Just so you don't think that I just whine all of the time, here is my last, of the season at least, ebay purchase. Just to show what plants can look like, even after some difficult circumstances...

These plants came from someone called Sophie's Orchids in St Paul, MN. They arrived on Friday, but I was delayed at a doctors appointment and, when I got home, I found a note from the postman saying that he had taken the box back to the post office. I called the post office, but they were about to close, and I really didn't want to rush as it was starting to get dark, so I told the postmistress that I would collect the package on Saturday.

We had an ice storm on Saturday, and I didn't feel very confident about driving, and the postmistress said it was fine, they weren't going to put the box outside! I had another medical appointment today and finally got to the post office at 3 this afternoon.

Here is a picture of the box, outside and in, and a couple of the plants. They are not large, but the listing did say that the plants were small and I think they look pretty darn good considering what they have been through! They are now getting a lukewarm drink and will be put to bed for the night before I take a really good look at them, but the compost looks good.

And the picture is......???

Jim

Oh, dear, I did it again! Sorry! I was in the middle of feeding the dogs when I was writing...that m excuse...next time I'm bringing out the big excuse (I recently had a brain haemorrhage and it has made me very anxious and all of the medical appointments are not helping!).

What's the white stuff, Lore? Polyester?

I think so. It looks like cotton wool but feels more like synthetic. I prefer the fibre that you use, Ken, it really is nice .

I am curious how much plants like this cost?

About $10 average. Wish I could go to some of the places mentioned in other threads!

Hey, they DO look great! Nice n healthy. What'd ya get !? So sorry to hear about your medical stuff--it sounds very scary certainly a good excuse to forget the little things. I hope being a gardener helps you through it in some way. I know it helps me!

They are cattleya species, I know they're small but at least they are in good shape!

I was thinking about the places to get orchids at reasonable prices and all I could think of was:

1. Home Depot /Lowes/grocery stores. But the choice of plants is limited. And, once i bought a tiny mini phal in a plastic pot, itself inside a clay pot, decorative, I suppose. It did well, and a year later, when I took it out of the two pots, I found a huge live cockroach living between the two pots! I never bought plants at that grocery store again.

2. Orchid shows? Are there usually plants for sale at them? Are the ones run by orchid societies open to the public?

3. Local orchid societies sometimes have sale tables or swaps at their meetings but, first, find your orchid society. My nearest is 100 miles from here.


Thank you for your good wishes, Kate. You can see why I write too much on here, I am not used to staying home and don't know when/if I can return to work.

I have no excuse to write so much on here except pure procrastination! (I work from home!)

Tropiflora here in Sarasota has some really nice orchids and none of them were more than $30 and some were really big. They had some $10 ones today but I had to resist so I didn't even look at the labels. There are some Brassavolas for $10 too, I did buy one of those. I saw a pretty big Oncidium that had a massive bloom chain on it for $20. Also a big Vanilla orchid for $20. If you want, I can keep checking and when I go back for their sale this weekend, I can ask if they'd ship one to you. Their website hardly has any of their orchids on it. I just spent a lot of money there and may blow some more this weekend on two Uncarinas that I'm lusting after, so perhaps I can guilt them into working with you ;)