There is no single answer to your questions.
Some genera make better specimen presentations than others. A well grown Cattleya, Oncidium and some Dendrobium will maintain leaves on most bulbs for years, while Zygopetalum, other Dendrobium and many others do not.
For growers looking for an AOS horticultural award, it is natural to let plants grow into specimen sizes.
Many commercial growers maintain a few specimens, which bloom at the time of their local Orchid shows. These plants are used as the centerpiece of their exhibits.
Most hobby growers do not have space to accommodate large, let alone specimen size, plants.
From a commercial grower perspective:
1. Specimen size plants take up a lot of space, and they produce no income. They can be used for breeding, but few nurseries do breeding any longer.
2. They are virtually impossible to sell. Even if someone is interested, you can't get the value equivalent to the number of normal size plants it contains.
3. They are VERY difficult to repot (or break up). I can repot 20-40 normal size plants in the time it takes to deal with one 16" Cattleya basket.
Last edited by Fairorchids; 08-24-2014 at 08:03 AM..
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