Mail Order vs. Local Market
 

$35.00 really :((

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...ps9bmlwb6p.jpg

What are you trying to relate to us?

Personally, I'd never pay $35 for a white phalaenopsis, and without knowing what the smaller plant is, if it's rare enough, $35 might be the bargain of a lifetime.

Just comparing my new Dendrobium woodsii plant to
my $9.93 Phalaenopsis

Let's compare apples to apples then...please post a picture of a recent mail order flowering generic white phal. Inversely, how about a locally purchased D. woodsii...


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I agree with others, you can't make a proper comparison between the two. The only thing similar is that they are both orchids. After that, a lot separates them. And you often pay more for species plants. Especially ones not commonly found. With mail order, you do have to take shipping into account as well.

Agreed that the Dendro looks healthy (hopefully) and the species is completely unavailable to me locally but it was just the pot size (2") that it came in from a well known reputable orchid supply co./vendor that really triggered me! :((

Did you not find out what size to expect? Many plants sold online that I have access to are seedlings. Usually the vendor uses wording like SS, MS NBS etc. to explain the size.

Yes I did. The vendor's wording was MATURE.

The thing with orchids tends to be...the rarer and more valued something is, or the more effort and time it takes to create it, the more you will pay for it...kind of like anything else. These Phals you find at a big box store are cheaply mass produced, often in large greenhouses that use quite a bit of automation. Phals also tend to mature more quickly than many other orchids, too, so they don't take up the resources and space as many other orchids will.

There is nothing wrong with these Phals--they are absolutely beautiful. It is just that you cannot compare the cost of them to the cost of other types of orchids. And, while you may get a great bang for your buck with one of these Phals, you might just also want a little variety in your indoor collection. I am guessing that is why you bought the Dendrobium. :)

I don't know this specie but that might be mature. Looks like a few pbulbs. Depending on genetics and propagation (keiki or division), that might flower. Seedlings generally take longer.

If you want to compare price/mass, look into Phal. appendiculata.

Yeah, no need to pay $35 for a Phal. Walmart is selling them for $10..about the same size. However, I won't pay $35 for a seeding plant that won't bloom for another 2 years or so...online or locally.

Charles, you did well to score a nice big healthy (looking in the photo) blooming Phal for $9.93. I do think the point trying to be made is that you're comparing Red Delicious apples to Honeybell oranges. $35 would be a crazy price for a NOID white hybrid phal even if it was triple the size of yours; for some other orchids it would be a bargain price even for a just deflasked baby.

I'm not familiar with Den. woodsii; from a quick search it looks like an in range price for your plant, pretty good actually if that includes shipping. Your plant looks like it's probably small blooming size.

Shipping can be terribly expensive- I hate trying to sell something online anymore, people complain and I can't blame them but that's what it costs.

Some things- maybe many depending on where you live- can't be found and bought locally. Your woodsia probably fits that for you. So you're stuck with mailorder if you want it. However, if and when you can buy locally, you can see exactly what you're getting before you buy (save you some of the trouble you had with other plants), decide if it's worth it to you, in decent condition, and maybe know that it's something you CAN manage in your conditions.

It might be mature but the root system may need to grow up a little, that's all!

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...pseyhwlazt.jpg

Technically you can grow from a single pbulb but generally, you want 3 plump pbulbs (some combo of backbulbs, mature bulbs and/or new leads) for any pbulbed plant. Pbulbs are the resources the plant relies on to grow if there are no roots. As new tissue develops, the pbulbs will shrivel.

The pot size looks appropriate and with plenty of growths.

---------- Post added at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------

I would unpot to make sure it is one multi-growth plant and not a bunch of singles.

Personally, I would be happy to have received such a healthy looking dendrobium for $35. Looks like a nice sized plant, who cares about the pot size? I have a lot of dendrobiums and I have found that some of mine do better in smaller pots instead of bigger ones.

The first orchid I bought was one of those fake blue dye phals at a Home Depot. I paid $39 for it, only to learn later that the color was faked. It made me really mad! When it re-bloomed, it had beautiful white flowers and I was happy because it was the first orchid I had gotten to flower. Still paid too much for it, but I still have that plant and it keeps blooming year after year.

my comparison at this time was related to quantity I suppose but now I understand that phals are much more plentiful and cost efficient and my woodsi as dainty as it was much more harder to attain but I still do not understand what you were trying to say?

It all works like any kind of basic marketing 101. Supply and demand, availability, production costs, etc. I once paid $150 for a specific cultivar of Phal. Joy Spring Canary. Because you can't simply divide a monopodial, many rely on stem propagation, which is costly, inefficient, and time consuming. Coupled with high demand, I've seen some clones of Phal. LD's Bear King go for $300.

There are mature Dendrobiums that would fit into a thimble and sell for more than $35 - if you can even find them. If you bought a Dendrobium most of us have never heard of, it's probably uncommon, and that price range would be unsurprising.

As for the size - I look up plants before I buy them to make sure I have room for them. I would love to grow bigger Sobralias but I don't have a forklift to move pots in and out with the seasons.

Charles, take a day trip to an orchid greenhouse. Look at the product. Mass produced Phals are bred to die, they are like fake suede boots meant to be worn a season and tossed. Now real suede boots cost 10x as much and last many happy years. You are going to get lots of pleasure watching that guy grow up.