautiful, healthy orchids at the West Shore show...they always do.

Maybe its me or the kind of plants I get from them but I've found them to be delicate compared to other sources (same species, I try to get duplicates from 2nd sources).

I stopped by their booth at Pacific Orchid Expo in Feb and I must say their plants looked rather sad. I was looking for Phrags.

I order from the a couple of times a year; I've had very few problems with their plants. I like being able to pick them up (as I will do at the Oregon Orchid Society Show this weekend in PDX), but have had them shipped to me as well. They have a great selection and good prices; I have had a few casualties, 3 plants out of say 90 or so that I have bought over the past 2-3 years, but I'm not sure if it was shipping shock or not liking my growing conditions... If you are looking for plants from S. America you might also consider looking at Gary Meyers' site here; the plants that he imports are also very nice.
Just my 2c,
Adam

What vendors do you recommend?

I have ordered and worked with them many times. They do their best to have plants labeled correctly, but on occasion, it does happen. It is more common with some species over others (Lepanthes and Sobralia, for example). Plants will defoliate on occasion as well. This is almost unavoidable with certain species.

To avoid any potential problems. My suggestions are:
1. Always preorder. The prices are much cheaper, sometimes half, and they tend to pack the nicer plants for preorders. The shipping and handling charge this year is $2 a plant, regardless of minimum order. The preorders are also sent out after the plants are picked up at the airport and before the show starts, in case you cannot attend.

2. If a plant looks questionable, tell them. They understand and will do what they can to remedy the problem.

3. If a plant defoliates after you take it home, take a pic of it with the date. Email Elizabeth at Ecuagenera and she will usually work with you. I have seen plants replaced, free of charge, for ones that died after it was taken home. Unfortunately people have taken advantage of this courtesy, so do it kindly. I have always found them sympathetic.

I have purchased almost 100 plants from them and I have lost 3. I think that is fair considering the circumstances.

I think they are worth taking a chance on if you are uncertain.

I have followed this conversation with interest. I too have ordered from them again (2x). The 1x, they couldn't attend the show and sent the plants from their next Canadian show (3mnths later). One plant was dead on arrival, 1 in questionable condition. I took pictures and contacted Elizabeth. I obtained a credit for the next show, no problem what so ever. I'm very happy with the plants I pre-ordered for our last show, and will certainly continue to order from them.

I've had good and bad experiences as well but have persisted with them. I've had occasions where the plants have been to small to deflask but I've had no choice due to mold forming on the media and then losing them all. I think they used to sell flasks that were way too small and should never have been sold. The flasks are getting better and the plants are usually larger these days with better roots but the odd flask is still to small.

This is my experience with Phrags. I find that if you get something that is to small or isn't healthy then they do respond but you may not get a replacement until the next time they are in the country. So there is a risk but overall I am still buying as they get better.

*Update*
While picking up my plants this weekend I was informed that one of the boxes shipped had been partially frozen; I was offered a refund, but I just asked them to pick me some nice plants from the table--I mentioned that I grow cool/cold and the rep on hand was quick to pull me some nice plants and a few extras; what I was given to make up for what was lost was very fair... Kudos to Ecuagenera.

...i've dealt with them many times...ivan is great...would recommend...

Ecuagenera is a bit of a gamble.

Their prices and massively diverse inventory usually make ordering worth the risk for me, and I've always received kind and prompt customer service.

But:
Of all the plants I've ordered from them (mail order to Miami from their US shows), most of them have arrived in less-than-good condition.

My Prosthechea arrived with the early stages of a rot in the leaves and the bulbs strangely seemed a bit sunburnt.

My Restrepia arrived with most of its leaves trimmed; She recently bloomed for me and, expecting a brachypus, was surprised to find it's a cross between a brachypus and likely antennifera or maybe even elegans.

One Encyclia was great, the other dehydrated.

I ordered a Bulb. intertextum which arrived completely rotted; They replaced it in the next order and it too arrived completely rotted, so I gave up on it.

I've managed to nurse everyone else to health. I'm a bit of a risk-taker and personally think ordering from them is worth the gamble (particularly for harder-to-find varieties), but not with the more delicate species.

If they ship to you from a show, consider that the plant must travel twice: One freight import to the show location, and then it's shipped from the show to you. That's a lot of stress on the plant.

Tropical Orchid Farm is a good alternative with respect to both variety and price-point.

I always pre-order for shows that I personally ( or a friend ) attends. Then I can pick the best plant available. Only 1x was a plant a problem and then I got another different one as a 'courtesy'.

Just waiting on this year's availability list........

There is a link to their list on the San Francisco Orchid Show site. Here's the link http://pacorchidexpo.org/wp-content/...CUAGENERA.xlsx

I don't know if they will get to shows in your area, but I think they'll ship once they get into the US.

Thanks for the heads up Roberta, they're scheduled to be here in April for the SEPOS show. I spoke with Elizabeth who said that a new list would be coming out shortly.

I have been told by people in my RBG Orchid Society(including the president) that this is the best place to get 'pedigreed' plants for a good price.

I don't have first hand experience though, and I've read some conflicting things

If you're looking for specific hybrids, they have a few, but their specialty is species, especially those native to Ecuador and surrounding countries. Their species IDs are, in general, quite accurate. They have a huge program for growing these from seed (which aids conservation since there is no excuse for buying wild-collected plants when you can get healthy nursery-grown plants for reasonable prices with a better survival rate) I have never done mail-order with them (people have had mixed results) but if you can get to a show where they are selling, you can get some neat plants. Probably more than you set out to get...

Thanks for the feedback! I've been told by a couple of really experienced growers that they are the place to get really nice plants, when they come up for a show.

Any recent encounters with these guys? Thinking about an order but I don’t like this thread

Didn't they recently open shop in Florida...?
Without the issue of international shipping, it may be ok. I've been reluctant seeing all these comments too...

News to me. I’ll look into that

Ecuagenera USA Corp Orchids of the World

Address:

3600 Plymouth Sorrento Rd, Apopka, FL 32712

DC, I'll send you the email that I got from them just a few days ago. With all the show cancellations, they seem to have figured out e-commerce. They're shipping to their Florida nursery every few weeks (taking care of the import part), and then sending from there. So you'll still have the selection of plants from the Ecuador nursery, but hopefully have somebody local that you can ping if necessary.

I've been eyeing a few of their selections too, DC. If you do decide to order from them would you please post your experience? I'll do the same.

I pulled the trigger. Small order to avoid getting badly burned if it goes to the birds lol

Very responsive confirmation email and now I’ll be patient

I think I always buy from them when they come to shows near me. I haven't had a bad experience in person.

They have a good reputation in the vivarium hobbies, due to their selection of miniatures

DC- I have never done e-commerce business with them but I have them bring me a half dozen plants to the Redland show every year and I have never been disappointed with what they bring.
The fact they recently opened a US arm of the business in Apopka shows they are more serious than any other international vendor. I think they are also possibly the biggest,

Thank you all for the great feedback!

I placed the order and just now received a third email from them confirming that my plants would be leaving their facility in mid June and going to Florida and would be shipped to me from there.

No additional VAT and no customs charges for me. So far, I am very pleased