The Orchid Source - Orchid Forum

I have read posts in the past about this vendor so I know that his prices tend to be high. I went to him because he is local, has a few hard to find types, and it is harder to get plants from out of state due the requirements for phytosanitary certificates (adds about $60 to any shipment from out of state), and import permits (cost $5 for each one-time permit), and need to travel to the Dept. of Ag. plant quarantine area to be present for inspection (and possible confiscation) of plants.

I opened the first box, and was surprised by the results. I took pics, and sent to Bill Bergstrom. The 2nd box is unfortunately already on the way, and I'm hoping for better results. I'll wait to post full comments (and photos) after I get the next order. It will give Bill a chance to comment, b.s., or redeem himself.

One good note - one plant ordered was Cat. velutina nbs, and it came through pretty well, and was in good condition.

So...in your post you don't really come out and say what the first box was like and you didn't post a photo, right?

As far as prices go, I don't find Bergstrom's prices very high.

I've commented on orchid prices several times on this forum in the past...the prices today are pretty much unchanged to what they were 30 years ago. In fact, in a lot of cases, they are lower than what they were 30 years ago. What other items are you paying the same for today that you would have 30 years ago? Not much. If you priced orchids today with the same percentage increases that you have for food, energy, housing, etc, the price of a standard orchid plant should average around $100 each. (Imagine for a moment, if you would, paying Bergstrom's current prices, but your wages are only $3.50 per hour. That's what it was like when I started growing orchids.) That is why we have fewer and fewer American orchid vendors, especially state-side, and they mostly now sell Taiwanese pot-plants.

* ed gets off soap box

heh heh. I'm just tossing out a 'teaser' for the moment. Suffice it to say that there is an issue to resolve. I have plenty of pics to illustrate clearly what transpired so I won't be accused of any embellishments.

Regarding costs - somehow I don't think Bill has to pay as much in the Winter as other growers to keep his plants up. Also, regarding nourishment, well, you will just have to wait for the pics, and see what you think. And when I compare what I received with what I typically receive from other sellers, the size/quality is quite different. Maybe he is selling at the correct price and other vendors are selling large plants for lower prices than they should? Anyway, I'm giving Bill a chance to rectify the current situation before I just 'flame away'. Afterward, I will tell the whole 'sordid' tale, and you may make up your own minds if this is the vendor for you - or not. Until resolution, I will only say that I would recommend caution in dealing with Bergstrom's unless it is something that 'you just gotta have'.

Yug, any plants should arrive in beautiful condition unless they've communicated with you ahead of time about blemishes or damage or if they are "bareroot divisions". There is no excuse for live scale or mealy bugs, and dead ones should have been cleaned away before shipping. A carefully packed order will prevent damage, although some of these delivery people seem to take out their passive aggression on our orchid boxes.

He screwed me over back in 2002. Won't deal with him again, ever.

Can you elaborate, Clark? Inquiring minds want to know...

No roots and mislabelled plants.

Seems like a common theme, well, the lousy roots, anyway.

I wish Posey would chime in about her experience.

OK - I think that Bill Bergstrom believes he has resolved this issue. He had his chance, so now I feel no reservations on telling the good, the bad, and the ugly. In spite of his thinking that he has done all he could in the face of, according to him, my refusal to be satisfied, I believe his efforts are far less than equitable.

I first ordered a Cat. rex, Cat. velutina, and a Cat. trianae Mooreana. The day after I ordered it, he E-mailed me that he had an associate in Texas that had located a Cat. warscewiczii that I had been looking for. I ordered that one, and also added a Cat. dowiana. I only wish the first order had arrived before I made the second one. Well, when the first order arrived, I noticed that the box was damaged. It was sent USPS, so when the mail carrier brought it, I asked him if marking a package as 'fragile' would have cost anything. He said no, and that it would probably have prevented any damage during shipping. Nowhere on the box was any identification of it containing live plants, or that the contents were fragile. Bill blamed it on the boxes he was now using, and said they didn't hold up as well as the ones he used previously. This link shows the damage: First Berg Order , and the condition of the plants. It had scale, and the large piece had mostly dead eyes, and no growing leads. The smaller piece that was crammed in with it had only one growing lead, but it was broken (probably the same time the tag was broken), and with only three bulbs and poor roots would it even have the strength to develop another eye? I didn't include a pic of the Cat. velutina since it didn't seem damaged. It was only slightly larger than a seedling, but since I really wanted that one, I didn't complain ab0ut that.

