Orchid Wiz

[capemaycowboy]

The gentleman who started our little orchid club here in Southwest, Florida purchased the computer program Orchid Wiz about a year ago and raves about it. He highly recommends it but I know it is very expensive. I believe it's over $300.00 when you add in all the extras. Does anyone out there have an opinion about this program? And are there other programs that are less expensive that quite possibly do the same thing?

[Orchidementia]

The RHS database is free online. It's not quite the same - no photos or 'family trees,' but there is a lot of information there.

I don't use OrchidWiz as they have no Mac client and I'm not partitioning and infecting my machine for one program!

[katrina]

I use OW and LOVE it! I especially love the climate data and culture info. It's not always 100% accurate but it sure beats the heck out of a lot of the misinformation on the web.

I bought it but only did the first installment (or whatever it's called)...that cut the cost down to around $90 or so. Uh, maybe that was $190, I don't remember now. Still, doing it that way saved a bit of money. I will do upgrades in the future but...for me personally...I didn't see the need to do the quarterly updates and upgrades at this time.

Almost forgot...because I have become so spacially challenged...I also love the data on the plant size.

[phalaephila]

I use OrchidWiz all the time. I'm always researching the parentage of plants, learning about if a species or hybrid will take the conditions I can offer, all sorts of stuff. The newest version has a geographic function, which is awesome, as I will be traveling to Peru in October. I know I haven't even begun to use this tool to its full extent. I highly recommend it, especially if you have the desire to learn all you can about orchids.

[mehitabel]

I thought about OW for over a year before I could bear to part with the money for it. It seemed so expensive for an unknown thing. I feel it's definitely been worth it. However, I do agree with Katrina, there's no need for the quarterly updates. The basic program is plenty, so maybe you can manage it for less than $300.

About OW on Macs. I switched to a Mac for my last computer. You can add software that allows you to run Microsoft on your Mac at the same time you are running the Mac. This allows you to have OW on your Mac. There's no infection. I don't use the Microsoft for the internet.

[Bolero]

I haven't paid over $300 for it ever. I paid about $200 up front and pay for an annual maintenance plan which provides upgrades and updates I think for about $90 per year so to me it's excellent value.

I have been using it since verson 3.0 and I find it invaluable for researching plant heritage and culture as well as identifying hybrids with the new name. I can't recommend it highly enough, it's the best program going around. Wildcatt Database is really the only commerical competitor but it's not as good in my opinion.

[orchids4me]

OW is on my wish list along with a greenhouse.
Emmaye