I think this has been a really good discussion. I happen to be one of the people who thinks that a plant which is done flowering or that has had the flower spike broken should be discounted. If after a certain amount of time it hasn't sold, then discard it. Seems foolish to trash ANY apparently healthy plant when you could at least make a few bucks and satisfy an orchid lover all at once!

And if they sold these, then a whole other set of people would be here writing 5 pages about the lousy orchids sold by Big Box, Inc. I guess it's hard to please all the people anytime.

Let's face it, these are mass produced plants sold in many cases to be used like cut flowers. So it's just a matter of who does the discarding.

Good points Ray. It is a business for them and not a hobby. They need to do what works best for the business, even if thet means tossing them.
The orchids they are throwing away aren't endangered species by any means.

Point taken; I won't gripe about them anymore.:)

I just wish I had the acres or greenhouse....