Such Different Condition In New Purchases

[oregon woodsmoke]

I just bought three large gorgeous Phals from Costco. These are all the same size, all potted the same, and all from the same nursery.

I get them home and remove the pottery pots. On one the roots look to be in good condition. On one the roots at the bottom inch of the planter are all rotted but the rest of the roots look OK.

The third one looks like they removed it from a smaller pot, placed it into the large pot and filled in the empty space with sawdust.

I will do what I've done with my earlier purchases: remove the pottery pots and keep the orchids in their clear pots. I take a sharp knife and cut drainage and aeration slits along the sides of the clear pots.... more like the plastic pots I buy for re-potting.

I will let them dry out, which is easier to gauge when looking at the clear pots.

I just thought it was interesting that three plants from the exact same place were so different. It appears that you don't know what you've got until you get it home and take it apart,