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ORCHIDS@SLOORCHIDS.COM WWW.SLOGARDENS.COM PH/FAX 805 489 3319 Rudy & Anne
Bachmann 2007 Listing |
| Introduction |
| Our greenhouses are located in
San Luis Obispo County, City of Arroyo Grande, half way between San Francisco and Los
Angeles on the beautiful California Central Coast. We started growing orchids in 1964,
began commercial growing in 1985, and are still learning. Our goal is to provide complete
customer satisfaction by providing the best quality orchid plants at a very competitive
cost. All plants we offer for sale are selected for ease of growth and culture and will thrive when grown under intermediate conditions, up to highs of 90°F and lows of 52ºF. Different light intensities and growing conditions are discussed in this listing under the various genera listings. Call us with any questions you may have concerning our orchid offerings, cultural experience or any other orchid related topics of interest to you. We are open by appointment, Monday-Friday. If you have any unusual or interesting orchid species that you would like to trade or sell, let us know. |
Website Links |
| www.slogardens.com - Check out our
web site for pictures of most of our orchids. www.google.com - A powerful search engine that works great for orchid descriptions, sources and pictures. www.orchidmall.com - For the most complete listing of orchid suppliers both USA and foreign www.pleurothallids.com - lots of pictures and it is the Pleurothallid society web site. www.orchidweb.org - To join the American Orchid Society and to use their extensive orchid references www.orchidspecies.com - Pictorial species site of over 3400 selections |
Plant Pricing |
| We believe that orchids in
general are overpriced, and therefore we attempt to keep our orchid pricing below the
market average. Hopefully you, our customers, will recognize our pricing philosophies as
reflected in our catalog. For orders over $500 (excluding cost of specials or shipping ), a 15% discount is allowed. We also have a wholesale list of select orchids in quantity lots and spike initiated. |
Substitutions |
| Since our catalog has such a
large selection and some items are very limited, not all plants are available all year. We
will not substitute unless you specifically request an alternate choice or a substitution
for an equal or greater plant value. |
| Ordering |
| Accompany all orders with check
or money order. To use a credit card, fill in the appropriate information on the order
form. You can order by phone/fax, email or US mail. We will acknowledge your order and
will notify you as to the ship date. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If for any reason
you are dissatisfied with your order, please notify us immediately for a full,
unconditional refund. Notification must occur within 5 working days of your plant receipt
to process your refund. |
| Shipping |
| Include 20% (FEDEX 2 day) or
10% (USPS priority mail) of your order for shipping ($10 minimum). We will refund or bill
any shipping cost differences over $10. There are no additional packing or boxing costs.
We ship on Monday, Tuesday to ensure your order is received same week. California
residents please add 7.25% sales tax. |
| General Culture |
| Every grower has their own way
of growing orchids based on their past experiences and their cultural habits. What works
well for us may not work well for you and visa versa. Our growing practices are resulting
in very healthy and robust orchid plants, which should continue to grow well for all of
our customers. All the genera listed in our catalog are easy and vigorous growers and any
that don't grow well are eliminated from our list. We give additional cultural hints
within this catalog under the various genera headings. If you have any cultural questions
on a particular orchid, please call or e-mail and we will gladly share our experiences and
disappointments with you. |
| Potting Media |
Since I have a tendency to over
water, we have evolved to using a very porous potting mix. We use Styrofoam packing chips
in the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of all our orchid pots, which are plastic. This ensures that the
bottom of the pot will drain and dry out by the time the next watering occurs. The orchid
roots will congregate around the Styrofoam and are very vigorous and healthy appearing.
Having such good drainage keeps the potting mix from getting soggy and sour. When we repot
up a size, the roots are tight and the mix is still fresh, therefore eliminating the need
to clean out the old mix and disturbing the root ball. This also cuts the labor and
material costs. The actual mixes that we use are as follows:
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| Water Quality |
| Having good water quality is
one of the most important ingredient required to ensure successful orchid growing. This
cannot be overstated. At Slo Gardens, we have a reverse osmosis system, which eliminates
any concern of salt build up in the potting media. Additionally, we don't have water spots
on the leaves and in the hot summer weather we can spray the foliage and still have clean
looking plants. Difficult orchids often become easy to grow when pure water is used. If
you are not sure what your water quality is, you should get it tested. Never use soft
water on orchids. |
| Water Frequency |
| Generally we water all the
orchids at onetime regardless of genera. In summer, we water 2 to 3 times a week or every
other day. If the weather is particularly warm, we will water spray the foliage every day
without necessarily attempting to water the media. All watering is completed by 10:00
a.m., especially in the cooler months, to allow the foliage to completely dry out by the
end of the day. The only exception is with some of the cooler growing genera such as Masd,
Drac etc. that we will water daily on bright days. |
| Fertilizing |
| We fertilize at half the
recommended dilution rate, every other watering which equates to once a week in summer and
twice a month in winter. For general growing, we use a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer with
added trace and micronutrients. For bloom forcing, we use a 10-30-20 or similar high
potassium or phosphorus combination. Since we use reverse osmosis water, we have a
deficiency of magnesium and sulfur, and therefore do a monthly foliar spray of magnesium
sulphate also known as Epsom salt. |