Andy, you haven't been paying attention. The below article was saved from the AOS Orchidweb home page, before the change in format. If you can't believe the AOS, who can you believe? All of those orchids in all of those Home Depot stores, groceries, and garden centers count, too, not just the ones sold from nurseries.
li'l frog ORCHID POPULARITY STILL "GROWING" IN US According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Floriculture Crops Survey for the year 2002, compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Survey, orchids are growing in popularity in the United States. Currently second in potted flowering plant sales at $106 million in reported wholesale sales, orchid sales increased by four percent this past year. This is the highest percentage increase of all the potted flowering plants in the category. Orchids are second behind poinsettias, which experienced a three percent decrease with $247 million in sales, and they are significantly ahead of third-ranked chrysanthemums, which increased two percent to $77 million in sales. There were more than 12.7 million orchids sold in the United States last year, reflecting the growth of the flower's popularity. "People are learning that orchids are not the delicate plants that they were once perceived to be, but are hearty, easy-to-maintain plants that have the ability to bloom all year long," said Lee Cooke, executive director of the American Orchid Society (AOS). Long known as a flower of distinction, and featured in countless advertisements for everything from clothing and furniture to architecture and design, orchids have a distinct and undeniable mystique. Exceptional plants are produced at low cost by nurseries throughout the United States, but the huge volume of quality plants grown and marketed by large commercial growers in Florida, California and Hawaii contributed to most of the sales boom "Orchids are the largest group of flowering plants in nature. There are more than 25,000 identified species, with the total number probably reaching 30,000, and new species are being discovered each year," said Dr. Rob Griesbach, genetic researcher of floral plants for the U.S. National Arboretum, and president of the AOS. "With so many choices, there's an orchid for every person's taste." Orchids have been included as a separate entry in the annual USDA Floriculture Crops Summary Report since 1995 when they were first submitted by the nonprofit AOS. Floriculture refers to plants in the categories of bedding, cut cultivated greens, cut flowers, flowering potted plants and foliage plants. California leads the nation in orchid production, accounting for 34 percent of the country's orchids; however, Florida and Hawaii are close behind with a value of 31 and 26 percent, respectively. Together, these three states account for more than 90 percent of the country's orchids _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
