Usually I'm not given to impulse purchases of any sort and putting sale tags on something won't even get me to look. But I look at plants anyway, so the price got me this week. A new person at the local Wal-Mart is pricing things to move out before they are ready for the trash bin or compost pile. That's a new thought - actually try to sell a plant that hasn't moved instead of letting it die. Here was my haul, starting with a dollar orchid. It was the last one left from Mother's Day. No info on what kind of orchid. I've never tried an orchid and a dollar is about all I'm willing to spend on a plant I'm not likely to manage very well.
***Update edit. Well, lots of this thread ended up being about the orchid - with good reason! The 2nd bud bloomed last week, so things are still looking good.


At $2.00, the bromeliad below cost twice as much as the orchid. The main plant is spent, but those two pups look big and healthy. I've had these before and have yet to be successful keeping the pups going, but I've been wanting to try again.
***Update edit. It's grown. I probably need help, advice and that sort of thing. I failed miserably on salvaging the pups when I tried a bromeliad before. I've done nothing with this plant yet. I just pulled it out of the mulch where I keep the pot basically buried and put it in the bird bath for the photo op. It's back in the mulch now. Can I just leave them and not try to repot the pups?


Another one for two bucks! I wish I'd bought two and I may go back and see if there is still one there. Here's a Parodia leninghausii also called 'Golden Ball Cactus' on the label (which used Notocactus instead of Parodia).
***Update edit. It's actually grown quite a bit. Everything above the area that looks sort of squeezed is new growth. The rate of growth surprised me. It must have wanted out of that small container!


At $2.62 this Cycus revoluta 'Sago Palm' may be my favorite buy.
***Update edit. Hard to tell just comparing the photos, but after sitting for a while doing nothing either way, it put up five fronds? leaves? whatever and they appear to have only just now stopped expanding, so that's a good bit of new growth. The hole in the container isn't a large one, so I sort of worry about drainage, but I don't water until it feels dry. Lots of rain lately, though.


And the most expensive one last - $4.99! This is Spartium junceum 'Spanish Broom'. I've wanted to try it since shortly after the drought set in. I'm finding a lot of variable info regarding cold tolerance and sun requirements. The label says 3-6 hours of sun and hardy to 10F. If I'm to believe that, then it can probably handle a lot of shade in my part of the world and would need protection once or twice for most of the winters we get. It'll probably be a container plant the first year.
***Update edit. A complete, utter failure. This plant is dead. Of all the sale plants, in theory this one is the most suitable to my growing conditions. It may be, but it's sure not immune to the grasshoppers. It doesn't really have leaves, but they ate the green skin off the stems. I would go out with a flashlight at night an pick of a dozen or so every night, but I couldn't stay ahead and the plant finally just gave it up. I hate the grasshoppers that eat the plants I'm trying to grow.


I'm a little leery of going back for a 2nd cactus. There were a lot plants at low prices and it's possible the clearance sale will hook me again .

Gotta love those sale plants to try new things!

Love your attitude, Donald. You got some excellent buys there.

Nice score, Donald Your dollar orchid is probably a Phalaenopsis.

http://garden.org/plants/searc...

A bit of care info from AOS

https://www.aos.org/Default.as...

So tempting for me to go see if they're doing that here... must resist

@Moonhowl I hope you're right Jean. That one sounds a bit easier than I'd have thought. It did come with a tag that had photos on it, but those photos were different colors and all appear to be 'corsage orchids'. I thought those were Cattleya orchids, but I'm not very knowledgeable about orchids of any sort and I'm not at all sure the photos have any relation to the plant at all. The packaging that came with the plant is odd. It's a plastic container with lots of holes that is inserted in a ceramic container with no holes. It was full of water when I saw it and I remarked that was a good way to rot a plant, which is why it was offered to me for a dollar bill . That proved to be a good move, I guess, because it sure put me into 'buy a bargain' mode .

@needrain I did not see any of the pseudobulbs that Cattleyas have in your picture, Donald. Our big box stores usually have a huge Phalaenopsis inventory as they are easier to keep alive. The insert allows the roots to breathe, and then the container allows them to suffocate/drown... But it does make it easy to give them a good soak. Problem is when the insert stays in the container.

Here is a bit of AOS info on the Cattleya. You will notice the overall flower image of the two orchids can appear similar, but the plants are quite different in appearance.

https://www.aos.org/Default.as...

Donald

That is definitely a Phalaenopsis and still has the inflorescence stem after the flowers faded and fell off. Be absolutely sure it is still not in sphagnum moss and that the pot is well draining, the more holes the better. Here's a few typical Cattleya alliance plants. There is not the slightest resemblance of a Cattleya and a Phalaenopsis.

