Home Depot handles orchids badly here too. The problem is mostly that they are just another product like paint. In fact, probably less important than paint. The paint department has two full-time people there and the orchids are in an afterthought department with the cactus and tiki torches.

It's the same here. Usually, the trick is to buy an orchid when it first arrives. Otherwise, it may get watered in a pot w/ no drainage or not watered at all.

But your HD has a new twist - even if those poor Phals had just come in that very day, it'd be too late.

Whitecat8

This is why I make it a personal rule to no longer buy plants from big box stores. Period. Once I discovered that the survival rate was about 50%, compared to 95% from a reputable nursery, the cheaper prices were no longer a bargain!

Trader Joe is pretty good if you follow the "buy on delivery day" rule. At least here they have a pretty good supplier and the turnover is fast enough that there are no really bad ones. Their main orchid sin is having more than one orchid potted together.

I found that it doesn't do any good to tell them either, the people who work in the garden departments at Lowes, Walmart and Home Depot have no idea what they are doing, other than ring up the charge. They don't water when stuff gets dry. But they'll put a discount on dead plants and get peeved if you tell them it's dead. I enquired about working part time at a Lowes garden department, but they said they rotate their employees and they said I'd work all of the departments. So I said that I didn't know anything about plumbing, or electrical or appliances or paint and they said, that's OK, our employees don't need to know anything about the merchandise, what it's for, or how it works, just know where it's located in the store and sell it. Depressing, isn't it? No wonder I can never find any help when I go shopping. Cheryl

Cheryl,

In case you have a Home Depot nearby - at least here, their staff specializes. If it's not that person's department, usually they even find the right person for you.

HD garden dept. staff still may not know anything about orchids, but they can be helpful with other garden/houseplant products.

If you worked there, you could teach them about orchid care, and the store would make more $$, and you'd be a star!

Whitecat8

There are 2 more reasons never to buy from a big box store. Their plants are mass produced in 'Orchid Factories', usually in the Orient. Either Belgium or the Netherlands has recently banned all import of Phaels from Taiwan because they tested a sample for virus and found 80% of them virused. The problem has since been corrected and the ban lifted. It never the less points out one of the problem of mass producing these plants.

The other is that the plants are raised in absolutely perfect conditions. With computer generated humidity, temp, light conditions and chemical stimulants they bring the plants to bloom in record time. If they can sell a plant 18 months out of flask, their profit soars. These incredibly perfect conditions cannot and will not be duplicated in the average home. By definition, the plants will suffer a high mortality rate or at least take a down turn before performing properly.

To avoid all this, get plants from growers who raise plants themselves rather than import them by the tousands from 'Factories'.

I recently talked to someone who explained to me that by manipulating both temp and light in a very precise way they can force Phaels to bloom on mass in anticipation of both Valentine's and Mother's Day. Nothing really wrong with that, just like making a chicken lay twice a day by playing with their light. On the other hand forcing them to grow up rapidly and blooming super early in their life cannot make for a robust strong plant.

Nick

The "orchid factory" that serves our area is about 100 miles away, and the plants from there are boring, but healthy when they leave. The problem happens after that. I hadn't heard the story about virus in this type of orchid grower. Personally, I think that I am more likely to get a plant with a virus from a small grower than a big grower.

I buy from small growers because they have plants that interest me and the factories don't.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our local orchid factory

The orchid factories I'm referring to are in the Orient. The virused Phalies came from a cloning effort that included the virus. Apparently they stopped sending that cross to the country in question, whether they also removed them from the shelves of HD and Trader Joes I don't know.

Plants raised in California are probably OK, I have not heard anything negative about that situation nor to I want to heap criticism on your areas grower.

