Seattle Orchids Redemption

[JScott]

I know I've talked a lot of crap about Seattle Orchids, and I was mostly right to do so. Some of the plants I got from there were crap, and the customer service people just told no, the plants were fine and if I knew more about orchids I would be able to see that (I've been growing orchids for some 30 years).

I had decided that I would never order from them. Some of the plants I got from them were fine, but some of them were crap, and they had no interest in making things right if they sent you a half dead plant. I decided that I couldn't trust them to give me good value for my money when I buy plants from them that I cannot inspect first.

Well, my favorite teacher friend in Oklahoma got a Peristeria elata. Not a good choice for her first orchid, but she really fell in love with it and had to have it. She got hers from Hausermann, and it was quite big (definitely blooming size) and at a reasonable price.

She keeps asking me for help about things, and it's hard for me to be certain because I have never grown one, so I decided I needed to get one too, as that would help make it easier for me to guide her. They didn't have them at Hausermann anymore. The only place I could find was was at Seattle Orchid.

I went back and forth and back and forth about whether I was going to give them another chance. The plant was a little bit expensive for the size (40 dollars for a 2 inch pot) and I had hyped myself up to raise hell if that plant got here and it wasn't pristine, and I ordered it. The day after I ordered it, they went on sale, and Seattle Orchids actually came back and refunded 15 dollars (the difference between the regular price and the sale price) to my PayPal account.

The plant came today, and it is in very good shape. Plump pseudobulbs with a new growth with lots of roots just starting. It is a happy healthy plant.

That's the thing about Seattle Orchids. Sometimes you get a great plant from them, other times you get something that I would be embarrassed to sell to a customer, but this time I struck lucky and I got a good plant.

After all the negative things I've said about Seattle Orchids, i felt like I owed it to them to be sure and post about this positive experience I had with them. They're inconsistent, but they do have some good plants sometimes.

[SouthPark]

As Clint Eastwood - aka Dirty Harry - would say -------

"So do you feel lucky today? Well --- do ya?"

Or something along those lines hehehehe

[JScott]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

As Clint Eastwood - aka Dirty Harry - would say -------

"So do you feel lucky today? Well --- do ya?"

Or something along those lines hehehehe

I did not feel lucky that day; in fact I had hyped myself up for another argument with people who don't care about you once they have your money, but as a matter of fact, I did get lucky that day hahaha

[MJG]

Oops, I accidentally liked that last post. I didn't mean to! I'd better explain myself.

I am glad you had a good experience with these guys and are happy with your purchase! You deserve it. And it's very evenhanded of you to make a point of saying something positive about a vendor when they've earned it.

My blood still boils every time I think about them. It would be the proverbial cold day in hell before I ever gave them a second try. I suspect they feel the same way about me, so all is good, all around.

I hope your plant thrives and brings you joy though!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by MJG

Oops, I accidentally liked that last post. I didn't mean to! I'd better explain myself.

I am glad you had a good experience with these guys and are happy with your purchase! You deserve it. And it's very evenhanded of you to make a point of saying something positive about a vendor when they've earned it.

My blood still boils every time I think about them. It would be the proverbial cold day in hell before I ever gave them a second try. I suspect they feel the same way about me, so all is good, all around.

I hope your plant thrives and brings you joy though!

Oh, they make my blood boil too, man. As I was filling out the form, I couldn't believe that I was actually doing it. After having so many negative experiences with them and their horrible staff and that horrible woman who owns the place, I couldn't believe that I was actually going to give these people more money.

But then I remembered the ONE good plant I got from them. And I reminded myself that they do have good plants there. I'm sure if I went to their store in person and I could inspect the plants before I bought them, I would find some nice things to buy.

And also my friend. I really wanted to help her, and I really felt like I needed to be growing the plant myself to be of much help (she was repotting hers today), and I looked everywhere and I'll be damned, Seattle was the only one who had one. I couldn't believe it.

But I got myself all worked up to give them hell if this plant was no good. I wasn't going to let that awful woman belittle me and walk over me. I wasn't going to let her insult me. I was ready to bring the fight if I got that plant and it was crap.

I was so relieved when it got here. It actually came today, and I was able to get on facetime with my friend and show her how to repot hers by repotting mine while she watched. It all worked out very nicely.

