Vent: picked the $9 grocery store orchid over the $35 nursery one and now I feel dumb

Aaron Schmidt · 2026-10-08T15:05:04.420468+00:00

Back in March I stood in the Kroger floral aisle in Columbus staring at a sad little phalaenopsis for $9 and a fat healthy one at the garden center for $35, and I went cheap because I figured the difference was just the pot. The grocery one dropped every single bud within 8 days, the roots went mushy by week 3, and I spent $22 on bark mix and a slotted pot trying to rescue it while the fancy one I passed on is apparently still blooming on my neighbor's windowsill. So what actually separates a good orchid from a doomed one at the store, is it the roots or does where it came from matter more?

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Vent: picked the $9 grocery store orchid over the $35 nursery one and now I feel dumb | Botany Lovers - HW Forums