I split my purchases between eBay and some very few select vendors. Andy's, Hawk Hills, Golden Gate are a couple of examples. If you enter 'Orchid species' in the search line and hit the button, right now 1,600 odd items come up. That's just species, there are also a few thousand hybrid orchids. If you cruise around there you'll find anything you could possibly want and at better prices than the regular vendors charge. I hear what you are saying about the high cost of shipping. This can be avoided with multiple purchases. When I focus on something I immediately go to Seller's other listings and see if he has other things I might want. If not I'll pass on the item. If he has a couple of more things, suddenly the shipping is down to $4 a plant which is manageable. Eventually you get to know the vendors and know who is fair and who gauges. I do something I call 'Intelligent Orchid Design' because it happens every Sunday morning and I'm hoping I get a little help. I get up, have a cup of coffee, read the LA times, scratch what needs scratching and then look over the 1,600 species offered. I rapidly scan over them and hit 'Watch List' if something looks interesting. I can peruse all of them in 1/2 an hour. Now I may have 30 items on my watch list. At this time I take the time to research each one and eliminate more than half. Then I look at other offerings to see if multiple purchases can be arranged. Finally I may end up with 5 to 10 plants for serious consideration., I don't bid on them but sleep on it, if she still looks good the next morning without make up, I'll bite. I'll place reasonable bids and refuse to get caught up in the hype of a bidding war. At the end of the week I may have anywhere from zero to 5 or 6 plants that I actually bought. Do that every week for a few years and some real eclectic and unusual stuff ends up in your greenhouse. Nick

For anyone out there still tempted to bid on these supposed "seeds" of "rare" Anthurium, I'd like to share with you my exchange of email with the seller. But first, a bit of background. There is at least one plant on the list of plants being offered that is so rare many have been searching for it for almost 20 years! The photo used was stolen (along with many others) from the International Aroid Society website. This seller is offering 5 "seeds" for about $2 as an opening bid! I'm not going to tell you which plant, but if you've followed my by website you can figure it out. The plant was once on the cover of the International Aroid Society journal and many of us have been trying to find it for years! A botanist is in South America right now looking for the specimen since new information recently became available. And this seller supposedly has seeds of this very rare Anthurium for $2.00??? The seller has now admitted they don't even have any of the seeds offered! Here is the email exchange: I asked via eBay email: "I noticed you illegally stole the photo of this plant and many others from the International Aroid Society website. Your infraction has been reported to the officers of the society. I'm curious, do you even know this species is extremely rare? Do you know that there is not a botanical garden in the Unites States that even has one? Do you have this plant? Where did you possibly get seeds of a plant this rare? Makes me wonder? Are you even legitimate? I think I'll report this to eBay as well. Right now!" And the seller responded: "Hi, Actually the seeds are at US. I am just a trader not a botanic expert. I buy several seeds through internet and again sell them. The photos and descriptions were sent by the seller. I'm aware of the photos but the seller says that we are not selling mother plants just seeds so the photos are for just to give an idea of the plant, what the buyer should expect from the seeds. Thank you for your interest. Kind Regards, ladybotany" Some of this sellers offerings are now up into the hundreds of dollars for 5 "seeds"! Seeds that are likely nothing more than "make believe". Seeds the seller admits they don't even have! So, is anyone foolish enough to bid on seeds the seller admits they don't have? Seeds, some of which are so rare botanical gardens can't get them? From a seller who admits they know nothing about Anthurium species but still calls themselves "ladybotany"? From a seller who will steal photographs in order to make the sale of "seeds" from plants they don't even possess? From a seller that uses a Hotmail address to cover their tracks? From a seller who is not even charging enough in postage to safely pack and ship any seeds at all? From a seller whose only feedback is from things they've purchased, never sold?? If you are still willing to bid on any of these "seeds", I've got a bridge in New York City I'll sell you cheap! You could make a fortune charging tolls to cross that bridge! This smells exactly like a cleverly disguised scam! And the seller didn't even do enough homework to be clever! This offering is obviously aimed at the people of Indonesia who are willing to pay very high prices for Anthurium plants and seeds. What was it P.T. Barnham supposedly said about a "sucker born every minute"? This one is looking for a bunch of suckers. And they will probably find them unless eBay stops this entire mess! Buyer beware!! __________________

Hi All, I've bought from Aleya garden a few times would like to add my experience. I have enjoyed dealing with this guy and 'Shady' is the last word I'd use to describe him. I've ordered established rooted plants and unrooted cuttings and am extremely pleased with my purchases and the service I've received. All my shipments arrived in about 4 days (at very reasonable cost), were well packed, and communication was friendly and plentiful. I always put mine into intensive care when they arrive and have pretty good results. I've had 100% success with the cuttings, and about 90% with rooted plants. He replaced the 10% that died with cuttings too - I'm more than happy with that. Remember that the plants travel a long way and suffer a great deal of stress, so you need to take great care of them. My experience tells me that unrooted cuttings are the way to go - I know not everyone agrees with this, but it works for me! Finally, I also sell plants online as a hobby (within the EU) and this would be a great opportunity for me to shoot a potential competitor down, but I genuinely feel he's done a great job with me, and I am pleased I've taken the time to tell you all. Molly (Molly's Tropical Plants)

Those look like my Japone bush did. Pods pointed up and darkish green and thick. They will turn red when ripe.