Treasures found at Lowes

[The Orchid Boy]

Yesterday we went to Lowes to pick up a few things and I looked at their plant clearance rack. There were sooo many named and labeled orchids for bargain prices. I only got 2, a Dendrobium aggregatum v. majus and a Dendrobium Thongchai Gold 'Viroj'. The first was $3 and very healthy and the second was $4 and very healthy but smaller. I'm pretty sure they are both blooming sized. I should have grabbed more. They had all sorts of huge phals and teeny tiny phals (even a noid mottled leafed phal), bagged cattleyas and oncidiums, and quite a few healthy dendro-phals. Most of the plants were fairly healthy and most were under $6. And almost all were labeled! There were some phals barely alive just starting basal keikis for $2. Has anyone else found neat orchids at Lowes or other stores for good prices?

[Stray59]

TheOrchidBoy:
I have purchased tons of orc's from Lowes - Our stores in Indianapolis carries lots of mini- and standard size phalaenopsis and then they have the Better-gro sleeved orchids in two sizes - small hybrid Cat's in two inch pots for $6.98 and larger, blooming size Cat's, species and inter-generics in 4 inch pots for $14.98. I have always found the sleeved orchids to be labeled and of good quality and health (If they have not been in the store too long). Manuy of the Cat hybrids are Am/AOS award winners, with many of the older Hausermann names showing up often. I have also purchased Maxillaria tennifolium, 3 types of Encyclia, four species Dendrobium, two species Oncidiums, Brassovola nodosa, Rynchostylis 'Peach', BLC. Yellow Bird, and on and on. I will continue to purchase them as long as they remain of the same quality and variety.
One note on the Dendrobium aggregatum lindleyii- they will always be very deeply wrinkled - this is natural for them. At this time of the year, (their rest period) unless the leaves are really dull and going limp, you want to water this very lightly (misting every other day) and give it a drop in temps now (during the winter months) for about 6 - 8 weeks. That is the only way to ensure bloom formation. And when they bloom they are great!
Many of the Dend's need the drier winter with a temp drop (about 15 -20 degrees lower than normal) to form blooms. Last winter I accidentally placed my Den. Ag. in a cooler bright corner right by the window and forgot to water it. About two months later I "found" it again and a bloom spike had formed, just jutting out of the side of the pseudobulb! It was a great surprise.
Well congrats on the finds - It may be worth mentioning to 'someone' that Santa could leave you a few in your stocking! The sleeves would slide tight in!
Merry Christmas!
Steve

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[vjo]

I was at Lowes one day about 2 years ago and they had just got a new shipment in and were putting all of the older ones on sale.All of the little ' baggies were on sale for $1, the bigger ones were $3 and the other ones were between $3 and $6. I had a blast. Left there that day with 35 orchids for $98.00. That will probably never happen again!!!!.... Jean

[bballr4567]

If it's on clearance you can usually get everything for under a dollar. Just ask the garden manager or live plant specialist to drop the prices. My old co-worker still has my number and calls me if interesting things show up.

[silken]

We have some Lowes in Canada, but not one ion my city yet. But as far as I know they don't get orchids. Likely the old importing tangle again keeps us from getting such good deals in Canada. Home Depot has only ever had fairly expensive Phals since I have been growing orchids. So no reason for Lowes to try and compete either!

[Stray59]

Merry Christmas everyone!
The sleeved orchids that Lowes has are from Better-Gro like I said; as I understand it, this is a division of Sun Bulb Company out of Florida. I have looked at their website and it is set up for wholesalers only, unfortunately.
My Christmas wish is that Canada get more orchid suppliers - maybe a niche a Canadian member would like to try and fill?
Hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy time with the people you love!!
Steve

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by silken

We have some Lowes in Canada, but not one ion my city yet. But as far as I know they don't get orchids. Likely the old importing tangle again keeps us from getting such good deals in Canada. Home Depot has only ever had fairly expensive Phals since I have been growing orchids. So no reason for Lowes to try and compete either!

Yeah, I know!
I discovered a local Dollar store that started selling orchids (NoIDs, no tags, no refunds....) And then since orchids sell better than other cheap stuff, they started having more stock. Then the 2nd Dollar store started competing with the first one bringing in more interesting but also much higher in price plants.

This is my only source for orchids at the moment as Safeway and Lowes are out of reach with their price range. Inevitably, plants start wilting and the store owners still want to sell them with some discount.... Unfortunately, the one with better selection would not give you a reasonable discount till the plant is truly dead.....

We need more vendors and good competition here in Canada for sure.

Let's put it on our Christmas list for Santa!


Lilia

[Stray59]

I hope that Canadian marketers start catching on to the Orchid craze - there is money in them thar pockets and purses! Maybe Santa answered your wish - Let's hope so!
Have a great holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Steve

[goodgollymissmolly]

Growing an orchid to a maturity and quality that makes you proud takes time (a lot of time), water, fertilizer, various biocides, pots, media, energy (gas and electricity at least), and did I mention time, a lot of time? It can takes years for some plants to bloom and most are not very quick even if they are known to bloom at an early maturity.

So the original cost of a plant is peanuts versus the time and money spent raising it. Common sense suggests that a cheap plant from a source that knows and cares nothing about plants is a statistical mistake. The probability of it being worth the time, effort , and expense of raising it is very low.

There are no guarantees when you spend more on the plant...but a knowledgable orchid source who wants you to return for more and actually has knowledge about orchids is a much better bet. That source can actually help you with problems after the sale assuming you display some learning ability and are not asking for help every week or repeatedly for the same thing.

It's penny wise and pound foolish to buy big box orchids. There is no upside to it. A friend of mine bought a new 47" TV and bragged about the deal he got. I happened to be visiting him when a basketball game was on. Every time a quick action like a dunk occurred the screen showed digital pixelation so bad you could not see the picture. I told him he got a really good deal for showing landscapes and still lives, but next time he got a TV he might consider a higher screen refresh rate....and a less "good deal".

[bballr4567]

Molly there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a named orchid from a big box store for $2-3 where online it'll be $25-30 for the same orchid. It's a great way to start a collection because they usually offer easy to grow and flower for the beginners.