Nick

I recently bought a sad looking orchid at home depot that was sitting out in full sun. It was on clearance for $5 and I felt like rescuing a poor mistreated plant. So far after repotting and some proper care, it is doing very well. Unfortunately the tag was removed so I have no idea what kind of orchid it is. It's rather large. It's in a gallon sized pot and sits about 1ft tall. I think it had small yellow flowers but they were dried up when I got the plant. The leaves are very broad and large. The roots are thick but I did not see bulbs.

hello there,dont feel bad,i saw a couple of phals roasting in the sun in the garden center of Target/so sad,it was beautifull,but probably not for long.

I've bought a number of phals from "big box" stores such as HD, Walmart, and Lowe's and some from NYC street vendors as well. All with good results. In fact, the only reason my orchid obsession began was because HD sent me a coupon in Jan of 2008 for a half price phal. So, I thought, what the heck. Since then, I've bought an additional 4 unlabeled phals from Lowe's and 1 from Walmart. I've also bought 3 labeled phals from a chain grocery store. I bought another 6 unlabeled from NYC street vendors.

Yes, there are some downsides to purchasing at "big box" stores... 1) viruses 2) poor care 3) unlabeled. However, there are some upsides: 1) cheap 2) easy to find.

I know some of mine may be virused. I have no way to check and don't want to invest in checking. My understanding from this forum is that even if they are virused, the worst I will ever know of it is that there may be some splotches on the flowers (although I haven't see anything). I've read on this forum that some orchid growers sell plants without checking them for viruses, so why knock myself out?

I also wish all of my phals were labeled, but I don't plan on selling them for big bucks or showing them off at competitions with the hope of winning ribbons, so I have resigned to accept it.

As far as care, this is the tricky part. I have bought many phals (see above) in excellent care from these miscellaneous big box and street market vendors. I have also bought ones in not so good condition. I bought ones in poor condition knowing such and getting them at clearance prices as "projects" for me (In the $2-$5 range). Not one has died. All have prospered.

So, in a nutshell, I'm not an orchid snob (yet.... LOL) and will happily buy from big box stores and street vendors. They have saved me $ and from 1 HD orchid in January 2008, I now have a growing collection of 17. (humorously, I've only bought 1 orchid from an actual orchid grower -Taida Orchids in NJ- and it was the only one that has died....and I do blame them for it- that was in another thread).

I don't mean to sound like an orchid snob. I've rescued my share of big box plants, and some of them are doing OK.

If you're into plant rescue, more power to you. I have a limited amount of time and effort to put into my plants, so I prefer to start with something that is healthy, not struggling, when I buy it. The cost/benefit just isn't worth it to me any more. I also have issues with spending any of my money to support places that consistently mistreat their plants.

Last orchid society meeting, someone confided in me that he had bought a particularly beautiful plants at Lowe's. I think it ended up winning a ribbon that night, too.

LOL at watergal... some "confided" that their plant was from Lowe's. It is true though. People are embarressed to admit. to outsiders, this is probably fall on the floor hilarious!

I agree, buying unhealthy plants on clearance as "projects" is not for everyone. With that said, many of mine have been purchased in perfect condition. I imagine those are the ones that just got delivered and didn't suffer at the hands of the store employees lack of proper care!

counselor4444 ~ All I can think of is how very much you must have learned from the ones which really were rescues! That kind of hands-on orchid growing experience is well worth your expenditure of time.

Sweetcicely

Our Hd is so bad always yellowed over watered underwatered ..sickly plants no discounts.. If you complain or try to get a price break they say " oh we don't care we just return them back and get new ones"
Let me tell ya one day after much care I could'nt control the leave drop of this vanda since of course we had a rare cold snap did not think we would get it again and again..ps , I took the plant back. It made me sick as I watched the woman throw the whole basket in the garbage.
I felt guilty you know that I could'nt save it and then thought well maybe if I would have tried a little harder I would'nt be walking out with this gigantic Den..lol
Hd has a bad rep here ...

I've started buying Phals at the farmers' market. The people selling them are not the growers and know nothing about the plants, not even their names, but you can get them in full bloom for $6.00. So far, most of the ones I've bought are growing well and have the requisite four healthy leaves.

