best places to pick up super cheap orchids (clearance and bargain hunting!)

[Lacie]

I'll second (or third?) Hausermann's and Olympic for cheap orchids, especially because they both tend to have a fairly wide selection (Hausermann's has more plants overall). Their plants tend to be young (some not quite blooming size) which is why they are cheap, but they are healthy and I always prefer to get smaller/younger cheap plants and learn how to care for them rather than getting big expensive plants and accidentally killing them!

Andy's prices seem reasonable but I have never bought from him. I also like Orchids by Marlow. His plants are a bit more expensive, but he sometimes has good sales, and also has a wide selection and some less common orchids. For Catts, Carter and Holmes have reasonable prices and good sales. All of these vendors are online!

[aliceinwl]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Just to show what is possible with those SBOE $7.50 specials...Here is Dendrobium speciousum x gracilicaule (A huge beast crossed with a little species) that I obtained that way. (OK, I have had plenty of $7,50 specials that didn't perform like this, or at all, but have gotten some very nice and interesting things over the years) Some of these to take patience... got it in 2005, it first bloomed in 2010, but look at it now!

Very nice! I’ve got a couple of $7.50 Dendrobium speciosum from SBOE but I’ve had them less them less than a year. I was warned they could take 12 years to get to blooming size (fingers crossed they’ll be over performers)!

I went back to the Santa Barbara Orchid Show today and there were tons of last day of show sales. I bought everything I restrained myself from getting yesterday and then some

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

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I went back to the Santa Barbara Orchid Show today and there were tons of last day of show sales. I bought everything I restrained myself from getting yesterday and then some

I managed to resist this year, a long drive. And I just got some neat things from Hengduan Mountains Biotech (spent yesterday sorting out and mounting) and besides, I'll be working at Andy's open house next weekend and I am sure that some things will be following me home. That's my candy store...

[imgliniel]

Apparently my old threads are picking back up this week for some reason? Thats ok!!

The girlfriend did go out to the santa barbara orchid show this past weekend, not on sunday, but she made it out. I was out of town for a prior commitment and didn't make it, but I am also super broke at the moment (yeah replacing a transmission!) so In a way I'm kinda glad she the one that went and spent her money on orchids and not me! but they still come live in our house so I get to enjoy them haha.