Bump.

You are indeed a lucky fella. I walked through the local growers greenhouses last Saturday, with his permission of course, and EVERYTHING was labeled and priced. I asked, no wallflower here, if he would discount for a multi-purchase of the smaller divisions. Got a big smile and a bigger no.

I have gotten a definite 'No' from most of the major growers I have suggested this too, but I always try and have been successful with a few specialty growers. Right now I have 114 different Bulbophyllums, most of which were acquired for $5.00 each or traded for, which is even cheaper. About 2/3 are small, the rest blooming size, but they grow fast and are easy.

I always seem to target specific genera. For over a year it was nothing but Australian Dendrobiums, then as the Greenhouses were finished, Bulbos and Rain Forest plants became the target. These plants lend themselves well to this approach, a grower can twist off 3 growths from a large Bulbo or twist off 4 leaves from a well grown Masdie and have lost very little. If you are confident to make these things grow, it's a good deal. Difficult to do with an established Stanhopea which has to be unpotted to yield a division, so no deal there.

If I look at the web page of Andy, SBOE, Cal Orchids to name a few, I could never afford all these plants. The exchange page of this forum used to be a great place to get new plants but is totally dead now, very few people seem to want to trade.

Nick

"The exchange page of this forum used to be a great place to get new plants but is totally dead now, very few people seem to want to trade."

Nick, is it any wonder with the proliferation of virused plants why people are hesitant (polite)?

Also, some contributors make light of how they acquire plants. Walking around, scrounging orchids from the neighborhood doesn't invite confidence....

I prefer to spend an extra buck to avoid a Typhoid Mary. I have too much invested already!

--Stitz--

Seems a great idea, Nick, esp. if you know you can grow the teeny tinies.

Several times, I've asked growers if they had smaller, less expensive plants available than those advertised and have gotten established plants for quite a bit less. This has worked for me because I want to keep the # of plants down, rather than fill up a new greenhouse.

Also, I'm fortunate to have an orchid buddy who's savvy re: viruses. He has a large, varied collection and is always offering to divide, cut off, etc. No guarantee a virus won't get loose, but at least he follows all the precautions.

It never hurts to ask. If nothing else, the grower might have seedlings they'll sell for way, way less.

WC8

One way to avoid the middle man is to do a bit of orchid breeding. But then you have the problem of what to do with all the babies. Some people are terrified of selling those babies before seeing a flower on every plant lest they have sold the best of the bunch.

Pretty inexpensive way to go especially if you can find an orchid buddy to share the costs and to help increase the size of the gene pool.

I agree with stitzelweller regarding trading. I am not happy when I find a 'trader' has been dabbling in the 'virus'/mislabeled cheap market and then trading their plants to me for my clean stock. Not happy at all!

Any wonder its dead. I just trade with those I know and trust. A tight circle like that excludes most trade sites.

I got into the orchid forum about 2002 and stopped participating for a couple of years in 2005 (approximately). At that time there was a very active group of traders, mostly species growers. The HD Phalies were not on the table. I used to bounce around the internet making deals all week long, pack them on Sunday afternoon and ship anywhere from 2 to 5 parcels every Monday. Later in the week the returns started arriving and it felt like Christmas. In the last year of this I wrote an article for our local orchid society on trading and did some numbers. In that year I traded for slightly over 200 plants, average cost (postage) less than $2.50/plant.

The astonishing thing is that all this happens without a loss to one's collection. I never traded actual plants but front end divisions from large specimen plants. I remember a large Bulbophyllum blumei which was exploding with 25 new leads. I must have takes 15 plus leads of that plant without really diminishing it as it was growing so fast. Similarily a Max variablis (yellow) which was so big that one could remove division after division and it never seemed to get smaller. Nothing other than a front-end division was expected in return.

Only once did I received no plants back, a teenager had discovered us and took a few of us for a ride before we ID him. I never received a virused plant nor do I ever remember being disappointed with a trader describing a plant and then something much inferior showed up. I also received not a single complaint about the plants I shipped out.

Living in LA which is a common vacation destination, I got to meet in person several of the traders as they took vacations and stopped by. It was a fun time and I miss it, those days are gone. I don't think it has anything to do with cheap virused big box store orchids, which are not trade material, but rather with the personalities and likes and dislikes of the current participants.

If I suspect a virus infection, I immediately discard the plant. The only ones I have discarded in the last few years were a few Catt hybrids and a couple of Cymbidiums. In the last few years, I have never found a virused plant amongst my species. The Masdies/Draculas are very prone to that and I keep a close eye on aphids there. In 2002 a virus got into my Masdie collection an ripped through them like a wildfire. I must have discarded half the Masdies before that got controlled and the problem has never recurred. I have heard of others having that problem with this particular group of plants.

I probably have over 50 worth wile (in the eyes of the beholder of course) plants that could be traded right now but it takes 2 to tango.

Nick

Nick, if I had anything to trade, I'd let you know right this minute! My collection's down to plants I want to keep, and most are still recovering from not getting watered for several months and not strong enough to divide.

And you're correct - the forum has changed significantly in the last 2-3 years or so.

If you aren't on any other forums, would that be an option? Surely other orchid forums have active trading going on. WC8

Whitecat, you gave me an idea. I threw a couple of Draculas and Masdevallias on the table at another forum and within 24 hours am knee deep in a multiple plant trade with 2 people. A third one is sniffing at the pot.

This is the way it used to be with our forum but no more. Our loss.

Nick

I notice that you are in California, as I am. The botanical gardens have plant sales, the orchid society has its sales at the Joselyn centers and I have picked up some great plants there. As to why this place is kind of dead, I guess lots of people are spending time on Facebook or twitter. There seem to have been a lot of either spam or bogus postings on some of the forums and that gets boring, and since people are not remodeling or building as much there is less traffic on this site overall.

Our society, the South Bay Orchid Society meets at the Botanical Gardens every 3rd Friday of the month. Maybe you can join us if you live close.

Nick