Hey all!
I got another order from First Rays, and it was a home run. As always, the plants were expertly packed and arrived without damage. Here's what I ordered:
-Angraecum sesquipedale
-Paphiopedilum (Olympic Mountins 'Grande' x Greenvale 'Hillsview')
-Paphiopedilum Gina Short
All three plants had awesome roots. A few bottom leaves had turned yellow (perhaps from their normal senescence or from the stress of being shipped, I don't know), but they had plenty of leaves to spare and the plants are clearly very healthy.
And if that weren't enough, the Paph. Gina Short that I ordered for $25.00 was included for FREE because the plant they had available was not as large as what was listed in the plant description online! First Rays really goes above and beyond with their customer service.
Finally, I also ordered their new 'SOLO' fertilizer and while it's a bit early to tell, my plants are doing well with it. I've ordered quite a few new plants from different vendors in the last month, and they perk right up using the 'SOLO'. I used to mix a combination of fertilizer plus KLN or Superthrive for new plants, so it is handy to have one product that serves both purposes.
The photos I included below show the plants right out of the box and then after watering/repotting/trimming. The plants didn't need repotting per se, as the bark medium was fresh enough to stay, but I had to change it to a more moisture retentive medium because I always forget to water.