Phal. gigantea from Norman's
 

I've read that Norman's Orchids (orchids.com) is a hit or miss with a lot of people on this board and elsewhere. I wanted to share my experience and photos of my new Phal. gigantea in case anyone else is looking to buy a gigantea from Norman's as he seems to be one of the few nurseries at the moment selling larger sized plants.

Here it is freshly repotted in a basket of grodan cubes.

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Quite a nice plant I'd say!

At this point it is the most expensive orchid I've ever purchased. $250 + $50 overnight shipping (which FedEx actually took 3 days to deliver). My previous record was a bellina from Krull-Smith, which was $200 + $40 shipping.

A week before ordering I did email them asking for a photo of a sample plant but never got a reply. I guess I expected that.

All in all I'm happy to have taken the chance and will give my wallet a break from buying orchids for the next........ month..

BEAST!!! very nice acquisition

looks happy in that setup

That is a beauty! I so glad for you that your gamble paid off. They really do have the best selection of Asian bred Phalaenopsis.

I literally hate Norman's Orchids. They screwed me out of $600. I post negative reviews at every opportunity, I'm on a mission.

That being said, this is how obsessed I am with orchids: I placed an order with them this month... They had two plants that my heart desired that I couldn't find elsewhere:

* Phal. amabilis fma Irian Java '24 H Fragrance Princess'
* Grc.Black Comet 'Indigo Blue'

I also had seen this one online and liked it so I ordered it too:

* Phal. Yaphon Pink Bee 'Sweetheart'

I didn't hear anything from them for 10 days after I ordered. I sent a message, they replied 3 days later and shipped the next day. The two plants I really wanted were both in great condition. The Phal Yaphon was not... It was what I have come to expect from Norman, old drenched rotten sphag with a bunch of dead roots. All and all I was glad I rolled the dice.

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Interesting potting method! I'm sure you aren't experimenting on your $300 phal right?

Very nice! How were the roots? Did you get the Jiaho strain?

You are courageous for ordering blindly from a person with such a reputation...
I asked a shop in Germany for a Phal gigantea's pics as well, they provided within less than an hour.

Holy cwap! I'm still learning on my third tiny $50 gigantea. You know this really really really needs to be hot and humid, right? Like never under 75 degrees F / 24C?

This is the third gigantea in my home and the largest. The other two belong to my partner (OB lurker @topicalgrain) who grew mostly carnivorous plants until Phalaenopsis gigantea gave him the orchid bug officially.

Personally I don't find them that picky about warmth as long as it's not too cool. This article that Peter Lin wrote about gigantea culture says he finds them pretty tolerant of wide temperature ranges. Norman Fang of orchids.com has a video on youtube where he discusses gigantea culture and hybrids and he also states that he doesn't grow them as warm as people think they should.

Our other two giganteas were acquired last summer and they both started growing a new leaf around November when temperatures in the house started cooling slightly.

This one pictured below is from Peter Lin. We were so excited about it that we took off work that day and drove 3 hours outside of Austin to pick it up in person. We met Peter in a police station parking lot. Still don't know what his greenhouse looks like.

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This tiny one is an alba seedling from ebay that did not arrive in the best condition but is also growing a new leaf right now.

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The new plant is the Jiaho strain ('Jiaho Delight' x 'Jiaho's Best'). Roots looked pretty good to me.

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I was worried about it being delayed in transit while temperatures were around 50F today. The moss it came with was a little wetter than I was comfortable with in that temperature but I dont think I see any terrible damage so far!

Now, potting it in rockwool cubes was a bit of experimentation. Half of my Phal species collection is in the same potting setup and don't seem to hate it. Most continued growing like they were in sphag. But it's only been a few months. Time will tell.

Good luck with all the new orchids! :)

I want a Phal Gigantea in the WORST WAY, but cannot find one online. I am afraid of Normans due to bad reviews. Does anyone know of another reputable on-line seller that might have them? (My max budget is $100, so I suppose that will be a seedling?)

That being said, I will be in South FL in May -- what sellers might have them there? Would prices be better?
Thoughts, comments?

Considering what pet lovers are willing to pay for pedigree dogs, cats...with papers etc...etc....

Us orchid lovers are way behind them on spending...

Congratulations, that orchid look FANTASTIC...!!!

You should talk to horse people about money. Actually, you should talk to the spouse, not the horse person.