OrchidsPlus - Is it Worth It??
 

Ok guys, I know I have seen a thread or two about Orchidsplus before but whenever I try to search it as one word, I come up with some really old threads (for software changes at least) and as two words, it comes back with only "orchid" highlighted which leads to....PAGES of results!

SO! I am considering adding on Orchidsplus to my new AOS membership....but IDK....do you guys feel like it is really worth it??

And let me add, I know Orchidwiz is a dream of mine that hopefully I will get by next year or the end of this year but for now, it is out of my price range and possibly my needs as a beginner!

And also....I really had no idea which thread to put this on so I just went with the beginner thread! I hope thats ok!

Thank you!

It is actually now AQ Plus but it all depends on what info you are looking for. I find it invaluable for researching AOS awards with photos, if they were taken. Far more accurate than Orchidwiz which often uses photos submitted of plants at shows and not the actual plant. I have not found AQPlus good for finding awards from other systems.

Ohhhh Ok.....You know, It has been frustrating when looking at breeders with large flask or seedling lists that don't have photos of all of them just due to the shear number of plants they offer...especially when searching for species cultivars...its like 95% of them don't have a photo that is easy to find....really frustrating when you are trying to decide between seedlings to buy!

So I would guess at least if the plant had been awarded, for the most part they should have photos of the actual cultivar plant in the database???

Goodness, the photos ALONE would make that helpful...

There used to be a limited version of OrchidWiz, which gave you basic environmetal info on species (from which you can infer cultural requirements).

It is also much more user friendly than Orchids+ (which I use now, since I need more information on awards).

If you are looking specifically for awards information and official photos of only AOS awarded plants, Orchidsplus/AQ plus is good. For anything and everything else, OrchidWiz! If you spent 15 minutes this week looking online for orchid information of any kind (culture, pictures, hybrid registrations, etc.) you will find yourself using OrchidWiz often, and much more information for less effort.

Alas, OW discontinued the "lite" version several years ago. The full product price doesn't look so bad when you stack it against the price of the plants that you're likely to kill without all that info - not just the pedigrees, but also the culture. Emma, buy a few less plants and spring for OW...

That is a very good point Roberta. I spend a lot of time looking into plants and care/cultural requirements but I spend even more time trying to find photos of cultivars! That is the only benefit I am seeing in AQplus so far because It's been driving me nuts! But I do really want to have the cultural information that OW gives!

I'll need to look I to the price and computer requirements of orchid wiz again because I am running a mac! I think that might have been one reason I was detoured last I looked into OW!

Thank you guys! If anyone knows about running OW on a Mac! Let me know!

And Roberta......it's just SO tough to NOT buy plants! 😉 I am finally reaching the point where I am happy with what I have and then just hunting for very specific plants! Now I am focusing a lot more on supplies and equipment to help them have the best care!

OW doesn't run on Mac... if you have a Windows emulator then it can work I think.