What to Know Before Buying Orchids from Odom's Orchids

Odom's Orchids (odoms.com) is a family-run orchid grower in Fort Pierce, Florida, that has been selling orchids online and shipping them nationwide since 1952. It's a reasonable place to buy if you want a grower-direct plant — especially Cattleya orchids, which the site says it specializes in — and you're willing to time your order around the weather, because shipping only happens when low temperatures are above freezing.

Who's behind the nursery

The site describes a genuinely long-tenured family operation rather than a reseller:

• John Odom — cultivating orchids for more than 60 years, with a B.A. in agriculture from the University of Florida
• Louise Odom — growing orchids for more than 40 years; spent ten years as a business partner before marrying John
• Rob (30+ years), Cristina (25 years), Jeanne (30+ years) — additional growing staff

The nursery has been at its current Fort Pierce location for more than 50 years. The stated specialty is Cattleya orchids, though the catalog is broader.

What you can buy

The homepage's "Most Popular Products" section shows the general shape of the catalog and its price range:

Two things worth noting from this list. First, several plants carry AOS awards (AM/AOS) in their names, which indicates award-quality clones rather than unnamed seedlings. Second, the "Cattleya Orchid in Bud Offer" is sold in bud, meaning it should bloom within a short time of arriving — useful if the plant is a gift.

The site's description also names Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, and Vanda among the orchids available, so Cattleya isn't the only option.

Gift options

If you're buying for someone else rather than yourself, the site offers three routes:

• E-gift cards — described as suitable for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or no occasion in particular
• Gift orchids — the nursery selects a plant for you if you don't know which one to pick
• Orchid Deal of the Month — a rotating highlighted orchid chosen to bloom within the next few months, positioned as a gift option

The Deal of the Month is the one to look at if you want a plant that flowers soon without waiting through a long non-blooming period.

The shipping constraint that matters most

This is the single most important practical detail on the site: Odom's ships only when low temperatures are above freezing. That's a hard cutoff, not a preference, and it means your ordering window is seasonal.

The site frames fall as an especially good time to buy — after the extreme summer heat and before winter cold makes shipping impossible. In its own words, this is a great window to "have orchids shipped to you," and it warns not to delay too long because "winter will be here before you know it."

Practical implications:

• Don't order in deep winter expecting shipment — cold lows will hold your order.
• Summer is also framed as a difficult shipping period because of extreme heat.
• Fall is the sweet spot the nursery itself recommends.
• If you're buying a gift for a specific date in winter, an e-gift card sidesteps the shipping freeze entirely.

Where to see the plants in person

Odom's attends orchid shows, which is useful if you'd rather inspect plants before buying or avoid shipping altogether. The site lists its 2026 Fall show schedule:

• Mounts Botanical Garden Plant Sale — Oct. 3–4
• Redlands Intl. Orchid Fest — Oct. 16–18
• Delray Beach Orchid Show — Oct. 24–25
• Deerfield Beach Orchid Show — Nov. 14–15
• Fort Pierce Orchid Show — Dec. 12–13

The 2026 Spring show season is listed as over. If you're near any of these Florida locations, buying at a show lets you pick the exact plant and skip the weather-dependent shipping question.

How to decide

Buy from Odom's if you want a grower-direct orchid from a long-established family nursery, you're specifically interested in Cattleya or other named varieties, or you're ordering in fall and want a plant that arrives in bud or blooms soon.

Consider an e-gift card instead if your timing falls in winter or the depths of summer, or you don't know which orchid the recipient would want.

Buy in person at a show if you're in South Florida during the fall show season and want to choose the plant yourself.

Check the current catalog and prices directly before ordering — the listings above are drawn from the homepage's popular-products section, and the Deal of the Month rotates, so availability and pricing change over time.