Where and what orchid are you going to buy are two critical questions that need clear answers before you go to make the purchase. If you have decided and put in all the considerations to buy and care for your first orchid, then the decision where you going to purchase it is also a critical matter.

Let me start with 'what orchid to buy' first. The orchid to buy should meet the general criteria of a healthy plant. Examine the root, leaves and flowers. A healthy root is thick and solid, white colored with healthy green tips, a bit moist not dry. The whole plant is firmly placed in its pot with a moist potting mix, not too wet or bone dry.

Healthy leaves are pompous and solid with a uniform light green to green color. There are orchids that normally form black dots on their leaves such as the Sharry Baby one of the Oncidium orchid types. Yellowish leaves or black spots could be a sign of unhealthiness.

The attractiveness of an orchid is its flower. It is best to select a plant with a lot of buds rather than a fully bloomed orchid. Fully bloomed plants do not last long, since their condition usually decline after heavy blooming. Orchid with a lot of buds will give you the chance to enjoy the blooming for a longer time. The recommended proportion of flowers and buds is fifty-fifty.

What orchid to buy depends also on your level of  caring expertise as well as the growing environment where you are going to keep your orchid. As a novice you can try to care for the easiest caring type like the Phalaenopsis or moth orchid. And as you gain experience you may have broader options to choose from more sophisticated ones.

Choose orchids that are best suited to the growing environment you are able to provide. Each type has its own characteristic and requirement. Do not force to buy an orchid that is incompatible to its requirement such the weather, humidity and light. Dendribiums and Oncidiums are suitable for sunny environment, while the mottled-leaved Paphiopedilum is fine in a lower light condition. Said in another way, if you can't provide what is needed by the orchid, just don't buy it.

There are plenty of spots where you can find orchids to buy, which can be grouped into 3 major outlets; the orchid grocery, the reseller and the grower.

An orchid grocery usually sells mass-produced orchids. Being a mass product, profitability will be of most concern to the manufacturer. That is why you may find mass-produced orchids potted in low quality mix that is too moist and might be rotten the roots.

An orchid at a grocery store has probably experienced several stress conditions that include the long transportation chain of distribution from the greenhouse to wholesalers and finally to the grocery store. Another possible stressor is being cared by the grocery keeper who has minimum understanding about orchids.

However you are still able to get a wonderful orchid plant in your grocery. You just need to be more careful and critical when buying an orchid in a grocery. Use the criteria mentioned above to spot a healthy one.

An orchid reseller is defined as somebody or party that buy orchids from a greenhouse or orchid grower and then sells it for a profit. He or she is not the one who produces the orchids but just nursing it. An orchid reseller usually possesses better understanding about orchids than people in the grocery store.

Good resellers could bring us some benefits. The orchid will be healthier and not one of the mass-produced orchids and placed in a better mix quality. The whole plant has usually a better quality. It is unlikely that the orchid is exposed to stress conditions like transportation or improper care. The presence of an ID tag shows that a reseller cares for the actual value of the orchid. There is also a possibility that you could buy an overseas orchid, assuming the orchid will fit to your environment.

Of course you may find some inexperienced resellers, with merely a profit-oriented mind too. So, just try to distinguish between the good and the bad reseller and use the criteria I mentioned earlier. I am sure you will find a healthy orchid.

An orchid grower is for sure the best place for orchids to buy. You may be provided with not only a quality plant but also with the accurate knowledge of proper orchid caring. You can find such grower in orchid societies where you can become a member and get the benefits of such membership.

You can buy orchids at greenhouses as well. Here they grow the plant from seeds and caring it for years before the show and sell them to the public. Such greenhouses are the best resources for information on orchid growing and caring which could be especially addressed to your corresponding plant.

Finally, you should always bear in mind when buying an orchid from any place or person that the growing space where the orchids were kept will always be different from the new growing space provided by you. Meaning to say that a newly bought orchid should go through an adaptation period, which you should attend to if you wish that your orchid will stay healthy.