Orchid Rescue in Singapore.... helpers needed!

[Carl Baptista]

Hi to ALL,

Im thinking of starting a service called "Rescue Orchids R' Us" or something like that....

AS many of you will know, buying orchids in Singapore is relatively cheap... especially for the "cut orchid" varieties. There are so many people who buy orchids for a festive occasion (like Xmas) and after the flowering discard tham in some location at the back of the house either.

Basically, i want to start a little operation where we go around and collect these up and either nurse them back to life or take them away and find them a new home...

Sort of like pets.... but for orchids!

Anyone in Singapore keen???? or would someone overseas like to discuss this idea with me???

Lets keep these orchids alive... plants are for life....

C.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I feel the same way, but I'm a third of the way around the world from you. I wish there was a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for plants. I get rather angry when I see home Depot letting a ton of plants curl over dead when they fail to water them on a windy day, and especially when I see a Miltoniopsis with spikes hanging limp for lack of water, or the same half dozen Phals sitting in a tub of water day after day after day, until I take them out and let them drain all over the place hoping to send a message.

[SwTLaDYy16]

I agree...I've rescued a few orchids from Home Depot myself....it's pretty sad. i'd love to help out and get all these orchids that are being abandoned, but I'm in the US. DOn't know how much of a help I can be.....

[arleneg]

I, too, would like to help. But being on this side of the globe, I'm not sure if it will do any good.

[prisana]

Yes, Cynthia ..it should be a crime how these people treat orchids. I'm starting to think maybe they are preying on orchid lovers by not taking good card of them on purpose..nice ones will sold to general customers, dying ones are kept for us orchid people..at the same price . I would love to get some orchids from Singapore, But I think I'd see first what my father can do for me , he lives in Thailand. They have all kinds of Vandas and Mokaras for next to nothing..Dendrobium species are also available..don't worry , I only want ones that are legal to own. Hope the paperwork won't be too much of a problem.gotta do some reserch.

[Aniko]

Everybody seems to blame Home Depot or other businesses. But what about the millions of plants as: Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Araucaria, etc. and of course orchids, sold to people who enjoy their beauty then throw them without remorse in a dumpster ?
This is the most common attitude...
Aniko.

[Maddy]

If I weren't halfway around the world, I'd be making space for those rescued orchids. As it is, I have a parlor palm on my jewelry hutch that's a rescue from work.

Most plants are so easy to rebloom with a little care, and they're always prettier the next time around - I don't understand why people throw them out. (There are two Christmas cacti that won't suffer that fate - they're recuperating in one of my west windows. I just have to remember which is the pink one and which one's apricot when I repot.)

[Lucinda Brown]

Hieverybody, I know what your saying,I,unfortunately,worked at Home Depot for over 3 years. They hired me for my experience with plants but didn't allow me to care for them as needed.They were much more interested in stocking shelves,sweeping floors and inventory than keeping the plants alive. I felt like the Grim Reaper when I was dragging all those cart loads of dead plants to the dumpster at night.That's why I went back to greenhouse work,doesn't usually pay as well but it's not as depressing. So say a little prayer for those working at those kind of places,too. They may care and have experience but are not allowed to bother!

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

One of our avid orchid growers in Phoenix manages the garden department in a Home Depot, and that is probably the only Home Depot on the face of the globe that has properly cared for orchids. For those considering importing plants from other countries, you may want to read this thread:
Orchids in South Africa?
If you want to go ahead with bringing plants into this country, start a new thread and we will see to it that you get to the correct info.

[flaorchidfan]

i am so pitiful about saving plants that several years ago i was renting a room from a married couple that drove tractor trailors cross country. They stopped home one day and there were two pitiful dried up palms in 4 inch cups. I replanted them and they now are, six years later, in the corner of my patio in 18 inch pots each about 48" tall. All because I couldnt see them thrown away. I would do my part to help the 'chids.

[mdomingz]

We are all on the same boat i guess!. Me too, have had my share of saved orchids and it is so rewarding when you see them bloom and grow healthy after a bad period. And it's also thrilling to discover what their flowers are like. Some make it and some not, but at least you know you are saving a bit of nature's creatures.

