Parkside Orchid Fest

[NYEric]

Thanks for the ride. Glad to see you got home safely. I have been too busy getting ready for tomorrow to post yet.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Well, I agree with nearly all you pointed out.
Saying the truth is not harshy, but maybe saying that they might be out of business by next year is. oke:

I was also there on the first day.

First, washing station, yes, I needed to wash my hands after touching a few bags of potting mix, my hands were black! I asked for a place where I can wash my hands and I was told that there is one in the porter potty. Strange, I thought. Well, there was a handsanitizer, which worked really well, not leaving some sticky residue like some hand sanitizers do.
There were two porter potty on site, by the way, just not side by side.
But yeah, I don't know why they did not let people use their bathroom? Maybe it was out of order? I did not ask.

The greenhouse with paphs, the minute I walked in, I had two thoughts.
Damn, somebody already bought out all the good ones. Gosh, why the hell is it so hot in here?
Nearly all the plants had what appeared to look like brown rust disease. and possibly mites.
It was just so dry and hot in there. I felt bad for the plants.
The fan would kick in every few minutes, which I thought was odd because that is usually how the misting system works in the greenhouse.
The fan is supposed to be on all the time, I think?

I did go through every single plant except for what were apparent as multis since I don't have much interest in them.
There were quite a few interesting crosses, but most were in poor conditions.
I did pick out a few that looked perfectly healthy.
Paphiopedilum Hiroki Tanaka (armeniacum x wenshanense) was there! I was so excited because it was on my wish list. There were a few plants, but only one looked healthy enough and I bought that one. Later, I saw that Marlow orchids had some but much more expensive.
I also picked out Paph. (Fanaticum x malipoense) in spike.
I had bought this same cross from Park Side in February at Deepcut, which is also coming into bud at the moment. I bought another one because this plant was much smaller than mine. and hopefully they will be different enough when they bloom out.
Then I picked out Paph. ( Bel Royal x armeniacum) which appeared to be in low spike.

Next greenhouse, which housed cattleyas, it was better, but the plants were not particularly in great shape, not horrible compared to other places I visited except for the ones in Hawaii where Cattleyas were in great shape. Well, for the most part, not all of them, of course.
I was not looking to buy cattleyas anyway.

The third greenhouse was probably the best one of them all. It had dendrobiums of different types near the entrance. The fans and coolers were all working fine. Masdies and other cool growing orchids were near the back where the cooling system was.
I picked up one little but multi growth Neofinetia falcate (Amami Island strain). There were a tray full of them, all looking great. I picked the largest clump with one spike.
I'm especially happy with it because I was looking for a small neo of this variety. I already have two Amami Island strain neos. One is very large and the other small. This new purchase is even smaller than my smallest. Yay!!!

I was finished with my shopping at Parkside by now.
I headed to the vendors out on the field. Glen was right on the front middle, my favorite vendor.
I bought a few paphs from Glen and then had a quick look around the rest of the vendors.

Ten Shin had brought, as always, lots of very nice interesting plants.
Paph. vietnamense were nearly sold out. I would have bought some concolor as they looked perfectly fresh, but not my priority.
There were a whole bunch of Gloria Naugle of good size. I had issues with this hybrid, so I checked the underside of the leaves, well, same story. They all had issues, some better than others, but I just did not want to take a chance. Next to it were a whole bunch of Harold Koopowitz. They were HUGE!!! Every single one was a single or two growth division of previously flowered plants. then There were lots of Chinese Cymbidiums in flower, but those leaves were amazing. very tempting, but I already have about three, and no more room, so I had to pass. painful!

I picked up some mix from Kelly's Korner, and then bought a tiny little Paph. hookerae from Marlow's Orchids. I'm loving the leaves.

Oh, by the way, Parkside Orchids did have two more greenhouses coming though.
One, far right one, is going to be a bonsai collection room, I think?

Well Donna and I went to Parkside Orchid Festival yesterday. The event its self, outside under the tents was as good as anytime that I've attended the event. Lots of choices for any of us. There were however a number to corners cut for the event. Only one bathroom and no wash station. No one to direct the cars on how and where to park. Now that sounds picky doesn't it? However the cars parked single file so lots of parking space was wasted. However it was Friday but I can only imagine the turmoil today. I also didn't notice a place to store your purchases, but I may have missed that but don't think so. The vendors had lots of nice plants and there were plenty of slippers to go around. Ten Shin had some paphs. but the species were going fast. I pre-order some plants from a couple of vendors. Then I bought a couple more that I had to have.

