What is your objective for growing orchids?

[Orchidaholic]

For starters for me, It's just for the fun of it all & I always love a challenge! After doing well with them and having alot of hybrids I thought what if I made some of my own! Well I have been at it for a while and starting quite the seed collection of X Self and hybrids! I have them all stored waiting for the right moment to sow. I want to get the big GH up so I have more room inside to work with.

I have aspirations to one day open an Orchid/Bonsai nursery in my area since the closest orchid nursery is in another state! I live in a top 10 Per Capita area and there is no orchid specialty place here??? Why not try to cash in on doing something I already love doing! It's a 3 year plan but I'm steadily working towards that goal!

[justatypn]

My mother-in-law had a love for orchids and after she passed away, my husband and I thought it a good idea to put together a cookbook of her favorite recipes. On the front of the cookbook is a of her favorite orchid...Blc. Norman's Bay 'Low'. Unfortunately we were unable to get a true due to one of Florida's "finest" hurricanes taking her orchid away from us, copywrite photo on the cover. With this at heart, I saw my first orchid in a local market and I swore I heard my name being called. Couldn't just buy one like Tindo it came in three's. I have a quest to find a Blc. Norman's Bay 'Low' and add this wonder orchid to my collection for my mother-in-law.

What I thought was the oldest hobby in the world has become my obsession..."The Wonderful World of Orchids" ... wow what a great concept

[adriponic]

Hi Orchidaholic

May I suggest one thing:- If you want to start doing business do it right now. Do not wait for 3 years. Just
start selling now, even if it amounts to only one plant per month, (one has to start with a first step) dont wait
for a nursery with a critical amount of stock before you
get started....

Start selling right now and everything will fall into place

Best of Luck

JPierre

[Bolero]

Yeah you can really start selling now with just a few plants. That is some great wisdom by young JPierre there. I know many people who do it that way on an ongoing basis and they do really well without even doing it full time.

It's a great idea if you can get started and get a feel for the business.

[Charles]

If you wait until you are ready, you may miss your chance. I get this all the time with life insurance. People want to wait until they are making more money or after some expense has passed, they end up not getting the insurance they need before it's too late.
Start now. Start small. You'll grow into it. And, you can make most of your mistakes while you are still small. It helps keep the size of these mistakes small as well.

[cb977]

I wish you luck with whatever decision you make

I started growing orchids just because there is such a wide variety...and with that comes my thirst for knowledge I enjoy entering my 'chids in our local shows but that's not why I grow them...

I do it all for my own enjoyment!

[Tindomul]

I agree, start small and expand as you go. If you start now you might be able to get that greenhouse sooner than 3 years. Also, that way you will be able to experience true demand levels before you are in too deep, in case demand is not high enough to support a nursery. You have to make people get addicted to your orchids first, first orchid is cheap, second will cost ya
I started cause I was on a quest for a family of orchids that would do well and bloom gorgeous blooms in my vivaria. Sneaky orchids ended up being the focal point of the vivaria pushing the animals aside

[littlefrog]

Umm... Well, I would caution putting on the brakes a bit, and it isn't because I'm worried about competition (bring it on! *grin*). Actually we need more small commercial growers, especially in under-served markets. It is a good idea, and you should do it if you have passion for it.

However... I've seen too many people with just one or two orchids under their belt try to sell plants. You see it on e-bay all the time. Any idiot can sell something, and maybe even make a profit. But, without experience you will have difficulty with customer service and you will no doubt make mistakes that could seriously dent your reputation. It sounds like you have decent experience, but you should evaluate your skills honestly (only you can do that) and at least figure out what you need to learn. I'd suggest that if you do want to start selling, you start small (very small, one or two plants at a time), and start by selling only those plants you know the most about. Everybody has a specialty, and even a relatively new grower probably has sufficient knowledge and experience to sell their favorite type of orchid.

Avoid the temptation to get too big, too fast. You will burn yourself out. Nothing takes the shine off the orchid business so fast as three hours of watering a day, in addition to repotting and everything else, and a real job to boot. Take it slow. Expand your collection at a reasonable pace. Remember, it is only worth being 'in the business' if you are having fun. There certainly isn't a ton of money to be made, if that is your goal you need to seriously think about doing something else. A very few growers do hit the jackpot, but I wouldn't bet your retirement on it.

Don't buy big lots of plants for resale just because they are cheap! You really have to consider your market and use realistic expectations. I've had that problem myself. 200 standard cattleyas for 5 bucks each? I'll buy those and make a killing. Killing myself, maybe. That rookie mistake (I've been growing for 20+ years) cost me serious bench space and I never did manage to sell enough of them to make a profit. Nobody buys standards anymore. Know your market, people will buy smaller catts, if I had done the same thing with small to mid-sized breeding I'd have sold them in no time.

I like the idea of having a three year plan and easing into it. Set realistic goals, meet your goals or adjust your schedule accordingly, and evaluate your goals frequently to make sure you still want to go where you thought you did last year. Nobody actually does that... More people should. There are certainly things that I would have done differently if I had a more defined set of goals at the beginning.

Good luck!

Rob

[Orchidaholic]

I definitely want to take some time to get to the point of opening up a nursery, but I may sell sell a plant or 2 before then. I want... need to learn a whole lot more before I can take that step. I'm no expert but do a little research every night on what i have or whats on my wish list. I have made plenty of mistakes with them in the past and will probably kill a few more down the road. It's still all for fun and enjoyment of flowering a seedling or seeing a plant that was 3 psbs when u got it having 20 now (my Aliceara Sundays Best' muffin' put out 10 growths since winter)!!! Currently building a 1000cubic ft GH in my backyard (Deadline is June 1st)! When that's up~n~runnin I'm going to start flasking seeds. Or at least try! I would be perfectly happy just seeing a cross that I made bloom (and not be a reject) but that's in the 5 year plan! LOL!

Littlefrog. Well put sir!

[markr]

For me it's just an enjoyable hobby. I have no desire whatsoever to sell orchids or turn it into something I need to make money from. I find it very relaxing tending plants of all types and I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. That's all I'm after. Also, a large growing operation just isn't at the top of my list of things to do right now - maybe when I retire, but for the moment I have other interests, commitments, and a career to manage. For now, I get a lot of satisfaction growing a few specimens very well and don't really need hundreds of plants. I only add maybe three or four orchids a year to my collection.