Do you feel that they almost talk back to you, or is it just me?

manuel
panama

[Ak_Orchid]

Originally Posted by Aniko

Everybody seems to blame Home Depot or other businesses. But what about the millions of plants as: Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Araucaria, etc. and of course orchids, sold to people who enjoy their beauty then throw them without remorse in a dumpster ?
This is the most common attitude...
Aniko.

When people find out I grow orchids they always have a ton of questions about them. I've found that many people that buy them from stores like home depot or local grocery stores don't know that an orchid will rebloom, and think it's dead once the flowers fall off. Of course, with just a little research they would find this isn't true. Sad, but true.

[janet_a]

well, i don't know if this sort of thing would fly in singapore, but some greenhouses in this country make a pretty penny by "boarding" people's orchids: they keep the orchid til it starts to bloom, then the owner comes and picks it up and keeps it until it's finished, then they return it to the greenhouse. usually there is a monthly fee per plant. chadwick's greenhouse in powhaten is literally 75% boarded orchids.

http://chadwickorchids.com/index.htm

they charge $2/mo/plant.

[prisana]

Thanks, Cynthia for the the link about import orchids..saves me a lot of reserch time.

Janet-that's a good idea, but for me. it would be like giving away my kids..

I find a lot of plants in my yard by just during my walks..I picked up a coconut from the lake in my backyard 9 years ago, now it's a full grown plant looking pretty in my front yard..giving off coconuts left and right. On wet season , one of the old trees in my yard sprout little ferns that are dormant in dryer seasons, I picked them off the trees whenever I see one sprout, now I have lots of fern under my orchid bench for humidity. I got a bunch of sticks to fence around my gardinia and one of the sticks sprouted , now I have a good size tree in my backyard..I could go on..

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

A bit of warning on the ferns in the greenhouse. They will likely send out spores and you will have fern starts in your orchid pots. Remove them immediately. Ferns have very tough wirey roots that will be very difficult to remove from your mix/roots when you repot your orchids, resulting in causing a great deal of unnecessary orchid root damage in the potting mix removal stage of repotting. No fern is worth the major set back of my orchids due to additional orchid root loss.

[mayres]

Interesting post on the ferns Cynthia - and I see your point. I have actually posted in another thread somewhere awhile back where someone WANTED some ferns growing in their orchids for the aesthetic appeal (in THEIR eyes). I've had at least one nice orchid a few years back that had some nice looking ferns growing with it - after admiring them for 5-6 months I finally decided that they were probably not going to do the orchid any good and removed them.

[prisana]

Thank you Cynthia, but I don't have a green house. Is it still a cause for concern ? My orchids grow outside, so I get all kinds of unwanted weeds in my orchid pots, one in particular is most annoying , the clover..or whatever you call it. It's everywhere , and I have to pick them off my plants everyday !!! I haven't had problems with the fern yet, but I've only had my orchids outside for less than a year. Hope the fern will just sit there and look pretty and not send out too much spores. Thanks for the tips , I'll watch out for little baby ferns..

[Carl Baptista]

Merry Xmas to all,

In Singapore we are smack bang on the equator.... we do not need greenhouses.

What we need is to make sure we do not over fertilize...AND do not place the orchids in too much sunlight.

Otherwise we have everything else that is perfect.

I think i am going to start this out here in Singaproe and see how it goes. WE'll just collect dead/dying orchids from people who buy them when it flowers and throw it out back when the flowers have died. You'll be surprised with the number of flowers discarded after the season's festivities.

WE'll nurture these plants back to life and then "plant" them on trees in the neighbourhood. Just tie them to trees and fences etc...

We just need to build awareness... and if this does it.... we could be on a winner... not for us... but for the orchids!

C.

[jaxz]

Hi,

That's a great idea. I'm fr Sg too and have recently picked up interest in orchids I'd love to help in your efforts to salvage orchids, and perhaps learn some orchid care tips from you!

In fact, I just salvaged a whole bunch of dendrobium canes from a florist near my place - they were just sitting in a couple of pots soaked through from the recent onslaught of rains. All those canes have outgrown their pots - media all broken down and rotting roots. Sigh. Have now dried them out and getting a few keikis coming out!

So, when shall we start??? :P

[janet_a]

Originally Posted by Carl Baptista

WE'll nurture these plants back to life and then "plant" them on trees in the neighbourhood. Just tie them to trees and fences etc...

that will be very cool......