Yeah, I also have never seem them discounted at HD.... only at Lowe's.

I would much rather buy from an orchid nursery /grower instead of the box stores if we don't support the growers we have there will be none to buy from only HD , Lowes and the like .. Gin

Hi Ginge,

I'm sad the mass producers are underpricing the traditional commercial growers, whose numbers are dwindling. Maybe a lot of people go through an initial "big box" phase in orchids and then proceed to the more traditional growers.

My first orchid came from Frank's, a regional big box plant & crafts chain, and I'd never had any plans to own an orchid. Strictly an impulse buy. The next plants were from Smith & Hawkin, Orchids Ltd., & then good growers who sell online.

If I hadn't gotten that 1st plant from Frank's, on a whim, I might never have been motivated to find out about this forum or any of the quality growers out there.

So, maybe the big box stores serve a purpose, but they could accomplish "our" purposes with about 1/100 the quantity of those poor orchids. growl

My perspective only, Whitecat8

Sigh, another "terrible box store thread". The local orchid Society currently has about twenty "new" growers competing in the novice section of the benching at monthly meetings.

Most of them probably got their first orchid from a florist or from a "box store"

Around these parts many of the orchid nurseries rely on these outlets. They would go out of business if they relied on the hobby grower.

From my message above, "The next plants were from Smith & Hawkin, Orchids Ltd., & then good growers who sell online."

Should have been "The next plants were from Smith & Hawkin, Orchids Ltd., & then OTHER good growers who sell online."

Arthur, are you saying that the older, more traditional growers in your area get plants from the (usually foreign) mass producers? Or, they sell to the mass producers? Something else?

WC8

Around here, the Big Boxes would not have an orchid section at all if not for the gift and decoration buyers of orchids. These buyers don't care about the plant, just the flowers.

From this group a few start to develop an interest in keeping the plant alive, and some of those go on to begin an orchid hobby. Without the inexpensive Big Box source, that never would have happened.

We have Matsui Nursery which supplies almost every BB around here. Smaller growers who are trying to compete with them are not doing well, but those who are growing orchids not available at BB are finding an expanding market as new collector's interest broadens.

Could BB do better with the care of their orchids? Sure, but they are a retailer not a grower. Having them as a source has on a whole helped the hobby.

Foreign mass producers? I do not know whether orchid nurseries in Hawaii and Thailand deserve that tag. Of course there is an International trade in orchids, so when i buy orchids (by mail order) from the nursery situated in sunny Queensland i get a wide selection of orchids to chose from.

I can assure a previous poster that i will not be at all embarrassed when my no name Phal, hybrid gets a blue ribbon despite the fact that it was purchased with a dead flower spike from a florist.

Wonder if other forums get these sort of posts re lack of care at some retail outlets. After all, there are a lot of people who haven't got a clue about keeping plants. Some people can kill a peace lily.

Arthur,
Please tell me if I'm wrong but I've never seen an unlabeled phal hybrid get a ribbon at an orchid show. (Gather I've only been going for a little over a year). Can ribbons be awarded to unlabeled plants? Am I crazy thinking that I could not enter a plant simply because it was unlabeled? TIA!

~Debbie

Ribbons at society meetings that give them out are sometimes very loose about tags, focusing on culture. At shows there may be an "other" category where no-name plants can go. But AOS judging does require identification.

Local rules are up to the local society. Some don't give ribbons at all except annually, some give ribbons monthly.

Debbie, You should check AOS Judging Rules to make sure that what i say is true.

But here, (and i am the show Marshal for a local OS ) AOC panels just look at the flowers. So in theory your beautiful Noid could be Champion orchid of a show. Never seen it happen.

But. (here) you cannot get an award with a NOID and you should not breed orchids using a Noid as a parent because you cannot register the offspring with the RHS.

Thanks. No immediate plans to enter any plants in contests, but I have some beautiful unlabeled hybrids so I may want to in the future. Just good info to know. Thanks all!

