Got my orchid fix.

[Team Ferret]

So I think I have made it to the next stage of "orchid addiction". But hey, I can stop at anytime.

Last weekend I went to a show, and really wanted to buy. But I didn’t like most of what I saw and the A/C was broke in the building, so I didn’t stay long (nor did I buy). So on Thurs, I ordered some S/H stuff and a plant from Ray. But on Friday I couldn’t take it any longer, and on the way back from lunch my assistant asks, aren’t you in the wrong lane to turn? Nope, we are not going back to the shop, we are going orchid shopping!

So I headed to Tropic 1 to have a look around. It’s not like it was that far out of the way, we were there in five minutes. The crew at Tropic 1 was busy cleaning for a sale that started the next day. So we started looking at orchids, and the first thing we see are rows of vanda's, hundreds of them. Or before I go any further, it was 98 degrees outside and about 108 to 110 in the green houses.

I was there to look for brassias and other oncidiums. There were in the back hot house. So long story short, I tortured my assistant for about an hour and a half walking her down rows of plants with strange names in the sweltering and humid heat.

Since I am still new at growing orchids, I really didn’t want to get a $30+ plant and kill it in a month. I found a lot if nice plants that might be better off where they are, for the time being. But then I came upon the "bargain bin". It’s not like it had a sign on it that said so, but that is where I told the lady there I found them. It was just a couple rows of benches that had dried and shriveled, bare root orchids that many has new growth. Most of them were divisions, but there were a lot of seedling vandas and other stuff.

I ended up with 6 orchids for $7.50. One was a "no name" oncidium for $0.50, three Mtssa Dark Star " Darth Vader" bundled together for $2.00 and two Brassia Rex for $5.00. All have new growth and new root growth.

I soaked and potted them on Sat, and I think they are going to do well. Ill get some pics taken and start a new post for the potting story. Ill post it in the S/H forum in the next few days.

But, back to the topic of addiction. I no more than finished potting these up, looked at my wife and said, I want to go buy some more.

Dave