LOL!! Thanks Jean and Ken. I'll have to examine what it's growing in, Ken. I do have the inside container out of the one that doesn't drain. I'll try to take a photo of the label and the two containers. My experience with trying to grow an orchid is ZERO and my knowledge of them isn't all that much better. I did visit an orchid farm in Singapore once. Y'all would have liked that! Rows and rows of orchids. I think primarily for the cut flower trade. A lot were blooming, but there were a lot of plain (ugly?) plants growing than weren't blooming at the time.. They are totally transformed when they bloom. The variation from one to another is incredible, both in form and colors. I wish I had some very long shoe strings. I'd make a sling and wrap it in some coir and hang it from an oak limb. Then I could just spray it whenever along with all the other plants.

What do I do with that stem, Ken? Just leave it alone? I don't love the stake, so I'm inclined to remove the stake, but leave the stem to do whatever it wants to do.

Donald, wander over to the Orchids forum for lots more help and info. Your dollar Phal orchid might prove to be a great buy. But don't expect to see blooms again until possibly next spring. When/if it does bloom, the flowers last for months though.

As Ken said, it needs great drainage and for the roots to breathe. So leave the ceramic death trap off that baby, check for a soggy wad of moss underneath and pull a lot of it out if it's in there. Maybe hang it up under one of your oak trees for the summer. It will need to come indoors once the nights are going below about 40deg.

That's a great buy on the little Sago palm for sure. They sell for big money around here. I'm an addict of the clearance racks at Lowe's and HD here. Never shop at Wal-Mart any more but maybe I should take a swing through their nursery again.

Forgot to say, you can leave that stem on, and let it bend over as it will. these orchids naturally grow with the flowers cascading, not upright like that silly stake has it. The plant itself will do better if the crown is slanted somewhat so that water doesn't sit in the cup of the leaves.

For us hobbyist growers, not those that show at AOS sanctioned events, you should leave that stem intact. Only cut it back IF it turns completely brown, dry, and brittle. As long as there is any coloration, whether green to purple, that stem is viable and as often as not, will re-bloom on that stem next go'round. Be sure when/if you re-pot, you angle that plant so that any water that gets into the crown area will quickly drain off. Otherwise, you might get crown rot. Get in the habit of watering the orchid in the AM so that it has a better chance of drying out by nightfall. Also, keep the plant more on the surface of your orchid media. It loves to dangle its roots and grow them aerially.

That dollar orchid has a better chance of survival just from my having posted about it! Thanks for the info. I believe from reading and looking at the photos, it is likely a Phalaenopsis. It doesn't sound like a Cattleya and the plant doesn't look the same as those Ken posted. It's under the shade of an oak tree where it'll probably stay until cold weather comes. I would like to redo the way it's planted and rig it up to hang. Safer for the plant and probably a degree or two cooler if I can get it up near the leaf canopy.

Donald, if you haven't already seen it, this article that Ken wrote back in 2014 might be of some help...

http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

Did I say $1 for the orchid? Well here's the rest of the story! Why sometimes a bargain isn't.

Here is the front and back of the tag that came with it. Not a lot of info. Has anyone ever scanned a tag like this and gotten additional information? I've seen these before and wondered who would be likely to access the additional info by scanning the tag.


This is the original packaging. A clear plastic pot with lots of holes inserted into a ceramic pot with no holes at all. The roots you could see through the plastic looked like tapeworms and when I finally dumped it out they proved to be flat and lifeless. Probably from sitting in water too often. There were a few good roots, but they were short.


I quit using the ceramic pot and this was how I was keeping it until it got a new home.


I was wondering what I could use for a new home. Then I was at the feed store stocking up on cattle feed and looked up and saw this hanging on the wall. A sheep muzzle. I'm not familiar much with show animals so I don't know the real purpose but it was an 'aha!' moment for the orchid. And where any hint of it being a bargain went out the window . I cut the leather straps off, lined it with coir using an extra liner I had. I also bought some orchid mix but I ended up not using it. When I dumped the orchid out, there wasn't much spagnum there. One piece about an inch with and half again as long. I think it must have pretty much deteriorated and left chunks of bark or whatever. I added some perlite to the mix and reused it.


Add an old wire hanger and here is the finished result. It will certainly drain fast. I'm not sure about feeding it so it may go hungry for a little while. I wouldn't take bets on it, but it's not going to be cooked by the sun in this location.

That is just beautiful, Donald. Careful, orchids can be contagious.

I've never thought of sheep as needing muzzles

Shoot, Sandy, I know some people that need muzzles.

Hannibal Lecter ?