Interesting discussion! I guess many people - perhaps me included - wouldn't be doing orchids if we hadn't started with a cheap one from a nongrower. Fair enough. But it still annoys me to see orchids being abused, whatever kind of store it is!

I have a couple of NOID's that I'd like to show someday, if I ever get up the nerve. I'll have to check my local rules.

To answer your HD questions and concerns.
First of all each HD has a manager that runs his/her store as they see fit. Therefore I can only speak for "our" store. Each associate is trained for their individual department. I work as a garden associate and we have 16 hours of horticulture certification and another 8 hours of nursery consultant certification. Yes, we do know the answers to your questions and more. Cashiers are just that and people that load stuff for you do not. Don't expect them to be knowledgeable about such things. Our Garden dept manager IS a master gardener. Our plants are NOT owned by HD and are brought in by vendors. Vendors WANT and LOVE a chance to put their plants on HD shelves to sell because they make more money by doing so in the hundreds of HD stores than they would selling themselves. Their merchandise is what we call pay by scan which means if it's not sold it is no loss to HD and if it is then the profit is shared. So of like consignment selling. This is just business folks, the way it is. Therefore HD cannot mark down plants that do not belong to them so don't ask for the half dead plants that are being thrown away. It's not our choice but the vendors choice to throw them out. Possible reasoning is it cost to much to them to ship them back, they could be weaker and have diseased. The HD as does the vendor does not want unhealthy plants on the shelves. It's not a good reflection on either. Our vendors DO MARK down some plants at their descretion. The vendors have people hired that come in and display their plants and put them out on the racks. They are called display merchandisers. HD for the summer has hired outside help to water plants. It is their only job. We tried having associates water and found that these plants in the South need watering twice a day and as big as our nursery is is a 8 hour job for one person which left our customers lacking on our attention. We do put our customers first. It is so important to us we have what is called the VOC. On your HD receipt you'll find a web link to go to that questions your service at our store. When our associates have made you happy and you tell us that, the associate receives an award. So, yes, we strive to put that smile on your face. While at times we may be understaffed please understand it's summer and over 100 degrees on days that we are trying to keep the nursery going, loading pave stones, pine straw and answer questions.
HD has a great return policy on plants. We've taken back plants that have obviously been neglected by the customer with no questions and replaced those plants. I've watched people buy plants for centerpieces at parties only to return them for a refund when their party was over. It's easy to place blame when you don't understand the inner workings of a business and all that goes on. Most of the time we don't even have a say so on what plants come to us from our vendors. The vendors themselves send what they think will sell. If you have questions or concerns I'd be glad to answer any way that I can.

Hi Ardnassti,

Thanks for explaining the vendor arrangement. Makes sense.

Even though the closest HD to me is in an upscale suburb and has great staff who insist on walking you right to the item on your list, the orchids have always taken a hit. As I said, after a certain # of days, they start looking bad. When I've felt the potting medium, often they were either sopping wet or bone dry.

So, that manager doesn't run their garden department as yours does. With their other plants, too, I see no evidence of a master gardener's knowledge and training. Not for the original poster, either, because the orchids were out in the direct sun. Too bad.

However, HD and other big box stores have launched many folks in their orchid addiction, and for that reason, I'm thankful they sell orchids.

Whitecat8

Stop in and have a chat with your stores garden manager or the store manager. I'm sure they would appreciate the advice. Right now we have a temp service that is doing our watering through the summer months, sometimes the vendors themselves will water. Not EVERYONE has a full knowledge of all plants and our cacti and orchids suffer from the "it's good to soak the entire greenhouse" syndrome. We've even had cashiers water things in the greenhouse. We've tried putting them seperate but merchandising has a way of wanting them other places to be seen. They usually end up under the hanging baskets and getting really drenched.......sorry

Our Lowes has an actual master gardener on staff! And she wear a big straw sun hat, so she's easy to spot. The orchids are inside, getting blasted by the AC, instead of being outside getting scorched...