Thumbs up for Paramount Orchids

[Oscarman]

That is unfortunte Cody and seems to be the exception from Paramount. Yours in the first negative report I have heard about them.

Originally Posted by TheBlazingAugust

Wow, its quite sad that you in the US have received better service than several of us here from Canada. Unfortunately, I will never order from them by mail again.

[camille1585]

I agree with Cody though, their customer service can be terrible. During the spring plant project I and a canadian member sent countless emails and he made phone calls. The most unpleasant people ever, if they even bothered to reply to emails or pick up the phone. All we wanted to know was how many plants they had of 3 different species, and we would have potentially brought them 7 customers to buy the project plant and its travelling companions.

I had rather unpleasant experience with them too, although I only tried once and maybe it was just not lucky day for me, because I do see lots of positive comments about this vendor.

[camille1585]

From the plant projects I read a lot about Canadian vendors, and everyone is always extremely positive about the quality of the plants. It's communication which is a bit of a problem sometimes....

[sarahliz79]

I've been in touch with them via email for the last few days and while the first reply I received was a bit curt the subsequent ones have been helpful. I probably WILL end up placing an order with them since I live in a rural area and haven't been able to find what I want locally or even at big name US sellers like Carter and Holmes. However, it sounds like they're not accepting new orders until after July 1st due to their move sooooo.... I'll let ya know how it turns out!

[Andre]

Can't wait for Paramount to move to Vancouver Island. So much closer to get to. Have many plants from them and can't wait to see the greenhouse and pick ones out myself.

[sarahliz79]

Soooo I'm adding to this thread instead of starting a new one because I also had a positive experience...

After emailing back and forth for a few weeks I settled on these four...

Burrageara Stefan Isler '44'
Wilsonara Tiger Brew '04'
Odontioda George McMahon
Phalaenopsis Mini Mark

I opted NOT to pay $50 for 3 day shipping, instead it was $35ish and got here in 5 days. The pics are what they looked like right out of the box so that you guys can see how they ship. All four were potted in spag that was VERY wet, followed by a layer of wet newspaper, then taped. This concerned me a bit and since I was planning to repot 'em all anyway I figured better sooner than later! Spag is just NOT a media that works for me and my watering/growing conditions...

As you can see from the pic the Phal had a yellowed leaf that was black at the base so I removed that and a lower leaf then cleaned it up a bit. The roots looked mostly good... took off a few black ones but other than that all healthy and I'll be watching it closely to make sure the stem isn't getting black rot.

The Burrageara's roots were in worse shape but it had been repotted recently so maybe it just hasn't bounced back from that.

The Odontioda looks great... clearly just bloomed and the roots looked nice and strong.

The Wilsonara also had great roots but the oldest pbulb looked a little funky so I took it off. I also think I spied a few spider mites on this one so I've sprayed all four with Safer and isolated 'em for the time being.

Bottom line... I think the main thing if ordering by mail is developing a relationship. Each email we exchanged got a bit friendlier and more helpful and I think that helped in terms of getting good plants. They ARE a bit smaller and more expensive than I would have received at my local grower BUT since I can't buy any of these locally thats an acceptable trade off IMO. ALL of them have new growth and I expect em to bloom in the next year with the exception of maybe the Phal.

Hope everyone's have a great weekend...

[silken]

I have mixed feelings about Paramount. I have had good and bad experiences. I've never found a bug of any sort on their plants. Tey are usually healthy looking with good roots. However, one of the owners seems to be so curt by e-mail although is somewhat warmer when spoken to on the phone and in person. I realize sometimes e-mails do not come thru as intended. But I do feel that I've paid prices like $36.00 for bloom size plants and then wait 1 or 2 years for them to bloom. I know you need to wait for their bloom season. We've done tons of business with them as an orchid society buying supplies and some plants and never received a discount or a freebie of any sort. I also find if you are there in person and they let you follow them to where the plant is that you want, then you can pick or get a good one. I have had times when they were picked up by a non-orchid person with me pre-ordering in advance and they always seem small then.

But it is still a big loss for us that they are moving to the west coast and the island at that. Shipping will be more and farther and I never make a road trip that far (likely 1,000 miles or close) and I used to make the occasional road trip to Calgary.