Quote:
Originally Posted by Leafmite
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Buying from a large vendor that allows visitors and sells orchids at an affordable price is risky. In a big operation like Hausermann's that allows visitors, it is almost impossible to guarantee every plant to be clean without making the plants so expensive that they could never compete against cheap plants coming from elsewhere. I would be happy to pay $10 extra for a guaranteed virus-free orchid but many people will just look for the orchid somewhere else. Already, many orchid vendors have gone out of business or are close to doing so. With every orchid vendor that closes, the variety of orchids we can buy narrows.
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Right now, the closing of small nurseries is one of my heartbreaks. I don't want to buy my plants from the big boxes. In the midwest, places to see and be able to purchase non-phal orchids are few and far between and I mean really far between. Places like Hausermann's offer entry level enthusiasts the opportunity to see and pick out their own orchid, from a very wide variety. It's not possible that they are growing that variety of plants in-house, they have to turn to other vendors.
I have been to Hausermanns at least 5 times for anniversary sales and orchid fests which bring in a lot of people, many of us wild-eyed, clutching carefully prepared lists, and having to retire to the parking lot to calm down before plunging back into the fray. I would say that their goal is to reach casual and beginner growers. I believe they follow social media and trends, and bring in extra plants, tropicals, violets, succulents according to what is trending at the time. This is just good business for a large nursery competing with grocery stores, big boxes, and other nurseries. They also seem to do a lot of special event and occasion sales. Their nurseries are huge! From what I have seen, they work very hard and are very good at what they do, but the focus right now is not really on the collector planning for the long-term or for breeding. They do bring in specialty vendors with higher-end specimen plants for the big fests (and I never see many people buying those plants, probably because of the price tag which is steep if you are not experienced and confident in your ability to keep that plant alive), You never (or rarely?) see language on their website along the lines of "collector's must!" "for serious collectors!" What you will see, and I appreciate quite a bit, is "challenging to grow" or "easy to grow but challenging to bloom".
Hausermann's prices are also on the low end, which makes them very accessible to the amateur leagues (in which I consider myself). I see other nurseries offering the same plants, also brought in from other vendors, potentially infected, for much higher prices.
All of this to say, it is disheartening and disappointing to receive a plant in poor condition, infected, or infested. I feel that pain. I also have few resources and want them to stick around, and I try to understand their business pressures and goals. Right now, probably 85% of my orchids are from SVO for the simple reason that they grow for me, are (for me) easy keepers, and they thrive. I'll still be going to Hausermann's and Natt's in Chicago and find a way to give them some of my money, just for the experience of being in their greenhouses. If I were only able to buy from Hausermann's on line, I might not feel the same, but I do think that they are a serious business and not at all a scam.
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