SAVE THE ORCHIDS!!

[siannevo]

Hello newbies (like me)....

If you are in the United States, I am asking all orchid growers to contact their local Trader Joes (if you have this in your state) to try and stop the destruction of orchids.

This may sound silly but two thing are happening that can be stopped.

For one, all the orchids arrive in plastic sleeves and are left like that for weeks which causes cellular damage to the leaves and the stalks as water is often trapped ...this is what happened to one of my orchids that was bought from there as a gift...the poor thing had to be completely cut back...

Secondly...when the HUNDREDS of orchids are not bought after a couple of weeks they are thrown out...just thrown out...the manager of my local Trader Joes said that he had petitioned to have the stores sell the orchids at a discounted price or to allow them to be given away, but so far this petition has been ignored. He said I couldn't even imagine how many flowers and orchids he throws out on a weekly basis. I am asking that everyone please complain to their local trader joes...

It bums me out. I hope everyone can help! And if you are a grower selling your orchids to this chain...you should have more respect for your orchids and know that they are just being brought to their untimely death at these places!!!

Thank you for reading!!

[cloudswinger]

I've seen this discussed before, regarding big box chains like HD and Lowes. I did some rescues last year when I started, but now I question the wisdom. Those are all mass produced plants, which are very likely to be virused. I'm pretty sure one of my rescue phals was virused.

[camille1585]

This is a very hot topic on OB, and has been brought up several times before! You have to face it, mass produced orchids are a perishable product just like any other. Once their shelf life is over, off to the trash they go. Selling at a discount is a good idea, but I think stores are afraid that people will want to buy them only at the discount price rather than full price. I worked a few months in a garden center, and you wouldn't believe the huge quantities of plants we dumped each week because they were past blooming or to make space for fresher plants.
Tossing out so many orchids bothers me too, but even at a low price or free, most of those sickly and half rotted orchids are just not worth the time and space to bring them back to health.

[Andrew]

At first I thought this thread was going to be about the sale of illegaly harvested Cyps but alas the age old bargain bin vs garbage bin debate.

I'm sympathetic to your first point. Stores should ensure that the plants they sell are healthy. Then again what type of quality do you honestly expect from a grocery store? If you want good quality plants you could always buy plants from an orchid nursery (most do mail order). You'll be supporting local orchid growers and the breeding quality and diversity of choice is usually far better than the mass produced plants you see at supermarkets, and box stores.

As for retailers not selling bargain bin plants, as Camille said, orchids are treated as a perishable product. There's nothing inhumane about throwing a damaged plant out. Trader Joe's like any other store is just looking to make money. They'll make more money by keeping a set price and factoring losses from trashed plants into that price than letting people buy the plant for less once it's past its shelflife. Is this ethical?
Is it any more ethical to expect a business to sell old stock for less just so you can get a cheap plant? Let's be honest, you wouldn't be so concerned about saving those poor trashed plants if they were going to sell them to you for full price.

[siannevo]

Camille,

I didnt realize this was such a discussed topic as it had just happened to me after trying to save the orchid we had discussed before...I suppose you are right that mass production happens a lot...it still saddens me...and I wasnt sure how destroyed the plants were to begin with...if it was like the one I have, then yeah all i have now are bulbs....but i feel like it can still be salvaged...I know that most expert growers would not want to bother with these plants, but for newbies like me, I feel maybe it would be worth the effort...

Cloudswinger,

You may be right that its is beyond hope and they could be virused...I segregated the plant I got. But still, it makes me sick to my stomach to think of all those trashed orchids...but maybe I should just not care like everyone is saying...

Andrew,

...to begin with the plant was a present, and secondly not everyone can afford orchids from a reputable grower, especially new orchid growers, and truthfully I dont want to pay a hundred dollars for a beautiful orchid and i dont have the right environment to cultivate it in or I dont know the intricate ins and outs of owning an orchid yet and it dies... For new people, sometimes getting discounted orchids is the best way for us to start. As for asking a store to offer discounted prices for their trashed orchids, not only would it allow people who cannot afford flowers to actually buy them, if the store donated the flowers which is what i meant by giving them away, then they could write that off and also get a tax incentive.