But that sure as sh.... doesn't mean that I'm going to start shopping there again. I got lucky and I got one good plant from them. The chances of that happening again are historically quite low, and I'm not willing to take that chance.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by MJG

Oops, I accidentally liked that last post. I didn't mean to! I'd better explain myself.

Originally Posted by JScott

Oh, they make my blood boil too, man.

Only gathering particular pieces for making an OrchidBoard thriller drama.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Only gathering particular pieces for making an OrchidBoard thriller drama.

I am definitely in on this project. If you need anything from me, let me know. I'm all in.

[estación seca]

I think Seattle Orchids resells some plants from Ecuagenera. If you are looking for South American plants look there. They bulk ship with international permits to an agent in Florida, then ship from there. The small to miniature plants I've bought from them have struggled or died quickly, but the large plants have done well. They usually have Peristeria elata.

By the way, Peristeria elata grows big, fast. Treat it like a Cymbidium. Large pot, lots of water and fertilizer, high light. When blooming size, totally dry winter or no flowers. They are deciduous.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I think Seattle Orchids resells some plants from Ecuagenera. If you are looking for South American plants look there. They bulk ship with international permits to an agent in Florida, then ship from there. The small to miniature plants I've bought from them have struggled or died quickly, but the large plants have done well. They usually have Peristeria elata.

By the way, Peristeria elata grows big, fast. Treat it like a Cymbidium. Large pot, lots of water and fertilizer, high light. When blooming size, totally dry winter or no flowers. They are deciduous.

Thanks for the tips. The culture sheets I read mentioned no water in the winter, but "grow like a Cymbidium" is probably the most helpful thing anybody has said to me regarding what to do with this plant. And a lot of them mentioned that often the only leaf on the plant is the leaf on the current pseudobulb, tho I don't think any of them used the word "deciduous" that's what that is.

I read an article by a guy who grows this plant, and he said it was huge. It grew pseudobulbs the size of softballs every year, but it never bloomed, until one year he didn't water it all winter, and it finally bloomed for the fist time.

It's not a great choice for a beginner's first orchid, but my friend felt like she had to have it haha. Her's has grown well. She asks me questions all the time, but mostly I have to just google whatever she asks me because I don't know, but now I have the plant I'll be able to help her through experience. Her plant is growing nicely. The new leaf is huge and the pseudobulb will probably start swelling soon. She's done a good job with it. It's never one I really had any interest in, but now that I have it, I'm excited that I have it. The pseudobulbs are so cool. I'm glad I got it, even if it came from Seattle.

Seattle does fine when there's no problem, when the plant is fine. It's when there's a problem that they lose it. They either tell you no, you're wrong, the plant is fine and there is no problem (even when the plant is obviously nearly dead) or they get defensive and insult you. It seems like a strange way to react to criticism to me. Seems like the only appropriate response to a complaint would be, "I'm sorry we didn't meet your expectations. Tell us exactly what you don't like about the plant, and we will work out a way to make it right for you." That's what I used to tell customers at my garden center when they came in and complained, even when it was obvious that whatever was wrong with the plant was caused by their poor care. I'd just tell them where they went wrong ("You have to water every day when it's this hot outside. You can't go out of town for a week and not arrange for somebody to water the plant every day") (that actually happened.)

A lady brought in a dead plant, told me I sold her a bad plant and she wanted a new one. I started asking questions, figured out she'd been out of town and hadn't watered it in a week when it was 100 degrees outside. I gave her a new plant, and explained that you can't just not water a plant, especially when it's so hot. She finally got it and understood, but it was like it was something that she was just realizing for the first time that you have to water plants. She was all like, "Oh really? Every day? Are you sure? I had no idea you had to water every day." and it's the end of June and every day is at least 90. Sometimes people are stupid, but when you work with the public, you have to treat people with respect and do whatever you can to make them happy, even when they're stupid.

[Butters mom]

Ok, now y'all have me scared! ALL of my orchids have come from Seattle Orchids! And I have contacted them about a few that just didn't seem right, and yep, they said, "Don't worry, the orchid is fine!" So maybe my worrying is NOT all in my head?