Plants on Trial – from Love Orchids

/ karen

I always seem to have a bowl of orchids somewhere in the house, usually on the hall cupboard or kitchen table. They are easy to grow and often flower for several months with minimal care and attention. Love Orchids have sent a sample box to try out. I haven’t paid for this orchid, but in common with other bloggers, I’ve accepted their gift in return for an honest opinion. Maybe you would like to treat yourself, or want to send a gift to someone for a birthday or other celebration. In which case, you might find the review helpful in deciding whether to buy and send orchids mail order.

I’ve chosen a white and pink orchid in an oval white ceramic container. Plants arrived in good condition, well packaged and there’s plenty of flowers and buds for more blooms to follow. My orchid was already planted in its container and flower stems were well staked. The pot was topped with moss which is a pretty finishing touch.

The ordering process online was simple to follow and straightforward. Plants arrived promptly in a sturdy cardboard box. The parcel delivery company handled the box carefully and it had obviously travelled the right way up- which always helps! It wasn’t just dropped from a height on to the doorstep, but carefully set down, which I much appreciated.

The box is designed to open out, so no pulling plants out the top and potentially damaging them, which I’ve done in the past in poorly-designed boxes.

Plant pots are securely held in another box taped to the base. There was also a spare pack of orchid compost as the company supplies extras for your own potting- up purposes.

Orchids are wrapped carefully in cellophane. I must admit, a compostable wrapper would be preferable, and I would be willing to pay more for a more eco-friendly material. However I just decided to use it to cover my cuttings and seed trays to maintain humidity, so mine will be re-used and won’t be put in the bin.

As you can see, the flowers spread out as soon as they were unwrapped.

There are three plants in my container, with eight flower stems. I’ve brought the pot outside simply to take advantage of the light in order to take photographs. It was too dark in the house. However, my orchids will live indoors, out of direct sunshine.

Regular readers of my blog will know that I like to highlight and support family businesses. The Stevenson family have been growing plants at their New Forest nursery for more than 60 years. When the pandemic struck, the family launched an on-line company, Love Orchids, to market and sell plants via mail order.

The family say they started out ‘with little more than a few glasshouses and a can-do attitude.’ They have grown and developed into a multi-generation business and say they are the largest growers of phalaenopsis orchids in the UK.

For sustainability, they use a biomass boiler, turning waste wood products into heat for the greenhouses.

Here’s some care tips provided by the nursery :

I signed up for a newsletter and received a discount code for future purchases. In fact, I sent an orchid to a friend for her birthday, and one to a relative who recently suffered a bereavement. Both sent photos of their orchids and were delighted with them. Orchids last much longer than a bunch of flowers and the plants from Love Orchids are top quality and expertly grown. The range of good quality containers also means there’s plenty of options for everyone.

For more information, here are the links for Love Orchid:

https://www.Facebook.com/LoveOrchidsUK

https://instagram.com/loveorchidsuk

And on the website https://www.loveorchids.co.uk/

Have you tried mail order plants before? Get in touch and let me know of any recommendations. We are all finding new ways to obtain our plants and gardening materials. It’s good to share news and views when we find an excellent supplier.

I also mentioned Love Orchids in my Christmas, birthday, anytime present list here : https://bramblegarden.com/tag/loveorchids/

10 thoughts on “Plants on Trial – from Love Orchids”

  1. Karen is a divine and very large orchid with three plants full of flowering stems, I love it. Enjoy the very special beauty of her. I have an orchid the same, well they gave it to my mother but I take care of it. And for an orchid novice, she’s gorgeous. I really like orchids and yours is spectacular. Love Orchid is a true specialist for quality orchids and ships them very well. I bought some lavenders and some thyme by mail about 5 years ago and it was a disaster: thank goodness they are strong plants and I was able to recover them after cutting many branches. And I have not gone back to order more plants by mail. Karen thank you very much for such divine photos of the orchid: they make me smile because of their fabulous beauty, I love them. Health, strength, encouragement, hope, positive thinking and much love for your whole family, Mr B and for you. Take care. Hugs to the whole “Gang” and to you. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xxx💚🙏😘🌺🌼

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    • Hello Margarita,
      So pleased to see you on here. You sound much better. I’m hoping my flower photos will bring you some cheer. Thanks for reading and getting in touch. Take care. Many hugs and affectionate greetings from the gang xxx 🌸🌺🌸🙂

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      • Hello Karen. Your magnificent photos of the divine orchid flowers have given me great joy: thank you very much. Much love and hugs for the gang and you. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xxx😘🌺🌸🌼🙏

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      • I’m so pleased to hear these words. I was thinking of you as I wrote the piece. There’s more garden photos to follow. Things have not been at all easy here either, but sharing gardening flowers and news makes me happy, and I’m glad to hear it makes you happy too. Take care, my friend. Affectionate greetings from the gang xxx

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      • Karen I know it has been a very sad and difficult time for you. But I am very happy that both photos and gardening news make us happy !! With this we will both recover. Much love for you and the gang. Take care. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xxx 🌺🙏🌸🌼

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  2. Lovely post. My very first Orchid hasn’t flowered yet. I bought it in November last year. The Orchids were not well looked after and this was the best of the batch. I placed it in a spot away from a window but within sight of light. I thought the room got far too cold when it dropped its petals about a month later. However, it would also have been within range of fruit, but not next to it…..now I am wondering.

    I then transferred the plant to the kitchen nowhere near fruit and not in direct light. I spray it with water from time-to-time and give it a feed about once a month as per the advice of an Orchid grower on a TV programme I just happened to see. The leaves are thriving, so I haven’t killed it. There is one new ‘broad base’, which I am hoping might be the start of a bloom.
    x

    The mention of using the ice cubes method for ‘watering’. Do you put the ice cube on the surface of the potting material it is rooted in, or in the water you sit the pot in? Ice cubes can burn so the instruction is a bit surprising.

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    • Thank you for reading my blog Jean. It’s good to try things out and pass on recommendations when things turn out well. Have a great day 👍🙂. Karen

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