The Orchid Garden

Report from San Diego International Orchid Fair

Question:

Indeed it was quite a challenge. I brought the Ecuagenera plants (about 35) bareroot in a box as checked luggage. No problem there. But there were 2 plants in spike, a cattleya and a Laelia. The Laelia had a long spike and the airline personnel made me cut it so it would fit in a box (argh!) and they got me a lot of rigamorol going into the airplane. Finally talked them into letting me in after having it go through the bomb machine a couple of times and they interviewed me for 10 minutes. Quite an inconvenience but I half expected it so no surprises there. The other guys are shipping me their plants via UPS which is the way to go if you don’t mind paying for shipping. RJ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I am curious about how you got the orchids home.  I’ve always carried bundles of plants on the plane with me, but it must be more difficult to do that now.

Response:

Good to know. I plan on going crazy at the spring Redlands sale in Florida, and want to know how to get my purchases back alive. K Barrett do I plan ahead or what! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Indeed it was quite a challenge. I brought the Ecuagenera plants (about 35) bareroot in a box as checked luggage. No problem there. But there were 2 plants in spike, a cattleya and a Laelia. The Laelia had a long spike and the airline personnel made me cut it so it would fit in a box (argh!) and they got me a lot of rigamorol going into the airplane. Finally talked them into letting me in after having it go through the bomb machine a couple of times and they interviewed me for 10 minutes. Quite an inconvenience but I half expected it so no surprises there. The other guys are shipping me their plants via UPS which is the way to go if you don’t mind paying for shipping. RJ I am curious about how you got the orchids home.  I’ve always carried bundles of plants on the plane with me, but it must be more difficult to do that now.

Response:

Hi K. I haven’t fully checked out the Redlands event but had thought about driving down from NC.  I’m shopping for about 200 warm species that can do well outside in the NC heat and I’m curious if there’s any deals to be had down there buying dozens at a time. Do they have an event website? RJ

Response:

check this out. http://www.orchidworks.com/redland/ or this: http://orchidweb.org/events.html Hi K. I haven’t fully checked out the Redlands event but had thought about driving down from NC.  I’m shopping for about 200 warm species that can do well outside in the NC heat and I’m curious if there’s any deals to be had down there buying dozens at a time. Do they have an event website? RJ

–Alynne http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Jungle/2947

Response:

RJ, thanks for a wonderfully informative post. I really appreciate the detail and the in-depth description of places, people, and specialties. It is this kind of local information that is impossible to get in journals and article, and yet it is so fascinating to learn more about the cultural (meaning people) world of orchids. Thanks!

Response:

Glad to hear that you found some of the places.  It’s hard to tell people what an experience it is to visit Andy’s.  I was on sensory overload almost immediately. I am curious about how you got the orchids home.  I’ve always carried bundles of plants on the plane with me, but it must be more difficult to do that now. __ Ken Woodward ___ ____Newton, MA___ http://kwoodward.net

