What determines your purchase?

[another.one]

Originally Posted by Claire25

It probably is too obvious to state, but I find that shipping cost plays a big role in determining my orchid purchases...I don't have enough space any more to buy large orders of orchids, but I also HATE spending the same amount on shipping as I would for the one or two plants I find that I do have room for.

Shipping is a big deal for me too! Its like paying extra taxes and getting less 'bang' for the buck. I also have a tendency to like to physically see my plants before I buy them. So I tend to not like online vendors but orchids outside of the common types are so hard to come by in stores. Plus, orchid florists go out of business too soon because not everyone enjoys these exotic beauties.
Pupu, I say! Pupu!

[Andrew]

My orchid purchases usually conform to the following criteria.
*Does it have a name? Not named, not interested.
*Is it a genus I'm interested in growing. I'm interested in specific types of orchids and I tend not to stray too far out of my comfort zone. Occassionally, I'll get the bug to try growing a new type of orchid but I'm not interested in having a random collection of anything that I see for sale.
*Can I grow it. This isn't always the deal breaker that it should be but if the answer is possibly not, the money and effort I spend with the expectation that I will kill it needs to be outweighed by the benefit of trying to grow it.
*Is it worth owning? For examples of wild species I'm more forgiving about things like flower quality and more interested in things like provenance data. For line bred species and hybrids I'm a lot more critical of things like parental cultivars and what I should expect from unflowered crosses.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by kiki-do

Sounds like me.... you will buy almost anything! A true blue orchid nut!
Famous last words "I prefer.....but"

Uh...yeah...!

It's places like this where I can really admit to this madness and have other like minded people let me know it's okay!

[Cyplover]

I usually buy any unique orchid that can be grown in conditions that I can duplicate

[BobInBonita]

Never really thought about what should be an obvious and easy question.

Originally it was beauty only.

When I realized I had several identical (or nearly identical) orchids, I started carrying a list downloaded to my Blackberry. Beauty without duplication.

I only grow the more common alliances, and would occasionally be attracted to an orchid at Lowes or Home Depot. Now I've learned to check the roots (pull it out of the pot and look) before I take it home.

As the collection grows, I'm starting to be more selective and wait for a form/shape or color pallet that strikes me as unusual or different. It's still primarily beauty, but less indiscriminate now.

[kiki-do]

I just wanted to say that I don't think I've enjoyed a post question more than this one in a very long time. This has to be up in my top three favorites along with member photos, and what got you started in orchid collecting. Thanks for this great question! Having so much fun reading everyone's answers!

[kavanaru]

in my case.... hmmm...

1.- it is a Catasetinae! (I tend to forget all following bulletpoints if the first is covered )
2.- Is it a plant I like?
3.- Is it a plant I can grow? (mainly intermediate/warm - warm growers)
4.a- Is it a slipper? (Yes, they are second dominant group in my collection)
4.b- Not a Slipper but a plant I really really like?
5.- No to # 1, 3 & 4.a but I feel like giving a try and taking the challenge, even though I know I most probably will kill it? (Yes, no matter how much you try to keep on the safe side, from time to time most of us end up buying something "different" and doing the "same mistake" we used to do at the very beginning)
6.- Is it something very rare and difficult to get, and I know that the person who owns "that very rare and difficult to get plant that I want and do not have" wants... and I could use it to convince that person to trade a piece of his/her plant for this one... . yes, I go for it then!

[jim blanford]

MY WIFE...... Jim.

[Call_Me_Bob]

i kind of mix in with different answers from everyone.

it started with big box big phals. i dont really enjoy the big dinner plate phals. right after i got out of that "stage" i got into experimenting with different things, and i would buy cheap noids to experiment wit. most of my 4experiments turned out successfull, so i have a bunch of noids hanging around. now im more selective

1- Price, if i cant afford it, i cant get it ( of course, there are exceptions ) and i hate shipping that is more than the plant. right now, i am a cheapy, b/c i dont have much money.

2- do i even like the stinking orchid?? i havent tried enough things so far to find out wat does terribly for me and what i really like. ive tried a bunch, but not eough. and so far, nothing has really done bad for me, so its tough. but im getting into masdies alot, and i like catts as well. i like novelty phals. i have some that are definitely not my favorites, but they just do stinking well ( 5th spike this year for a den )

3- does it have a name? i have too many noids and its a pain for shows and my own database. no name, no buy. exceptions?- of course! rarely though

4- size. i grow under lights so it has to fit under them. it cant be anything too tall. or wide. and it cant have super high light requirements.

5- blooming season. this ties into number 4. it its something tall or something that needs to be 3 inches away from the tubes, it will have to be summer bloming so it can even have room to bloom. because i grow outside i have room for big blooms in summer, but in winter its tight

6- im willing to try new things as well. such as OB projects, without them id be stuck in phal-world!


what a great thread this is!

[Hedge]

I know I ought to prioritise, but if there is a really cheap plant at a garden centre in a genus that I can grow, particularly if it's gone over, I'll buy it instead of a bunch of flowers - ie under £5, $8. If it has hidden buds that the discounter has missed so much the better!

If I go to a show, I'll try and get a plant that is a different Paph to the ones I own, as I'd like to collect them, but purely on a "I really like that" basis - I'm not a completist, and I have to look at it, so if it isn't beautiful, it's a no go.

I have just about cured myself of buying NOID Phal's although I got one last month - the first in about a year.

I suppose I should put the money I spend on noid Oncidiums, Miltonias and Dendrobiums into a pot and save it to buy named plants but I resent shipping costs too, and no local nursery means car journeys = shipping cost with fuel here now £5.40 a gallon (that's $8.67 for an imperial gallon).