Rare orchid

[BlakeeBoo]

what is the best way to get rare orchids

[jay]

Like what do you have in mind? Not that I am an expert, just really curious.

jay

[Vivienne]

Start making calls to some of the larger orchid growers... and prepare to spend some big money!

[fred]

another way would be to ask at your local orchid society
talk to the growers and like Vivienne has said be prepared to spend big money

[BlakeeBoo]

I really want an orchid with decorative or strange leaves but i have not found any i like

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

With 30,000 different orchid species, be patient. It will show up sooner or later. In the mean time you should be learning how to grow orchids by first hand experience. When you get your ultimate orchid, you don't want to kill it from inexperience.

[BlakeeBoo]

what makes you think i am not already good at growing orchids and do you have a favorite orchid

[tom499]

Rare orchids are usually rare because they are difficult to cultivate. They require special conditions to grow them, are often slow growers themselves, and are usuall species. All this bucks up the price.


http://www.orchideenwlodarczyk.de/sh...293432c419fd27

An example of the prices likely to be paid for a rare orchid.

[ogus]

BlakeeBoo..

if you really want really rare ones that cost around 150,000 U.S. dollars.. here are two..





These photos are from Q Channel, website in Korea. Public photos. Can be used wihtout permission.

[fred]

ogus

may be you can be kind enough to include the names of the two rare orchids

nice display you have with them

[ogus]

Or this one.. I am not sure what it is called, but the news paper article in Korea says
there are only 10 heads of these in the world.. each head at about 200,000 dollars
making these (what they said) the most expensive plant in the world.. the plants
in this picture is consisted of 3 heads.. making it 600,000 dollars.. the amazing thing
is they actually sold 3 of these to Japan.. so they were indeed being merchandized not
someone's dreaming of prices..

[ogus]

LOL Fred.. I don't own them.. I can't own them I don't think I would pay 150,000 dollars for orchid.. I am not that crazy yet.

[pikevi]

I have heard of some fish priced at $250,000 or more ( esp. Arowana - Osteoglossum sp.).

If I had the money I'd rather spend it on an orchid than an Arowana. Even a skin lesion on Arowana may become fatal.

Are these rare and expensive orchids kept under specially controlled conditions?

[tom499]

Those leaves look varigated, they often go for a high price.

[ogus]

Hi Pikevi

Yes.. the owner / breeder has a multi million dollar green house with controlled temperature stuff with the state of art security system with a security guard living in that
proximity.

And those "Byuk Dam" the name given to these crazily expensive orchids are in a
a locked secured area within the green house. They were all filmed in that Q channel
(sorta like Discovery Channel) show.

[pikevi]

Thanks ogus.

That is NOT going to happen in my life

If there are hobbyists like him he can recoup the expense with his first 'baby'!

For that kind of money 'in vitro' cloning may be the way to go

[Miki]

Hi BlakeeBoo,
You may want to visit your local orchid society, they will have a wide range of orchids for show and sale. The members are always willing to share their experience. You will be surprised at what people are growing!

I saw this amazing phal (species) at the last show with varigated leaves (zigzag pattern)!. I am hanging out to buy that plant or get my hands on a keiki! That is my target at the next club meeting!!! Hehe!
All the best in your quest!

[cupcake]

At the moment I am not interested in rare orchids, well not to buy, but I need to learn about all orchids and see what will grow for me. I don't want to sentence any to death because of my ego! Judi

[BlakeeBoo]

i know my area has an amazing orchid society (dayton ohio) but i cannot figure out how to get a hold of them or how to join in on any of the shows

[Vivienne]

looking in the AOS Orchid Source Directory I don't see a society in Dayton itself, but there are 8 listed in Ohio. The Central Ohio OS, in Columbus, has a website... www.coosinfo.info. Maybe they can point you in the right direction.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Originally Posted by BlakeeBoo

.... but i have not found any i like

So I misinterpreted this to mean you have not found any orchids you like, so you don't yet have any orchids.

[tom499]

Most rare orchids become more widely available over time. This is especially true in newly discovered species. Supply and demand

[BlakeeBoo]

no i have orchids i have not found any with decorative leaves i like

[agarrat]

Maybe u should buy a jewel orchid

[Vivienne]

BlakeeBoo - can you tell us more about your collection and growing environment?

[gore42]

I'm of the opinion that well grown Paphs of the parvi, brachy, and barbata subsections have some of the most beautiful leaves of all plants... especially Paph. micranthum, malipoense, armeniacum, Paph curtisii, some Paph. dayanum, Paph leucochilum (some, anyway), etc. There are dozens, I guess

A well grown Paph. volonteanum is among my favorites, but they are hard to grow well.

As they're species, most are rare... some are harder to find than others, though. Some are rare in the wild, but now are common in cultivation, and not too expensive.

