Hey guys and gals, I'm new to the forum and also new to orchid keeping. I started off with a couple of cymbidiums about 3 months ago, and know i've got the bug (or would it be flower in this case?) and I want more but I dont just want to go down to the big box store and buy your basic run of the mill, everybody has one, or two, or three, Orchid. I'd like something a little more unique and am not sure where to start looking. I'm going to the Vancouve Orchid Society show and sale in Richmond this weekend, I figure it's a good place to start, but was wondering if anybody had any other suggestions. I'm in the Vancouver area so I'd like to try and keep it local if possible, but any suggestion is a big help. Thanks
Sounds like under your BC circumstances, you are going about it in the right way. In my circumstances, I can walk down any alley and see what anyone has hanging on their back fence or stuck in a tree, and dicker for a corm. As an example, I stuck three stems of Epidendrum radicans (bamboo orchids) in a clay pot filled with growing medium and set it on the ground on the shady side of one of my coconut trees. They climbed out of the pot and created a brush pile of stems. Today, 3 May 07, over a 12 foot expanse, I have 16 bloom stems with each stem having up to 15 individual orchid flowers. There are another 9 stems about to bloom and I don't even know how many stems in various stages of growth. One of our local Deputy Sheriffs lives out from town and brings wild orchids to me that he finds growing on his oak trees. The ease of procurement never decreases the thrill of seeing the uniqueness or beauty of the plants. Oh, and with this wad of epi's, I have sold possibly two dozen stems at our Master Gardener plant sales(U.of Florida).
