Where in Los Angeles can I buy a beautiful orchid?

April 1, 2008 1:06 PM

Where can my friend buy a beautiful, healthy orchid in the Los Angeles area?

She's loves the orchids she gets from orchid shows, but nothing she finds in nurseries are quite as healthy and lovely. She's looking for one that will stay in bloom for a long time and that has something...special about it.

posted by GardnerDB to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

My mom has a little one from Trader Joe's that blooms every year...also, Try Anawalt...we've bought a lot of plants from them and they are amazing. At least the one on Pico at either Sawtelle or Sepulveda (whichever one is further east, my brain is not working right now!)
posted by legotech at 1:10 PM on April 1, 2008

IANAL.A., but I bought the healthiest, most gorgeous orchids from Trader Joe's in Chicago. Their flowers/plants are always superhealthy, and they're generally quite a bit nicer (at a fraction of the price) than anything I ever see in florists' shops. Curious, but true in my experience.
posted by heyho at 1:11 PM on April 1, 2008

I third the Trade Joe's suggestion. Occasionally, Costco will have some nice orchids, but its YMMV finding them in stock plus they're "Costco-sized" meaning they are planted in a ~3 gallon container
posted by aGee at 1:30 PM on April 1, 2008

Being a big believer in Mom-and-Pops, I hate to sayit, but believe it or not, Loewe's also has gorgeous orchids, and a very large selection. I assume also in LA.
posted by nax at 1:42 PM on April 1, 2008

Try the flower market downtown on Saturday morning. There are a couple of orchid merchants with large permanent stalls there, selling a good variety of plants.
posted by mr_roboto at 1:42 PM on April 1, 2008

Nthing Trader Joe's, but I've driven by Orchids de Oro many times. Might be worth checking out.
posted by mogget at 3:51 PM on April 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

There are orchid growers selling at the local Farmer's Markets. I've seen them at the Santa Monica and Hollywood markets, for example.
posted by conrad53 at 5:19 PM on April 1, 2008

Orchid Fever - 10242 Culver Blvd # CC310 - Culver City, CA 90232 - [phone]

All they do is orchids. Your friend will go nuts. It's across from Sony.
posted by snowjoe at 6:38 PM on April 1, 2008

Seconding the flower market on Saturday morning. Trader Joe's & Whole Foods are good a well.

You can also try the Farmer's Market in front of the Central Library on 5th Street downtown tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, the vendors have great stuff. Try to get there well before 2:00pm.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:43 PM on April 1, 2008

My Orchids de Oro orchids stayed lovely for ages, and I'm not nearly good enough with plants for them to've not been robustly healthy orchids.
posted by kmennie at 8:15 PM on April 1, 2008

There is a gorgeous stand in the middle of the north-most row of the Pasadena farmer's market with the most beautiful orchids I've ever seen. The Pasadena Farmer's market is on Saturdays at PHS.
posted by arnicae at 9:55 AM on April 2, 2008