Here are some leaves:


Paph dayanum, obviously.


Paph superbiens var. curtisii


Paph. delenatii

I don't have too many photos of leaves, so I can't show off the best ones, but I hope this will give you an idea.

- Matt

[mayres]

I'm with you Matt - many of the paphs are worth the effort to grow just for the foliage - the blooms are almost like an added extra bonus! mike

[tom499]

Interesting potting material there I always thought of paphs as having quite thing roots and so needing fine bark.

[gore42]

I still pot my small Paph seedlings in a fine bark mix, but I find that in general, the adult plants do best in a mix of medium coconut husk chips and hydroton (or similar; prime-agra, lava rock...). The CHC retains lots of water to keep the roots moist, but is large enough that it allows a lot of air to the roots and never gets really soggy. An added bonus for people who have thousands of plants is that CHC doesn't break down very quickly... so I can repot every 2 or 3 years when I've potted in CHC as oppsed to every year (if Im lucky) with bark. Of course, you have to take a lot of care in washing the CHC, even if it is sold at "Pre-washed" or you can really have problems with your orchids.

- Matt

[tom499]

that is very true. I have a paph in semi hydro to see how it fairs, and it seems to be doing well.

never of thought to mix and match classic mediums with hydroton. well worth a go some time

[BlakeeBoo]

i do not like the look of the jeweled orchid it looks like one of the hosta out in our garden

[gore42]

I've heard that some people have had some success with Paphs in S/H (mostly hybrids, I think), but when I've tried it, they rotted and died. Seems to work well for some of my phrags, though.

- Matt

[Vivienne]

tom - I have tried the classic bark mix with some SH balls for a phrag (Les Dirouilles x schlimii) and it seems to be enjoying it. Putting up 3 new growths right now!!

Matt - thanks for the paph leaf pics. They are always so wonderful. Right now that's what I'm enjoying on most of mine. LOL

[Vivienne]

agreed Matt - I have 2 little phrags (Eric Young crosses) that are enjoying life in SH balls. I think Kevin mentioned that the caudatum types might not enjoy this medium though.

[jay]

gore42, not sure if you have seen this link before regarding semi-hydro paphs. Several people have been having great results from using worm tea instead of water and chemical nutrients.


http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/new...-slippers.html

jay

[gore42]

Hi Jay

I have seen that thread... it was that one or a similar one that prompted me to try a few species in S/H. As I said, not a great idea, in my conditions I did have good results with a vini-paph hybrids, but since I don't grow them, it's not much of a help.

I killed 4 Paph fairrieanum fma. albums that in S/H, and moved the rest back to my standard mix, and also killed a Paph. callosum, and a delenatii seedling. That was enough for me... I have given up on S/H with Paph species. Really, that's fine with me... I do just fine in my own mix.

The worm tea part is an interesting addition. I find that a well balanced (with micronutrients) fertilizer works fine for me, but either way, the problem I was having in S/H was that after a few months (longer, in some species), I'd suddenly get crown rot... and as soon as I noticed it, it was already too late to save the plant. Perhaps if I were growing outdoors, or using a different LECA I'd be able to cure the problem, but it seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

But, as I say, it's great for some Phrags. The only problem I've found is keeping the pH stable and low without any organic media. The fertilizer works to some extent, but I'm inclined to add some moss to the leca anyway

- Matt

[BlakeeBoo]

well i have a green house i have just sold most of my collection in order to by flasking equipment so as to start an orchid shop in my town and i was just wandering what does a flowering size ghost orchid cost?

[jay]

I have seen many smaller ones for sale, but I have not been able to find a flowering size.

http://www.oakhillgardens.com/htm/or...l.php?prod=561

http://cgi.ebay.com/Orchid-flask-spe...QQcmdZViewItem

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...hid&category0=


Just a couple that I have found.

jay

[BlakeeBoo]

i just got my hand on 100 ghost orchid in my quest for rare orchids and i was wondering how much i could get for them because i do not want to keep all 100 of them.

[jay]

The first link I posted showed them for $12.50 US, and that is mounted on a stick. I guess it depends on how big they are and what they are mounted to.

Did you really just get 100 of them? Wow! How big are they?

[palito]

wow a 100 ghosts? i guess you got a flask ?

[pikevi]

Gore42: I don't know which I admire most: the beautiful leaves or the photography

[tizzycat]

sorry been away for a few days and just catching up.

Gore42 - I love those pics of the paph foliage. I just bought my first one and am a little nervous as they seem so special. If I'm successful with this one I will definitely be looking for more, and was very interested in Jerry's tutorial on hydroponic growing.

[kmarch]

The orchids in ogus' posts above are (believe it or not) Cymbidiums! They're Cymbidium goeringii. In south-east Aisa and Japan C goeringii, C. sinense, and Neo falcata and a few others are extensively line bred and nearly every "mutation" is isolated and cultivated as a variety. Some of the most desirable of these are the ones with verigated leaves.