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi You All, Had a great visit over in sunny San Diego. The show was held at the Del Mar fairgrounds just north of the city. About 30 vendors were present including folks from Mexico, Ecuador and I think Taiwan. Several Hawaiian vendors were there as well but I hear more go to the LA show taking place this weekend. Met a lot of nice local growers and vendors and check out their. Fred from Sunset in particular had some very well grown plants at the show. Got to visit the nurseries of Pam Koide (Bird Rock Tropicals), Andy Phillips (Andy’s Orchids), Concepcion and Jerry Boyd (The Orchid Connection) and Larry Moskovitz (Orchidanica). Pam’s place is 4 buildings with mostly tillandsias and bromeliads but she has 1 GH of orchids that is coming along nicely. Got  a nice L anceps and an Epi parkinsonianum from her as well as an assortment of very nice air plants. She has a pretty indoor display garden with Koi and a parrot. Quite lovely. Andy’s place of course is out of this world. I felt very fortunate to be invited to see it because Andy is very cautious of visitors since a guy broke in recently and stole some expensive stuff. He caught the guy but the plants are gone. Darn shame, but he is super cautious now since he’s got over 250,000 plants in there. The place is about an acre divided into 3 distinct areas, all with 5 tiers of plants hanging on their little sticks. I got some choice Bulbophylums and other goodies from him. He’s now got 3,500 species in stock. As has been said before, you could not meet a nicer guy – helpful, courteous and quite knowledgeable. Concepcion and Jerry have started importing Mexican species and have rented a GH in El Cajon where they are mostly selling wholesale. They are doing both stick and pot culture and have a nice setup for things like Catasetums, warmer Masdevallias, Laelias and so on and so forth. Their place is not much to look at but they have some very nice plants. I got about 30 plants so I could make their minimum. I’ll post the list later. Orchidanica has moved from the Bay area and is now near the town of Fallbrook in northern S Diego county. Darn nice high tech commercial GH with mostly hybrids but also some nice species. I got a number of Burmese Bulbophylums from Larry that I have high hopes for, some unidentified as of yet. Ecuagenera, Pepe’s outfit, was present at the show with Ivan, his brother, carrying the banner. Ivan is a very experienced grower with a Horticulture degree from the University of Cuenca. These guys now have 10,000 square meters of space in Cuenca and over 1500 artificially propagated species. I went nuts while I was working in Ivan’s booth giving him a hand with customers. Got some choice cycnoches, maxillarias, schomburgkias, rodriguezias, and on and on. It was also a great deal of fun talking shop with a real expert over the course of 2 days. Thanks Ivan! Also met some of the local society members. They have a species subgroup that is quite well organized. I wish we had that locally as well. Guess it’ll be up to me to make it happen in Raleigh Whew, that was quite a visit. I’m tired but very satisfied. 5 non-stop orchid days and over 100 plants later this was definitely a trip to remember. Hope you all who haven’t had a chance to visit with these fine folks check them out some time. They are very professional and genuinely helpful. RJ

Response:

Wow RJ,       Did you ever have a great time!  Thanks for all the info.  Isn’t it strange, I live about an hours drive away from all these guys & mostly mail order from other States??? I have been to Pam’s place as I also grow Tillys. Seems like you made a killing!!! Good on you!! Cheers Wendy

: Hi You All, : : Had a great visit over in sunny San Diego. The show was held at the : Del Mar fairgrounds just north of the city. About 30 vendors were : present including folks from Mexico, Ecuador and I think Taiwan. : Several Hawaiian vendors were there as well but I hear more go to the : LA show taking place this weekend. : : Met a lot of nice local growers and vendors and check out their. Fred : from Sunset in particular had some very well grown plants at the show. : Got to visit the nurseries of Pam Koide (Bird Rock Tropicals), Andy : Phillips (Andy’s Orchids), Concepcion and Jerry Boyd (The Orchid : Connection) and Larry Moskovitz (Orchidanica). : : Pam’s place is 4 buildings with mostly tillandsias and bromeliads but : she has 1 GH of orchids that is coming along nicely. Got  a nice L : anceps and an Epi parkinsonianum from her as well as an assortment of : very nice air plants. She has a pretty indoor display garden with Koi : and a parrot. Quite lovely. : : Andy’s place of course is out of this world. I felt very fortunate to : be invited to see it because Andy is very cautious of visitors since a : guy broke in recently and stole some expensive stuff. He caught the : guy but the plants are gone. Darn shame, but he is super cautious now : since he’s got over 250,000 plants in there. The place is about an : acre divided into 3 distinct areas, all with 5 tiers of plants hanging : on their little sticks. I got some choice Bulbophylums and other : goodies from him. He’s now got 3,500 species in stock. As has been : said before, you could not meet a nicer guy – helpful, courteous and : quite knowledgeable. : : Concepcion and Jerry have started importing Mexican species and have : rented a GH in El Cajon where they are mostly selling wholesale. They : are doing both stick and pot culture and have a nice setup for things : like Catasetums, warmer Masdevallias, Laelias and so on and so forth. : Their place is not much to look at but they have some very nice : plants. I got about 30 plants so I could make their minimum. I’ll post : the list later. : : Orchidanica has moved from the Bay area and is now near the town of : Fallbrook in northern S Diego county. Darn nice high tech commercial : GH with mostly hybrids but also some nice species. I got a number of : Burmese Bulbophylums from Larry that I have high hopes for, some : unidentified as of yet. : : Ecuagenera, Pepe’s outfit, was present at the show with Ivan, his : brother, carrying the banner. Ivan is a very experienced grower with a : Horticulture degree from the University of Cuenca. These guys now have : 10,000 square meters of space in Cuenca and over 1500 artificially : propagated species. I went nuts while I was working in Ivan’s booth : giving him a hand with customers. Got some choice cycnoches, : maxillarias, schomburgkias, rodriguezias, and on and on. It was also a : great deal of fun talking shop with a real expert over the course of 2 : days. Thanks Ivan! : : Also met some of the local society members. They have a species : subgroup that is quite well organized. I wish we had that locally as : well. Guess it’ll be up to me to make it happen in Raleigh : : Whew, that was quite a visit. I’m tired but very satisfied. 5 non-stop : orchid days and over 100 plants later this was definitely a trip to : remember. : : Hope you all who haven’t had a chance to visit with these fine folks : check them out some time. They are very professional and genuinely : helpful. : : RJ

