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My “Don’t Give Up” Orchid Blooms Again
Being an orchid grower is a curious thing.
As the saying goes:
“You can get off alcohol, drugs, women, food, and cars but once you’re hooked on orchids, you’re finished. You never get off orchids…never.” Joe Kunish
So I’ve had this Phragmidium Betheva orchid in my healing room for several years now.
I got it at the annual orchid sale at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, an event I look forward to every year.
This year, for example, I was first in the door and managed to nail a healthy Paphiopedilum Haynaldianum without knocking over any other little old lady orchid fanatics because they had not yet thronged the counters.
When I got my Phragmidium Betheva pearcei v. Tip tap X caudatum v. warscewiczii about three years ago, I kept the tag showing I paid $35 for it, which I would have done without blinking an eye, knowing that you get the absolute best orchids from the Atlanta Botanical Garden and if you can just hang in there with them your enthusiasm will eventually pay off.
Typically I intersperse rare, endangered and exotic orchids amongst the typical phalaeonopsis orchids you can buy for $12 to $20 at the grocery stores.
Trader Joes in Atlanta happens to be one of my favorite reliable spots for moth…