[BlakeeBoo]

they are in the flask but i might grow them till flowering size

[jay]

How many years until they get to flowering size from flask? Isn't that another 3-5 years? Who knows, I may be one of your customers. I need to set up a terrarium for it, but it looks like it might be a while before you start selling them.

jay

[BlakeeBoo]

I found one article that said they were selling for 250usd each since this is the ghost orchid from the everglades in Florida (the one that is my avatar)

[Vivienne]

jay - I would think years and years as well.

Polyrrhiza lindenii aka The Ghost Orchid... There are several available for sale on eBay from $19.99 up to $77 for a flask of them. Bids are low.

[palito]

Oak Hill Gardens is selling Ghost orchids for $12.50 . cheap!

[tom499]

hard to get in the UK though

[BlakeeBoo]

are any of those orchids flowering size though? and there is more than one ghost orchid so if you do not get it from the right supplier you may not get the right species

[jay]

No, I believe that most of the ghost orchids, Polyrrhiza lindenii, that are for sale are actually newly mounted seedlings. You might have to call to a couple of the places listed to actually ask about the size of them.

You said that you just got 100 of them. Do you know how long it will take to get them to flowering size. It is also my understanding that they are not the easiest to get to flower. They tend to like "stale" air, not too much breeze but a lot of humidity. I would really like to learn more about these because I do find them fascinating. If you have any more info about Polyrrhiza lindenii please share. Also, please share a photo of your 100 little babies.

jay

[fred]

here you go jay
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/gen...=ghost+orchids

[pikevi]

Welcome back, tizzycat.

I would not even think about rare orchids for another couple of years .

I don't want to kill them unnecessarily

[PhalPal]

Really CUTE...but $150,000 dollars??? Someone would have to be crazy! Or terribly obsessed.
I would much rather spend that kind of money on a trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Tazmania. Ten times. First Class Air. Lobster every night. Cyms, cyms and more cyms. Ahhh...the list goes on.

[fred]

a little off topic but PhalPal
Tassie first because we have fresh water Crayfish hehehe
oh and Cyms lol

[BlakeeBoo]

I would post a picture but i cannot find the cable to my camera anywhere! it is kinda makeing me mad because i have several threads i want to post pictures

[jay]

As it usually happens, you can never find what you are looking for, but you will find everything else you couldn't find while searching for the other. Just lose something else, look for that, and you will find the cable.

If it was only that easy

jay

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by BlakeeBoo

I found one article that said they were selling for 250usd each since this is the ghost orchid from the everglades in Florida (the one that is my avatar)

I believe the orchid in question here is Dendrophylax lindenii. You can buy small ghost orchids from Oak Hill (or at least you could recently) for as little as something like $12-15 US. Unless it is a spectacular, huge plant I don't think you'd ever get $250 for one ghost orchid. While they are rare in the wild still they are not nearly as rare in cultivation as they used to be.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

Really CUTE...but $150,000 dollars??? Someone would have to be crazy! Or terribly obsessed.
I would much rather spend that kind of money on a trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Tazmania. Ten times. First Class Air. Lobster every night. Cyms, cyms and more cyms. Ahhh...the list goes on.

For $150,000 you could come visit us 100 times! But that doesn't cover the cost of the Cymbidiums..or the lobster....and it's coach....ok..maybe you're right, only abotu 10 times.

[BlakeeBoo]

But it is rare for them to survive

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by BlakeeBoo

But it is rare for them to survive

Which is a BIG incentive not to buy them. I don't know many folks, actually I don't know any folks willing to pay big money for an orchid that rarely survives.

[pikevi]

I wish I had just $150 to buy orchids

[tizzycat]

I'm with you there pikevi

[Vivienne]

I'm with you too pikevi and tizzy.

Kevin - well said!!

[orchid_girl]

Ditto to that! Need money to buy orchids...LOL!!

[fred]

need money to buy orchids
not always hehehe

[orchid_girl]

No one to trade with unfortunately

[PhalPal]

Since when has lacks of funds stopped ANY of us from buying an orchid we really wanted????

[tizzycat]

errrrrrrrrrrrrm!!! to be honest never!!

[tom499]

well when i try and use my card and it fails lol!

I am going to be trying to trade more in the future, keikeis are very useful I think as long as you know the plants name you have a good trade for another seedling.

[PhalPal]

Honesty is often my biggest downfall Tizzycat!!

[tizzycat]

We wouldn't have you any other way PhalPal We love you just the way you are

[PhalPal]

Thanks, Tizzy.

[orchid_girl]

Well I have hubby to contend with at times but considering I have just bought several in the mail and waiting their pending arrival I can't say to much