Algaecides/Fungicides

Insecticides

And don't tell us that you haven't noticed that the holidays are here already.  The newspaper gets heavier every year at this time; glossy chunks of advertising flyers falling out from between the sports and business sections, leaving a paper trail behind on the driveway. 

30% Off!

Last week I had to excuse myself from the Thanksgiving table so that I could get to the front of the line for WalMart's 4pm Thursday opening of "Black Friday."  (I had my pepper spray ready, but the crowd was mostly under control).  It won't be long before the holiday sales will start on Halloween!

It's almost as if retailers think people actually have money to spend this year. Are they delusional!  (Oh, wait, we're a retailer, and this newsletter is

50% Off!

designed to encourage you to spend money.)  I suppose we are just as guilty of trying to compete for your hard-earned dollars.  But this is how we make our living, so don't be too hard on us for trying. 

We've had a relatively balmy November here in Chicagoland, but the weather is changing now.  The cold seeps in next week, and with it the prospect of shipping perishables is ominous.  (Not impossible, however.  If you really must have something, you may want to contact us first to see if we can find a warm window of opportunity to ship out a plant or two....)

Proportioner 40% Off

For weather-related reasons, we have decided to put our supplies on sale this month, as the weather does not affect them adversely during transit.

already highly discounted
December Specials). 

We have never discounted supplies this deeply, so now is the time to stock up on pots, wires, baskets, media, insecticides, et al, so that you are prepared when the late

plastic baskets

winter/early spring potting season arrives.

See the biggest discounts on our Specials page, linked below:

Get ready for Winter/Spring plant maintenance by stocking up on supplies now, while they are on sale!

 
Supplies Special
15 Percent Off

The plant had grown beautifully for him the past few years, sending out thick, terete leaves and beautiful air roots.  Finally, after three years, the specimen produced a new leaf and a bud spike began to form.  When the flower opened several weeks later, the grower was stunned at the bloom's large size.  The Brassavola nodosa he had nurtured from a small seedling had had yielded the largest nodosa flower he had ever seen.  He was also struck by the bloom's full shape and nicely rounded lip. 

This event prompted him to phone Oak Hill Gardens to make sure that what he had purchased as Brassavola nodosa was exactly that species, and not some super-sized hybrid that had been mis-labeled. 

Oak Hill is one of the few commercial orchid greenhouses in the country that boasts it's own in-house laboratory.  Many of our species have been grown from seed right here in Dundee, IL since the lab was set up in 1975. 

Hermann Pigors, founder of Oak Hill Gardens, established the lab in order to provide orchid hobbyists with the widest variety of species possible.  He has been doing all of the lab work here by himself for the last 12 years.  Hermann takes great pride in producing seedlings that are rare, or hard-to-find either domestically or as imports. 

Over the last 50 years he has amassed an amazing "Stud Collection" of parent plants.  These "studs" are of superior

Stud

quality and have been chosen as breeding

Plant

stock because of specify attributes that they possess.  It may have been an exceptionally large flower, or a particularly dark color form.  The shape of the flower might have been more uniform or fuller than that typical for a given species.  As with anything in nature, these types of parents have a tendency to produce superior progeny. 

After the seed is collected from one of our pollinated stud plant flowers, it is planted into a glass flask in our laboratory.  The seeds are grown into plants inside this flask for 1-2 years, depending on the variety.  The plants are then removed and planted into community pots or flats.  They grown in this communal manner for about a year before being potted up into small individual pots.  The seedlings are then grown up to blooming-sized plants.  All of this takes an additional 2-5 years.

A lot of time is invested into our plants.  Years of re-potting, fertilizing and care goes into every orchid we grow here.  That is why we start with healthy, choice stud plants, which maximize the potential for outstanding offspring.

We want you to have the best plants possible!

Enjoy your hobby and have a Happy Holiday season!

Liese