When I E-mailed him next, I included pics of the box, and the damaged plants. He said he'd put a Cat. trianae in the next box to compensate for the damage. Well the next box arrived, also damaged, also with no markings anywhere. This time he blamed the post office. The only plant inside was the Cat. warscewiczii, and fortunately it appeared undamaged from the rough handling of the box. When I unpotted it, the roots were pretty good, and it had two growing leads. I thought maybe Bill wasn't a scammer after all. Then the plant came apart in my hand into two pieces. Next Berg Order - part 1 I didn't initially bring this up since both pieces had growing leads, and good roots. BUT... I paid $80 for that plant, and it is going to be a looooong time before blooming size. Maybe I was right about him. Oh, the place where it came apart was an old cut, and it appeared to have been one plant at an earlier time.

Finally the last box arrived, undamaged this time, and it clearly indicated it contained live plants. Coincidence? Well, the Cat. dowiana appeared fine, a little dry, but nothing I couldn't work with. The Cat. trianae Mooreana had only 4 bulbs (and he consideres this a replacement for what originally appeared to be a 9 bulb $75 plant?!?), kinda shriveled, and the roots were marginal. 2nd Berg Order - part 2 Bill included a note that said that although the roots were in poor condition (still better than the first one), there were 2 undamaged eyes that should develop leads. Uhhh, Bill, would you pay that much for a plant with marginal roots that had eyes that 'should' develop leads? I don't think so. (and had I known the true condition prior to ordering - it would still be HIS plant - and HIS problem) And then in his last E-mail he has the nerve to tell me that I just refuse to be satisfied?!? WTF?

I will keep those pics up for anyone that wishes to view them. See if I have exaggerated about the condition of the plants, boxes, sizes, etc. If I had not taken all these pictures, I believe this would have turned out worse.

Oh, yeah, no apology was received, and no little 'gift' plants that the other growers usually toss in. He said his business has been 'off' lately. Is there any wonder why?

Summary - this is an extremely unprofessional way to conduct business of any sort. I would wish he would do a serious re-assessment of his methods (but I won't hold my breath waiting for it), or just do the orchid world a BIG favor and just pack up shop, sell off whatever plants he can, and put away his shingle - permanently.

Ed - There was no prior communication about the condition of Cat. trianae Mooreana being anything other than you could expect from any vendor. Nor was there any prior communication about the replacement having any problems. He did include a note in that box, though, that said the roots were not ideal, but it had 2 undamaged 'eyes' that should grow into new leads.

Oh I forgot that part about Bill, it's everybody's fault but Bill's. There's a guy down in Gainesville who takes out ads in the newsletter about not buying from Bill.

I think any potentail buyer has been well-warned. I regularly spend well upwards of $100 for good Cattleya species but I expect and indeed will not accept less than a plant with good roots and turgid pseudobulbs.

I have to echo Andy. Buyer beware and it would have served you Yug had you researched him beforehand. I don't think there's any worse vendor rep on the web than Bergstrom's. My own personal mishap was when he promised me a div. of C. dowiana that arrived as a rootless seedling that had been ploped into a pot. It died within a month and I paid $90 for that mistake. What kills me is that I picked up a seedling of the same species 2 months later at Redland for $12 from Floralia. It should bloom this summer.

The only thing I knew about Bergstrom's was that they had higher prices than most, and that Posey absolutely despises him. There weren't any real details about why, though.

If anyone asks about him, and wants hard evidence, send them to those picture links. I won't be changing them for a looooong time.

I wish we here in the islands had as many options as you folks do; it would make things easier.

Was just about to order a big dowiana from him when I remembered this thread. Thanx all for saving me some $$$$$$
Carl

Back about 1990, Bill Bergstrom was invited up here to be the guest speaker at the Orchid Society of the Royal Botanical Gardens annual show. I can go on and on here; but, suffice it to say that he brought crappy plants, charged crazy prices, constantly complained, made promises he didn't keep and generally behaved like the Grand Pooba of the show. We were all very happy to see the back of him by the time the show was over.

How does he stay in business?

Mirrors my experiences with him but you forgot 'he is better than anybody else and NOBODY on the OSF knows jack shit about orchids (unquote). He is also terrible rude and consistently sells mislabeled plants. Andy , from Andy's Orchids, told me he even tried to pull that on him. LOL.

Posey; I didn't forget those other qualities......I did say that "I could go on and on....."

I know John I just wanted to let Yug know that if he says he has hard to find types they are unlikely to bloom out as that plant he says he sold you cause he does crap substitutions of rare and wonderful plants that only he is good enough to have all the time to everybody Yeah, and nothing is every his fault.

If you ask any Hawaiian they are full of tales about him. I understand he was asked to leave the AOS judging program also though that might be a plus these days!

Yeah, live and learn (or buy and get burned )

I have to admit it, but he sold me a C. dowiana that is one of my fav's now. Lip could be better, but the shape was great.

(even a broken watch gets the time right twice a day, and the date correct once a year)

Hi Yug,
That's what I was going to order from him before reading this thread.
I was able to order from Brazil to pick up at Santa Barbara.
You got a winner.
Carl