The Orchid Trail

[Subrosa]

I recently received an order from a new vendor, The Orchid Trail in NC. I actually first became aware of them a while back when a member who's no longer active posted a pic of a Cattleya Triumphans obtained from them. I looked into them then, but never ordered until I did a search for "Gongora portentosa for sale" and they were the only US vendor to come up. Their list is fairly extensive, but there are no prices listed so I had to email them with my wants. The reply was quick, and the prices looked good, so I went ahead. Communication was excellent and shipping was quick. USPS COMPLETELY dropped the ball on this, holding it in a local distribution hub for over a day before sending it along. To the wrong post office, an hour and a half away......so after that little excursion I unpacked the box. I was disappointed to see that the newest growth on the Cattleya schroederae had broken off in shipping. As they didn't have a replacement available I was offered either an immediate refund, or the opportunity to see if the plant recovered and put on new growth within 6 months, at which point we will address the issue again, which I accepted. The G. portentosa was exactly as described, while the G. flaveola was listed as near blooming size but appears to have a spike starting. In any case, this was a very good purchase from an excellent vendor that I highly recommend!

[john lapointe]

I do most of my shopping on line using various suppliers.I have found a few excellent houses, most are doing there best to supply you with a pleasant experience as they wish repeat business and there are a few shysters out there.

[MrHappyRotter]

I'm an OT local, so I get to visit it in person, which I try to do at least once a month. They have a ton of species and primary hybrids, some very common and popular things and lots of very hard to find stuff. I always seem to find at least one plant that I can't walk away without. It's a really great place! If I had one complaint it's that their website does not accurately represent the quality and stature of their business.

I actually visited today to pick up some repotting supplies and found out they had recently dedicated another greenhouse to seedling sales, so now there are two greenhouses of temptation and financial doom!

I was perusing the new sales greenhouse looking at all the new offerings. I walked by the Phalaenopsis species table and smelled something like grape chewing gum. There were tall spikes of P. schilleriana and Phal. amabilis, so I was giving them a whiff, trying to figure out where the wonderful scent was coming from. Then I noticed a Phal with a short flower spike and what looked like a newly opening flower hiding under the leaves. On a whim, I picked it up and then realized, oh yeah, Phal. corningiana, that's definitely it. Then I realized there were multiple seedlings in bloom. I spent several minutes sniffing them. LOL I was able to resist, but only because I already have a P. corningiana at home. It's growing a spike but it hasn't developed any buds yet, so while I was aware it smelled like grape soda I hadn't actually smelled one in person until today. The fragrance is surprisingly strong and delicious.

They also had some really healthy and great looking parvies! There were P. Fanaticum and P. Norito Hasegawa seedlings spiking up and a P. LynLeigh Koopowitz with a spike. There may or may not be any of the spiking Fanaticums left, though. LOL

I also like that they have such a wide assortment of stuff. They've got Paphs and Phrags. There are tons of Dendrobiums including Aussie Dends and rare species. Where else can you go and see something like Dendrobium amboinense (I think that was the species) on the one day the flowers are actually open? They've got Bulbophyllums. There are 4 large hanging walls of minis and mounted orchids. They've even got a section for cool growing orchids, which is something you don't see that often here in the South. There are benches and benches of Cattleya alliance plants and same for the Oncidium alliance.

I know there are other STers that visit, and I'm pretty sure they all have good things to say about it as well. But I'll stop now because it's starting to sound like a paid advertisement.