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.