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counselor4444

Review and Photos: 2009 SEPOS International Orchid Show and Sale

counselor4444
15 years ago

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay! Below is my review and a link to almost 100 photos from the 2009 Southeastern Pennsylvannia Orchid Society (SEPOS) International Orchid Show and Sale at Longwood Gardens.

Review:

The show was outstanding. This was by far the largest orchid show I had ever been to. It was well worth the trip and I plan on coming back in future years.

SEPOS and Longwood Gardens did a fantastic job organizing this show. Longwood Gardens is about 3.5 hours from NYC- so it was a bit of a trek for my husband and I, but we both enjoyed ourselves. This was the first orchid show that I was charged admission to (because it is held at Longwood Gardens). It was $16 for adults and less for students and children. A bit pricey, but I guess I can splurge once a year.

The orchid shows I had been to in the past had been run exclusively by orchid societies at small local greenhouses or arboretums... nothing like Longwood Gardens. To start, almost all of Longwood Gardens' main conservatory had thousands of orchids on display- every orchid: phals, dendrobium, cats, paphs, milts, and on and on. Room to room, wall to wall, they were everywhere. And because this is a large conservatory with many rooms, this wasn't just a few minute peek and leave. Additionally, participating vendors and orchid societies also prepared their usual orchid displays. I think we were in the conservatory 2 hours and could have been there much longer.

Highlights for us:

There were "trees" in the conservatory made almost entirely of phalaenopsis orchids that were incredible. (see my pics) They attached dozens and dozens of orchids to the top of tall poles to look like branches and flowers coming out from the top of the "trees" (I'm not explaining it very well but it was amazing) There were entire WALLS that were 30 feet high filled floor to ceiling with orchids. Very very neat.

Seller's room:

The largest I have ever seen- somewhere around 20-25 vendors from as far away as Hawaii and Ecuador. Prices were ok... some vendors charged what I consider to be ok prices... other vendors seemed to very high and hoped to get away with selling their marked up goods to people who didn't know what the plant they were buying was really worth (as opposed to orchid hobbyists who have a background and know).

I had been meaning to pick up some supplies- physan 20 and Super Thrive, so I purchased them from a supply seller. Pretty good prices.

I've been getting into art shade phal orchids and after much consideration purchased an orange phal from a company/stand called Orchidophile. (I had seen them at other orchid shows but never purchased from them because they always seemed very pricey for very small plants) I guess I got caught up in the excitement and purchased a very small (6") blooming size orange phal with two flowers and no buds for $35 plus tax. I don't think I'll ever buy from them again. First, they were very pushy in trying to sell me what they wanted. Second, even after charging me tax, they refused to give me a receipt. and Third... well, even though I liked the phal, it was not worth the price I paid (my error).

Photos:

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Act2zZi4csWL74

If you are able to go to the show next year, I highly recommend it. We loved it!

Deb

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