Normans Orchids / Orchids.com Order

[clearsky57]

many.
in fact, one particular harlquin seedling i purchased from Norman many years ago received an AOS award for me.
as far as testing goes - i havent been breeding for some time now, but i have tested plants when i was actively breeding.

 

[orchid527]

many.
in fact, one particular harlquin seedling i purchased from Norman many years ago received an AOS award for me.
as far as testing goes - i havent been breeding for some time now, but i have tested plants when i was actively breeding.

Did you test the phals from Norman's?

 

[Ray]

If I may throw out a couple of thoughts…

Unless an individual is a frequent purchaser of a number and variety of plants from a specific vendor, getting a bad plant or NOT getting a bad plant is not reliable evidence of the quality of that vendor.

On the other hand, there are a number of “indicators” that can give prospective customers an idea of what to expect. Stuff like how the vendor responds to perceived issues, or if/what requirements they place on how you handle their plants upon receipt are two biggies to me. Reports of issues by one or two people don’t bother me; repeated reports do.

Caveat emptor…

 

[jtrmd]

wow this thread is still going!

 

[Heather]

wow this thread is still going!

Apparently they’ve not changed their ways…!

 

[NYEric]

Spray for bugs.

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

So I have been watching some of Norman's videos on youtube and they are pretty good. He seems pretty nice and he is always showing nice plants even in the background. I was thinking of buying a sanderianum from him but now worry after all of these posts going back so far. What is the deal with this seller: all nice in the videos and then just absolutely terrible plants he hides away in the back to send in the mail. Has anyone gone to his nursery? How does he stay in business?
Sincerely Theo

 

[Ray]

I could be mistaken, but I believe his daughter is the issue.

 

[okiesarah]

So I have been watching some of Norman's videos on youtube and they are pretty good. He seems pretty nice and he is always showing nice plants even in the background. I was thinking of buying a sanderianum from him but now worry after all of these posts going back so far. What is the deal with this seller: all nice in the videos and then just absolutely terrible plants he hides away in the back to send in the mail. Has anyone gone to his nursery? How does he stay in business?
Sincerely Theo

I've had some hits and misses with this vendor. Not bought any paphs or phrags from them, just a cattleya, guarechea, and some phals. Most of the plants were ok, not in the greatest shape. None of them died. But I got a "premium" amboinensis last order from them that was definitely not in premium shape, and the other phal I bought was supposed to have at least two spikes. It HAD two, but one was either snapped off prior to shipping or the tip rotted out in transit. The good thing about that orchid is that it's growing fabulously now, with fat and plentiful new roots. The ambo is not doing as well. I told my other plant group people that the only way I'd risk buying from them again is if I really really wanted a specific orchid and couldn't find it anywhere else.

 

[big923cattleya]

If you think about any video posted by a vendor, it had better look good! Very good in fact! Why post anything regarding your business and feature sickly, ugly orchids in the background? That makes no sense.
If I were you, I would not be looking to find excuses to buy from a marginal vendor. I would instead avoid him like he had “cooties”!!!
There are far too many good, reputable vendors to buy from.

 

[paphfreak]

I've purchased about two dozen paphs from Normans. Most of them bloomed out with very nice
flowers.Only two were not what I expected quality wise. I received a roth which had a 28" leaf span and it had great roots. I know, I broke most of them when I re-potted it. Doing great now, lots of new roots.

I got my NBS sanderianum from Windy Hill for $60.

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

This is all good advise. I have two sides of my mind , one saying not to even give it a second thought and the other saying that I need to order one of there plants. I have been searching the internet for days for a NBS sanderianum and no one seems to sell them. Either everyone just sold out or I have to buy from another country like Thailand. This is fine but shipping is through the roof and im not sure if I want to deal with customs. I bought a stag horn from Thailand and it got held back and sprayed. It never recovered and it was just a headache for 2 years. The two plants I am looking at are the (sanderianum bear 5 x sanderianum bear 29) and the (sanderianum 115 cm petal x sanderianum 99.5 cm petal). I emailed them and asked for pictures with measurements. They have not responded, due to it being the week end, but when they do and if I like the plants I will ask if they can send that specific plant. Has anyone ever bought a sanderianum from them and lived to tell the tale lol . I have been doing research on youtube about the plant quality and the arguments seem to be swayed really far either way. Mostly only phal orchids seem to be reviewed on youtube. When looking at the medium it seems like the plants have been grown in it since they were taken out of flasks: probably not that long lol. They use mainly spag moss and it is grey in color, which is not a good sign. From the videos of independent buyers who have problems with the plants, the roots seem to look like they could grow back easily and that there are still some good roots that can support the plant. In my experience this seems to be a common thing to find with orchid business. Unless you are paying top dollar with a 3rd party seller who repoted it from the people who grew the plant the majority of its live, you will not find the best root system from growers. This is due to high costs of repoting all those orchids and them not using high quality water which is particularly importent with paphs: those salt levals get high after all of the years growing them in the same pot. The main thing that seems to kill the plants is when they have a yellow color to them. All of the dead ones in the videos had this problem. Besides this though, orchids.com is charging high prices that can not be excused with the bad quality. It is so strange but it really is just like wining the lottery with this company. People on these videos buy once and have a terrible experience and then order a year and a half later and get plants that seem like they should be twice the cost they payed. All in all this is such a weird company that should try to polish their tarnished reputation. This is what I have knowtesed and let me know what you think.

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[Sebo]

I’ve yet to have a good experience with them. Really sorry to hear your experience wasn’t any better.

 

[Ndove]

Just curious, in those more than 20 years, did you buy any Phalaenopsis? Do you do any virus testing? Mike

So… i bought a Phal Bellina ‘Montclair’ AM/AOS from Norman’s in December of 2022. It was in bloom when I received it. The bloom lasted 3 days and died. The plant lived 3 months. It had zero roots. It had 1 aerial root and 1 stringy black mushy root in the pot. The plant was over 100$. I suspect it also might have been virused because I did everything I could for it and still it declined. I have since started virus testing my collection with Agdia tests and have 1 positive for ORSV and 1 positive for Cymb. Mosaic.

 

[PeteM]

Hit or miss has also been my experience. From time to time they stock variety that no other vendors seem to be able to source in the US. I’ve purchased a few cattleyas and phals from them over the years and one order will be healthy, well grown. Other orders are near death.

My thought is if they have something you want that you can’t find anywhere.. go for it IF you are confident in your growing. Go into it knowing that if something is not square in your order and you write to complain, you will get no response and you will not get your money back.

On the other side of the coin, no risk no reward. It reminds me of a lotto ticket. My problem is I love good growing challenge now and then.. so it’s hard for me to just say NO.

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

Ok I decided to order and it just arrived today. I know what people said but I wanted to see for myself: playing with fire. My final rating is 4.5 out of 5. Everything is in good condition but the sanderianum is in older medium that should have been changed: seems realy dense and will be the only one that needs a repot soon . It also has these yellow spots that if someone could tell me what they are please do. The phal cheng de beauty is absolutely huge and the roots are jamed packed in the pot. The phal bellina is a bit small but im ok with it. The phal sogo Yukidian is medium sized and has a good spike: will give updates. I am very pleased with this order. However I have heard they are inconsistent so I will still buy with hesitation. If this company puts plants out like this consistently they have the potential to be the best USA orchid seller: still needs work though. I will give a one month update to show how they are doing!!!
With this I am excited and my anxiety has calmed down. Also they seem to only offer overnight shipping and I bought premium plants with all of them except the sanderianum that did not offer that.