Response:

Hi You All, Had a great visit over in sunny San Diego. The show was held at the Del Mar fairgrounds just north of the city. About 30 vendors were present including folks from Mexico, Ecuador and I think Taiwan. Several Hawaiian vendors were there as well but I hear more go to the LA show taking place this weekend. Met a lot of nice local growers and vendors and check out their. Fred from Sunset in particular had some very well grown plants at the show. Got to visit the nurseries of Pam Koide (Bird Rock Tropicals), Andy Phillips (Andy’s Orchids), Concepcion and Jerry Boyd (The Orchid Connection) and Larry Moskovitz (Orchidanica). Pam’s place is 4 buildings with mostly tillandsias and bromeliads but she has 1 GH of orchids that is coming along nicely. Got  a nice L anceps and an Epi parkinsonianum from her as well as an assortment of very nice air plants. She has a pretty indoor display garden with Koi and a parrot. Quite lovely. Andy’s place of course is out of this world. I felt very fortunate to be invited to see it because Andy is very cautious of visitors since a guy broke in recently and stole some expensive stuff. He caught the guy but the plants are gone. Darn shame, but he is super cautious now since he’s got over 250,000 plants in there. The place is about an acre divided into 3 distinct areas, all with 5 tiers of plants hanging on their little sticks. I got some choice Bulbophylums and other goodies from him. He’s now got 3,500 species in stock. As has been said before, you could not meet a nicer guy – helpful, courteous and quite knowledgeable. Concepcion and Jerry have started importing Mexican species and have rented a GH in El Cajon where they are mostly selling wholesale. They are doing both stick and pot culture and have a nice setup for things like Catasetums, warmer Masdevallias, Laelias and so on and so forth. Their place is not much to look at but they have some very nice plants. I got about 30 plants so I could make their minimum. I’ll post the list later. Orchidanica has moved from the Bay area and is now near the town of Fallbrook in northern S Diego county. Darn nice high tech commercial GH with mostly hybrids but also some nice species. I got a number of Burmese Bulbophylums from Larry that I have high hopes for, some unidentified as of yet. Ecuagenera, Pepe’s outfit, was present at the show with Ivan, his brother, carrying the banner. Ivan is a very experienced grower with a Horticulture degree from the University of Cuenca. These guys now have 10,000 square meters of space in Cuenca and over 1500 artificially propagated species. I went nuts while I was working in Ivan’s booth giving him a hand with customers. Got some choice cycnoches, maxillarias, schomburgkias, rodriguezias, and on and on. It was also a great deal of fun talking shop with a real expert over the course of 2 days. Thanks Ivan! Also met some of the local society members. They have a species subgroup that is quite well organized. I wish we had that locally as well. Guess it’ll be up to me to make it happen in Raleigh Whew, that was quite a visit. I’m tired but very satisfied. 5 non-stop orchid days and over 100 plants later this was definitely a trip to remember. Hope you all who haven’t had a chance to visit with these fine folks check them out some time. They are very professional and genuinely helpful. RJ

Response:

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