I dont care about the discounted orchids, and perhaps if you had taken the time to read my other post about my dying baellara eurostar (thanks to camille for the name) that was the present from that place, you would understand that I was more concerned about the orchids being trashed. Having them offered at a discounted price, or even donated, is just one way to try and save them...I would do that for any plant. But it is illogical of you to think that someone would pay full price for a sick and dying plant.

This may be an age old discussion, but I didnt know, and I am still learning about this forum...

[Ranchnanny]

I agree but they are not the only ones that abuse orchids. The only retailer I find that sells their orchids at a discount is our local Fred Meyer store in Redmond, OR. When the flowers are spent they mark all the orchids down to $5. I have purchased quite a few at $5 and they were in great shape.

These stores have their policies and changing them is pretty much impossible.

Sheridan

[camille1585]

It does sicken me to know how many are getting trashed everyday. But there's pretty much nothing we can do about it, that's how business works. So I try not to think about it, just like I try not to think about all the food the supermarkets throw out everyday.

Not getting orchids there is for me not a matter of being an expert grower or not, it's a matter of having limited space! I would rather have an orchid I really want, rather than a dying phal.
But I suppose I am lucky over here in the Netherlands. Dutch growers churn out millions of orchids a year, and a full price orchid in a supermarket is only 5€, and they're nice and healthy since they didn't have to travel far. Once in a while I come across one that I must have!And the garden centers do discount them. Here I think that not many orchids are thrown out. Dutch people love orchids so much that as soon as my supermarket gets some, they're almost all gone within a few days! Almost every single house has at least one phal sitting on the windowsill.

Siannevo,
I don't think Andrew as being rude, it was just an opinion. And we like to keep things as friendly as possible here. Plants mail ordered from growers are not as expensive as you think. True some plants are pricey, and some growers aren't cheap. But you can get some nice ones fairly cheaply if you know when to look, and in much better condition than big box Noids!

[Amanda L]

I went to a big box store that had a whole cart full of orchids they were about to throw out. I asked if they had been marked down, they hadn't. I asked if they would offer the plants at a discounted rate, they wouldn't budge on the price. So, instead of buying a few from them, I only bought one, the healthiest looking one they had. I too am frustrated that they throw the orchids out as soon as the blooms drop. It is also frustrating to ask if they would give a discount on a plant they will likely not sell and they won't discount it! Most of my orchids have come from a grocery store or Big Box store. I love those just as much as I love the ones I order from an orchid grower.

Camille is right, not all orchids bought from a reputable grower are expensive. She is also right that it depends on the plant and the grower. Don't be afraid to order online from a reputable grower, it's not that bad.

[Andrew]

Siannevo,
I've heard those arguments in relation to orchids and non-orchids and I still don't buy it. Orchids are not and essential purchases and stores like Trader Joes, Home Depot, Lowes etc are not charities. I'm all for finding a bargain but I can't see the justification for petitioning a store to sell you their left over merchandise for below retail.

I was more concerned about the orchids being trashed. Having them offered at a discounted price, or even donated, is just one way to try and save them...I would do that for any plant.

It's the idea that you need to save them that seems ridiculous. Where is the need to save a cultivated orchid? I'm assuming you wouldn't think twice about pulling up a weed, eating vegetables, etc.

But it is illogical of you to think that someone would pay full price for a sick and dying plant.

What happened to saving the poor orchid from the garbage bin? I still cannot see your argument as anything more virtuous than wanting to buy a sick orchid for half price so you can nurse it back to health and save yourself the cash. There is nothing wrong with doing this but it's cheeky to demand that the store let you do it.


If you don't mind I'm off to the local supermarket to save a block of Cadbury dairy milk.

[siannevo]

Andrew I was just trying to do something good...but you only seem to only think ill of me, believe what you want to believe...