Another possible victim here of ebay?

[sandra]

After reading of some of the less than favorable experiences others have had when purchasing orchids on ebay earlier today, my heart sank just a little. I'm waiting now for my orchids to arrive from an ebay auction....in fact, 3 plants. 2 oncidiums and 1 dendrobium. The good news is, I ran out to the store after reading these posts and bought some Superthrive so I can prepare myself to take the proper care of them before potting.

As I'm totally novice at caring for orchids, can you shed a little light my way and advise me what to do when these orchids arrive? I've got the orchid mix ready, clean clay pots waiting, I've even poured a gallon of water ahead of time that should be in optimum condition for the potting. How do you soak the roots in this Superthrive, for one? It says for 15 minutes but that's the entire root system up to the plant? A couple of inches of roots? And if the roots appear black and limp, I should cut them, correct? I shouldn't cut them otherwise before soaking them? Anything else that I should do?

This question also applies to a full, great big orchid plant that I purchased a few weeks ago (dendrobium). It had beautiful new growth on it but the roots were totally devastated. I had cut those roots back all the way, gave it new bark and so far, it's still alive but that's all I can tell. Should I take this orchid plant out of this new pot and use the Superthrive on it? It had already bloomed and flowers gone from the plant when I purchased it, so am I to assume this is the best time to use the root booster?

I want to be prepared that these plants will not be in the greatest condition and do whatever I need to, to make them thrive. HELP!!!! PLEASE!!!!

[dennis]

another option would be check out your local shows they have great selection and prices are pretty good. plus you see them before you buy

[fred]

hi sandra4453
Not all sellers of orchids on E bay are of any concern.
It would also be good if you could see a few orchid growers in your erea and talk to them also.
also new groath on an orchid also means new roots.
Any dead roots on your new plants can be cut off and I would pot them up into the mix give them a watering and let them settle for a couple of days first.
this is just my opinion and I hope this helps you.

[Sharyn]

Sandra: I've only purchased one orchid from e-bay and it arrived in beautiful condition, great roots and very healthy. It has been doing great. Mine was shipped in sphag. moss, which I repotted with fine bark & perlite.

If your plants arrive dry root, you may want to review Daniel Barrett's revive formula. He uses this method on all his dry root shipments and I used it on semi-frozen plants (mine were in pots). Do a search for "revive" and you'll find the post. Ingredients are all non-toxic and right from your kitchen.

Good luck with your new orchids.

[BillC]

Sandra, this is Daniel's revive formula just incase you have probs finding it :

Hi,
I used to import bare root Orchid plants 30 years ago, I learned this formula from my grandfather who imported before me. The Bare rooted orchids usually arrived very dehydrated, and this always worked to revive our plants!And I put my plants to soak in this formula as soon as I unwrap a shipment of orchid plants of any kind.

Mix well 3/4 cups of granulated sugar, 1 finely crushed Centrum vitamin with minerals tablet, 1/2 teaspoon of epson salt, and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent per gallon of water. Submerge your plant in this solution, pot & all in for 4 hours, then drain, Take a towel thats been wetted with this solution & wrung out until just moist, & wrap your plants in this moist towel over night in a warm (70-75 degrees)place. you'll find your plant revived by the next day! unwrap your plant, & run tempid water over the plant & planting mix well, to remove the residue sugar

This is only if your plants arrive in bad condition although Daniel uses it for all arriving plants; good luck!! Bill

[sandra]

Thank you both Sharyn and Bill for this tip and passing it along to me. My plants will be arriving bare root so I'll make sure to have these ingredients on hand. I went and bought Superthrive with the same intention, to soak the plants when they arrived. Do you know of anyone who's had success using this instead?

[Sharyn]

Sandra: Some time ago, I had the same questions regarding SuperThrive. One of our members, Ellen, was kind enough to give me some instructions. Listed below is her quote. Hope you find it helpful, as I did.

"I use Superthrive routinely when repotting or when I receive new plants, but don't use it at any other time. I'm happy with the results. I use a hypodermic syringe with a very small needle and add 10 drops of Superthrive to a 2 litre bottle of water. You could also use a medicine dropper, in which case I think about 5 drops would be enough. The dilution doesn't have to be exact. After the plant is in its new pot, I run water through the medium, then pour Superthrive through as well. If you presoaked the medium, all you would need to do is apply the Superthrive."

You can use SuperThrive to soak the roots prior to potting. I'd probably follow Ellen's instructions above for the amount. There are others who add SuperThrive to their bark while soaking it. If you're going to use bark, be sure to soak it for at least 24 hours.

[greg_s]

I got a lot of great feedback on SuperThrive. Do a search for the "Verdict on SuperThrive?" thread.

[Sharyn]

Greg: Thanks, I forgot about this link.

Verdict on SuperThrive?

[sandra]

Sharyn,

All this information is more than I could have asked for or expected to receive. A great big THANK YOU for linking me up and the advice you and everyone have given me. I'm going to soak the roots in the superthrive solution when I receive the plants. In the meantime, I'll soak the bark as well, also in the superthrive solution. I'm in good hands here. Thank you again.

[Sharyn]

Sandra: I just received an order from Carter & Holmes. I went on their site to look up something and I found this article on bare roots & repotting. Thought you might find it of interest. Good luck with your orchids.

http://carterandholmes.com/barecare.html

[sandra]

Sharyn, I am so grateful for all you've passed on to me.

Thank you so much.

[Ellen]

Did you get your plants yet? How are they?

[sandra]

Hi Ellen. No, I haven't gotten the plants yet and I'm a bit sorry that I bought them on ebay after having learned what to maybe expect. I'm prepared with the Superthrive to soak them and give it my best shot. I'll also soak the bark in the Superthrive. Lately, everywhere I go, there are orchids for sale. The supermarkets here are loaded with them - 8 inch potted, in full bloom, beautiful orchids $10.00. Today I went to the most incredible outdoor nursey - 10 acres of nothing but incredible plants. Two isles of nothing but orchids - all sizes, all kinds and again, in full bloom - healthy, gorgeous orchids, all prices, $20 for ones that I've seen go for $35. As well, succulents of all kinds which I've always enjoyed. Palms, bromelaids, kalonchoes, you name it, it was there. I'm not totally regrettful with my purchase as I'll enjoy the challenge and once they mature, potentially will be gorgeous but I'm in Florida where orchids are everywhere and I just got carried away. I plan to take some photos and post them in the other thread Kevin started the other day. The only thing I have to do is learn how to use the camera. It's new and I've been busy with other things to stop and figure it all out.

Thanks for all the advice.