Before, I was there less than 15 minutes I was approached by an someone I knew that was shopping, and was told you just have to go inside and look at Parkside. So, I did just that. It was a shell of it's former self. There were about 1/4 or less plants than one would expect to see, probable less. No new stock was brought in for the event, and everything looked horrible. Like someone stated in another thread, you wanted to grab the hose and start watering. The plants were spread way apart, most having a square foot of room. That makes it very hard to water efficiently. I normally would have spent most of my money at Parkside even though the event was taking place. The plants were so bad, I didn't buy a single one. It was the place where orchids went to die. I would go so far as to say that if they were to sell out tomorrow and offer 10 mature plants for $100 that I'd have to pass. I personal feel very bad for the former owners and this must have killed them. My believe, right or wrong is that they will not be there one year from now.

Once again this is just one person humble option, so take it or leave it. I'm not here to defend my thoughts and won't be responding to others people who think that possible I was to harsh in my assessment.

I would like to leave this thread by saying I got some wonderful plants from the vendors and would encourage people to attend what is left of the event. I hope that other people who attend this event will also give us their prospective.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Some Pictures

These are of participating vendors' plants.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Some more

These pictures are of Parkside Orchids.
The best greenhouse had many beautiful orchids in bloom, although I did not take many pictures.

 

[Marco]

Great photos from the event. Thanks for posting all.

 

[Clark]

IMG_2788 by cponsolle, on Flickr

priced a bit high imo.

 

[Happypaphy7]

I see them offered at the Whole Foods at $12 so, not too bad, but I would love to pay less of course.

I almost bought Venus Fly Trap with these huge "traps". They were impressive. I've never seen them that big. Then I was thinking, what kind of bugs do I have to feed those big traps. lol

Now I miss it. Dang it, should have bought it.

 

[Marco]

Happypaphy - I have a red akai vft. it's not doing so well under my care because I simply cannot give it the light it needs. My neos take up the prime real estate. You can have it if you want it. Otherwise I was going to leave it at Eric's (nj Eric) door step when I pass by silva in September and let him find it when he gets home. oke:

 

[Happypaphy7]

Are they red all over?
Sure, why not!
Can you send me a picture if possible?

Mine is green with red inside the traps.
VFT needs full sun, so they should not be sharing the same growing area as neos.

 

[SlipperFan]

Thanks for the tour!

 

[abax]

I do wish I'd known Chinese Cyms. were there. I'd have
sent money to just about anyone for a few of them. Damn,
damn, damn!!!

 

[NYEric]

Glen Decker also sells them but if you contact Ten Shin, Matt is coming back to NY in September..

 

[eOrchids]

Are they red all over?
Sure, why not!
Can you send me a picture if possible?

Mine is green with red inside the traps.
VFT needs full sun, so they should not be sharing the same growing area as neos.

Red akai VFT turns red under full sun!

Happypaphy - I have a red akai vft. it's not doing so well under my care because I simply cannot give it the light it needs. My neos take up the prime real estate. You can have it if you want it. Otherwise I was going to leave it at Eric's (nj Eric) door step when I pass by silva in September and let him find it when he gets home. oke:

Thanks Marco! I appreciate the thought!

 

[Happypaphy7]

I do wish I'd known Chinese Cyms. were there. I'd have
sent money to just about anyone for a few of them. Damn,
damn, damn!!!

Follow their schedule within the US as they carry Chinese Cymbidiums pretty much every time they show up.
Ten Shin has the best price and good varieties.
I was very tempted to get some because there were many nice ones, mostly variegated varieties but some with lots of cream yellow were sooooo pretty.
Almost all of them were in bloom, too.

Now, you feel even worse, right?

 

[abax]

Yeah, good going there Happy! I want ensifoliums and
you can interpret the names. I'd love to find a Red Peach
again. Give me a couple of weeks notice before Sept. and
I'll send a check or cash or whatever will work for you. Will
you be my shopper????? I'll share a plant or two...

I HAD one of Glen Decker's Cyms. and it immediately died.
Eron gave me a division of ensifolium var album and it's
growing wonderfully well. The blooms smell heavenly.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Ten Shin is participating a small orchid fest in NJ in September.
I most likely won't be there as I plan to have vacation in Canada during the time.

If you have something specific in mind, then you'll first have to contact Matt for availability.
Do you only like Cym. ensifoliums?
I have Cym. sinense that I might part with, but not sure.

Cymbidiums immediately dying is very unusual.
Did you leave them in your car in the summer? lol

 

[abax]

My greenhouse temps. limit Chinese Cyms. for me. Most
ensifoliums like warmer temps. than some of the others.
Cym. sinense likes cooler temps. than I have in my greenhouse, but I do love them.

As far as I know, the Cym. ensifolium Four Seasons never rode in any vehicle other than FedEx two day. The roots were
rotted and it just fell over and died. Made me very unhappy and won't go that route again.

 

[NYEric]

Let me know if you want me to get you some from Ten Shin in September.

 

[abax]

Eric, I definitely do!!!! You let me know when you need
$$$$ for purchases and shipping.

 

[NYEric]

ok