This should be illegal

swords · Jan 25, 2003

Perhaps I was expecting too much but I was quite dissapointed with the orchid show I attended today. There was hardly anything interesting that you couldn't find outside of an orchid section at a plant shop. I left with the feeling that I could have saved the gas money and had more fun looking at my own collection and watching the full MASH 4077th marathon on FX!
60% was Phals, 30% phrags/paphs, 10% assorted (mostly encylia and cattaleya) and about 3 dried up Pleurothallids and handful of Masdevallia. No well grown pleuros or draculas and not one bulbophyllum (that I saw). totally ho-hum. I'm sure not everyone loves the weird and wild stuff but you'd think someone round here other than me would wanna grow the "difficult" rare stuff.

George CP How was the orchid show down in FL? Was there anything cool at yours?

GEORGE-CP · Jan 25, 2003

hey Josh,
i didn't go today. tommorrow i'm taking the drive over to see what is there. hopfully it will be better than what you mentioned. i will post tommorrow to let ya know.

fatboy · Jan 25, 2003

Hey Josh I know EXACTLY where you're coming from.

Even out here where a lot of the more interesting ones come from it is difficult to find them. I was at the Singapore Botanical Gardens last week and there is (of course) a large quantity of flowers there but apart from Oncidium Golden Shower, a few Cats, Phals, Dendrobs and Vandas then there is almost nothing of anything else there.

Here in Indonesia everything is Phals and Dendrobs. Once in a while you can find something unusual but you really have to look. I think it's because for the most part, not many people really know much about orchids. Most are probably not even that interested in orchids really, they just want some flashy colour, big is beautiful and the word "orchid" sounds sooo exotic! It takes a certain kind of person to appreciate the beauty in something like a bulbophyllum, heck I even like their foliage. I must say that many people, once you point out the wierder ones and make them take the time to stop and look, do agree they are pretty.

Cheers, Troy.

voodoolizard · Jan 25, 2003

HA.. I was also disappointed. I went at about 2 in the after noon, and it was crowed. I feel sorry for the people who were there that didn't know about the show, thinking they were going to spend a nice quite day at the conservatory..... I was thinking about going to the show in Madison next weekend. But now I'm not sure if I'll go.

GEORGE-CP · Jan 26, 2003

Josh, i would give a thumbs up to the show today. all the plants there where in great shape. i even bought a couple. i was also told to go to the Orlando show next month.

swords · Jan 26, 2003

cool! What did you pick up?

Have you been to the Orchid Emporium in Delray Beach?

GEORGE-CP · Jan 26, 2003

hey lots of diff orchids most you could find in walmart or H.D. from time to time. there were some ghost orchids there for $20 but, they where the size of a dime and really wasn't worth the money. lots of paph's in excellent shape even 4 white ones that took a blue ribbon.
the dracs will be at the orlando show. some one in tampa grows them. some rich dude. i was talking to one of the judges when i was there.
no never been to the place you mentioned been threw the town a couple of times thu.
picked up a hybid paph and 2 ludisa neather of them are in bloom yet. the ludisa is very diff looking from any orchid i have seen in foliage. from talking to the guy who was selling them they are very easy to take cuttngs and rooting them to.

Tony Paroubek · Jan 26, 2003

Location really plays a big factor on diversity at the orchid shows.. It makes a big difference if there are alot of hobbyists into rare and unusual orchids and a commercial vendor or two into rare botanicals attending the show.
If you really want to see a killer orchid show try and get to one of the shows that corresponds to an AOS trustees meeting. There will be vendors from around the country and often several from overseas as well.

Also keep in mind that mid January is not a prime time for orchid blooms ;<
Tony

GEORGE-CP · Jan 26, 2003

Tony, i don't know how they do it but, almost everything there was in bloom or had a spike and ready to bloom

swords · Jan 26, 2003

Tony this was an MN faction of the AOS doing the show. But I think everyone around here seems to like these "Target" orchids. Then again, the people around here with the best collections might not be society members.

George, I think Khai said a while ago that giving the orchids very cool nights (in preparation for an orchid show) will force them to flower because they "think they are gonna die" and it's a last ditch effort to reproduce. This might be how they get them all blooming for the show.
HD does have some nice plants from time to time. I got a very large white/yellow phal (no tag at all other than Orchid 6" pot $19.98) with 3x 3ft spikes and a fourth coming up when I was shopping for a faucet adapter for the R/O unit. I'm not really into phals but it just looks so nice and has great thick healthy silvery velamen and green tipped roots and 12"+ leaves I will mount it on a large hunk of driftwood when it goes out of flower. This plant is actually planted in milled peat moss! I have heard that some distributors do this to flower the plants faster but I think I'd rather have it on a log. The leaves are very stiff I'll bet this plant has been sprayed with that silicone stuff someone was talking about a few weeks back on the nepenthes board.

GEORGE-CP · Jan 27, 2003

well if that is what it takes its been unusually cold here this past week.

you mentioned the phal. being somewhat stiff. i just checked the ones i got and they are all stiff but the leaves are all small on the ones i have but, i do belive even the larger mature ones are like this. heck at least ya found a kool find at a decent price

Khai · Jan 28, 2003

Turgidity is the landmark of a healthy Phal.
Potassium Silicate is used widely as well.
Swords Id suggest mounting that Phal on a Hydrolog