Do you think the Orchid buisiness is BIG bucks?

12 years ago

I think it is!

I feel bad for the unsuspecting customer that walks into a greenhouse and buys a plant that the nursery knows full well will fail the average person.

I can't even begin to tell you how many people I know that have replaced their orchids over and over again due to not being well informed about their needs.

They are having an Orchid special next week with hundreds of Orchids and many of them that will not survive unless they have teh perfect conditions.

Some are over 50 dollars and no one is ever there to teach anyone of their proper care.

Strange.

Mike

Featured Answer

arthurm

12 years ago

Mike, your worst nightmare would be to own an Orchid Nursery. You have to put up with customers, especially those that come along and waste ages of your time and then buy nothing!

"Fail the average person" i do not own a nursery but if i'm on a show sales table i suss out the customer and try and sell them something that they might be able to grow and bloom.

The Orchid Nurseries that survive long term do the right thing by their customers.

Sometimes the customer does not listen. I gave a friend one of my Tolumnia Hybrids and he was standing in my glasshouse looking at them, where they were growing etc. etc. and i said. blah, blah "do not repot it , take it home and it should be fine for another year." Needless to say he took it home and put it in a larger pot. it died.

Then, of course, there is the work, all that potting on, repotting. The bills, must be a nightmare, the cost of heating in the frozen north....

Finally, we are not growing Marigolds. We are growing orchids. Some are a challenge and to grow everything you might need about 10 sets of different growing conditions.

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Comments (6)

jane__ny
12 years ago
I agree with Arthur. Plus, orchids are slow, slow, slow. By the time you get a plant with multiple blooms, its taken years of growing.

It is an expensive hobby. That's why you have to start slowly and learn as much as you can. Best place to do that is your local Orchid Society. Also, join the American Orchid Society and you can get discounts from many growers and discounts at shows. You will get a beautiful magazine and want to grow everything you see!
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orchidnick
12 years ago
The commonest plant sold in America is the Poinsettia, over $100,000,000. Next come the orchids at around $90,000,000. Roses at about $20,000,000 copme in third, then all the others. These numbers are at least 5 years old.

Nick
James _J
12 years ago
A grower once told me " If you want to make a small fortune in the orchid business you have to start out with a large fortune." Lots of orchid growers have gone under in the past few years.
meyermike_1micha
Original Author
12 years ago
Jane:

Thank you for that. I actually joined one and I can't wait for their first meeting next Tuesday.

I think I will hold off on looking at a magazine for a bit. Looking at the orchids here, especially the one you posted is enough for me.:)I am still working on getting that one and then I will be content to a day or so:-)

Yes. From what I am reading it seems that there a honest hearted groups of people who barely scrape by in the orchid buisness and who invest quite a bit of time. I have actually met a place like that and was very impressed with their acre for them.

Then there are places like outlet stores, nurseries, and big box stores that make good money on them just to have repeat customers who have not got a clue as to the proper care for many that should not even be sold here.

Then there are the sellers that make a pretty penny on some that are a lot smaller than you think when you get one from e-bay.lol

Then there are places that loose them by the wayside of not sold in a proper amount of time. They just threw about about 30 orchids at teh Lowe's here. I was sickned my that. They refused to give me one to save.

Mike
MojaveLove
12 years ago
In the Chicago area we have a few well known Orchid businesses that you all have probably ordered from, Oak Hill Gardens and Orchids by Hausermann are the two that pop up in mind right away. I've visited Hausermann's and could not believe the size of the place. We get really really really cold winters here and I can't even imagine the cost of their operation. They sell mostly Cattleyas too. But then in the Summer they probably only need to turn on some fans and not worry about AC, so maybe it balances out?