Online Storefront Orders vs. Group Sales and Auctions

[katsucats]

I don't really care about private collections. I would only care if I was a breeder looking for specific traits to cross. To build on SaraJean's dog analogy, I find that I'd rather take a well selected species outcross than some "pure" cultivar that's been mericloned for decades, or plants that are inbred for a particular trait. They might eventually meet a decrease in vigor, or pick up pathogens along the way.

I've only bought some SVO divisions that weren't overly expensive. I had bought some private collection plants from Orchid Trails that had ORSV, that I returned and they resold. I keep an eye out on Norman's or Big Leaf's private pages. They're always filled with, in my opinion, hype fads of the latest in breeding efforts, like a new colored Phal. speciosa that people would be willing to part with over 100 for, but Taiwanese distributors are selling those same plants for 25 (if you can somehow get past the import costs).

I'm sure that if your aesthetic preferences somehow match exactly those of AOS judges, then you could find the "best" cultivars in a breeder's private collection for big bucks. But if you're not measuring the width of every flower, I think that's well past diminishing returns.

[Leafmite]

I have clerked for judges at our show and I find that I often have a different idea of what is attractive from the criteria set up by the AOS. I guess it depends on why you grow orchids whether you must have the expensive, privately sold ones or whether you seek out something that might be cheap but pleases you personally.

I have a bunch of SVO orchids that will hopefully bloom with flowers of the type I like and be fragrant. I just bought a few that were leftovers from the earlier sales this spring...because they seem like fun.

[mopwr]

Awesome, I appreciate all the replies here guys - I do. Honestly, sometimes, a bit of perspective is all that's needed. I guess my original post more came out of surprise around how this industry has evolved - since I've stepped away from it (I had a fairly decent collection 12 years ago but, then I got married, moved, got more involved at work and had kids) and I've been "out of the loop" on how things have progressed... Honestly, even back then, I don't even know that back then I was all that informed about things anyways.

Well, in any event, I like a mix of things, I like the potential of a seedling and sometimes, I just want to have a plant I know what to expect that I can grow into a specimen. I'm sure sometimes, I'll get a seedling - though it's a crapshoot - that I'll get to enjoy both aspects. I'm just learning how to navigate what's in front of me to get to what goal I have for that particular plant.

If I want a guaranteed result, a very specific set of traits for breeding or just to admire in person - wait (the what-seems-like-the-most-painfully long) time it takes to see that clone / stem to become available. If I want an even shot at something unique that has potential to become a fixture of my collection, buy an unbloomed seedling with parentage that I view as having good potential - and grow the heck out of it.

There's a lot to navigate in this hobby, I feel like I've got growing them down pretty well - and my previous experience gave me some insights there, but acquiring good stock is a lot different now - especially since there are no shows to speak of, and everything is virtual. I feel like half the cost of my collection is attributable to shipping; the thought of getting what I want in person feels like a pipe dream. The closest commercial orchid grower is an hour away one-way and while they have a lot of variety, they're a far cry from some of the largest nurseries found in Florida and California (mostly only seen pictures of those). I make the trip when I can, but two hours with the potential for no plants (or worse, lots of plants - for my bank account) is something I can't do very often.

[Roberta]

Line-bred species can definitely give surprises... I have a L. purpurata that was a selfing of an awarded plant that was, according to the pictures a light pink with dark lip. It is an alba. It came from SVO, I asked Fred about it, and he said that the the pod produced quite a few albas. So if an alba flower was used in the breeding at some time (perhaps for shape or some other characteristic) it can lurk in the background (recessively) and sometimes pop up.

[estación seca]

Unless it's an artifact of your camera, what you have isn't an alba... it has a trace of pink in the lip and at petal tips. Violaceas are line-bred for both shape and color, so I can imagine a light-colored plant's genes hiding among the dark purple ones.