Re: [OGD] ... orchid popularity

[WM PAUL MTCHELL]

Tricia & Gentle OGDers,

As to promoting orchids and the orchid societies in my area, one of
the things I have done in the past was to keep a few information cards
about my local orchid society in my wallet so I could offer one to
someone, if I was in Home Depot, Lowes, etc., when saw them looking at
the blooming orchids there.

I would ask them if they had orchids and would chat about orchids a
bit.  Then if I determined a further interest, I'd ask them if they
knew that there was an orchid society nearby that met every month.

If there seemed to be any interest in attending I would give them one
of the cards which had a simple map, the date and time of the meeting,
and a phone number to call either for the membership person, the
society contact person, or myself, if they had more questions or
wanted to attend. Of course I always invited them on the spot as I was
giving them the card.

I would afterwards see maybe about a quarter of the people I'd talked
to come for at least one meeting at our society. And some joined.
They usually had had no idea that there was an orchid society nearby.

Giving interested parties a card with the society's info and the map
seems to provide a useful reminder about the monthly meeting that they
would remember afterwards.

Just my two cents here for how to make the public aware of our local
orchid societies, and thus promote orchids and orchid growing on the
local level. And that's where much of the needed interest in growing
better and more interesting orchids -rather than the mass-produced,
throw-away ones- really can be cultivated, isn't it?...

Cheers!

Paul
==

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[OGD] Orchid popularity

[Li'l Frog]

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




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