Secret for 365 days vanda bloom

[peeweelovesbooks]

Ok, I am SO going to do this!!

Can you share the specs of the wood, ie. type, height, width?

how did you tie it?

How do you support--lava rocks? pebbles?

How often do you water?

This is actually perfect because it will allow me to display my collection better. Thank you for sharing!

[peeweelovesbooks]

Oh,

I also noticed you have more than one Stake holding them, but htere appears to be something in the middle?

Hmmmm...this is great.

[karate kid]

I didnt know that it would generate a lot of response buy im at work right now and i work as a health care provider and my off will be on thursday and ill give eevryone details on every questions that you all guys have..bear wit me for a moment

[karate kid]

hello pewee ..just give you a little history why i grow on with this kind of set up. first of in the philippines where our family had some orchids we usually grow vandas mostly and the moth orchids and with vandas we usually put them on a tree trunk mounted on a cement about 5 foot high and let the vandas grow on them .but over here in Usa I tried that as well and i just gathered like a piece of a branch about the size of my arms or leg and then mount them on a cement and the roots of the vanda would just cling to that very well .but unfortunately the wood here that i found wont last that long like in the phils because they are not that hard so it will take them only a year and rots usually sets in ..im talking about the wood itself.so i tried to improvised with wood that would last for years to come since vanda doesnt like to be disturbed all the time.

[Psyched]

I love the arrangement. What did you put on the bottom of the pot to stabilize all the stakes and chids?

[karate kid]

so heres how i did this ..sorry im answering your questions little by little as i have said im still at work but trying to squeezed this in...

anyway..i go to home depot or lowes and bought those 4x2 woods untreated pine wood i think or those that are not kiln dry ...then i cut them with the measurement of one stake which i put in the center which is 5 feet then the one that i put on the left is 41/2 feet then the one on the right side is 4 feet tall.

then i cut same type of wood this time about 6 inches and screw it on both sides of each stakes about ten inches below the top most part of the wood .this is where your vanda is going to sit..when i get home ill take some more pics if its not clear.

next the bottom part i usually put a screw on all side of the wood with about 2-3 inches of the screw showing this is the one that will hold it in place when you put the concrete in.

then buy you a pot that is stable hold the wood/stake together and pour concrete .you can add color to it so it would look professional or put nice stones on top of the pot and presto you could already stage your vanda .the concrete that you would buy are those that are called quickcrete so you would only hold the stakes for a few minutes then you could let go and i wait 24 hours before i put the vanda in.

by the way put the center of the stake straight up and the two on the sides like leaning towards like a V shape so you would have more space for the vanda to grow.

this staging looks natural and vanda roots like to cling to the wood and even to the concrete and if its too cold i just pick it up and put it inside the house one pot could hold 6-8 vandas and when theres hurricane just i put it laying on the ground..ill post more pics and show more the stakes instead of the vanda

[karate kid]

Originally Posted by peeweelovesbooks

Ok, I am SO going to do this!!

Can you share the specs of the wood, ie. type, height, width?

how did you tie it?

How do you support--lava rocks? pebbles?

How often do you water?

This is actually perfect because it will allow me to display my collection better. Thank you for sharing!

i tie the vandas with a simple wire ..i grow vandas simply

[karate kid]

here are just my observation on my Vandas .when i put them on the woods that i pick when i am doing my walking here in our subdivision...thankfully im around in a lot of conservation their roots grow so well and even on the 4x2 wood stakes that i have .i only water them once a day and fertilize them once a week .maybe if you compare like the vanda just hanging on the wire the feeding stops from there after you feed them and then dried out but if its with wood some of the nutients probably were absorbed in the wood then slowly feeding the vandas as well..im not sure but just my 2 cents.if you would notice i put the pots or my vanda in a more appealing to the eye big pots but when i water them sometimes water will just accumulate in those pots maybe up to the rim and soaking a lot of my vandas roots there for one week or more or until im not lazy enough that day that i have to lift it and make sure that the hole is not clogged and drain it which is contrary to a lot of no no care from this board that Vanda roots doesnt have to be wet all the time but im telling you a lot of my vandas roots were soaked in that pot of water out of negligence ha ha ha so its up to you guys...


as i have said i grow my vandas as simple as possible because im lazy..ha ha ha water everyday,fertilize once a week then root cocktail once every 2months .i actually got the rooting cocktail here by one of our member she really gave a lot of explanation and all that and i would like to thank her no other than but gixrji8 realy realy a big thank you but as i have said i grow vandas as simple as possible and im just too lazy to follow everything so i put it as
in a big empty gallon of milk i put 1 ml of kln rooting ,1 tbs of grandmas molasses and a pinch of jacks fertilizer then apply it to the plant .by spraying it to the root system once a week x 2 weeks only then i wait two months again then repeat the system but heres Gixrj18 complete rooting system guide for all of you experts there


vanda rotting spikes
Quote:
Originally Posted by gixrj18
This is best used as your winter feeding. During the summer, it is better to give them 20-20-20....with a little Epsom salt. I like to throw in a little vitamin B, Calmag plus (calcium/magnesium supplement), fish emulsions, and liquid seaweed (by Maxicrop). Although not everyone wants to put that much into their orchids, they will show their appreciation!
The basic idea of the root cocktail, is low nitrogen and high phosphates and potassium. The low nitrogen slows the upward growth of the plant, so it can concentrate on the root system....which is helped by the phosphates and potassium. The molasses has a few benefits....first, it's extremely high in potassium. When you purchase it, read the labels and pick the one with the highest potassium. I get mine from the health food store, it has 500mg of potassium per serving...and it's only $5, which will last you a long time. Second, it is also a good source of calcium, magnesium, and iron....all the micro nutrients are just as vital as the three main ones (N-P-K). Finally, it is a great form of carbohydrates for the plant. Plants need some sort of sugars, they help turn the clorophyll produced during photosynthesis (during the day) into usable energy for the plant (which takes place at night).
I have a lot more orchids now, so I don't really use the "spray bottle method" that I mentioned in the original thread. I feed them the 20-20-20 recipe from around Feb.-Oct. or Nov., and the root cocktail all winter. Once every 3 months (usually around the change of the seasons), I give them a high nitrogen feeding of 30-10-10. But whenever you do this, you want to follow it (within 3 days max.) with the root cocktail. This slows it back down and keeps the roots from getting nitrogen-burned....tends to help induce blooming, too. Although, it can cause blasted buds on plants that are already in bloom (they don't like a lot of nitrogen when they are in bloom. All of this was taught to me by a commercial Cattleya grower, but is applicable for all plants. The basic goal, is to build your root system and immune system during innactive growth season (winter). That way, when spring gets here, they are just waiting to bust out! They get a shot of nitrogen, then take off right into the 20-20-20 for active season (summer). You will learn that you will get out of your orchids, only as much as you put into them. I'm presently waiting on a bunch of spikes to fill out, and it is because of this feeding schedule. I have a sheath on one Cattleya that is taller than my hand, it looks like a butcher knife....and it's filling up. I have never seen this flower, and I can't wait to see how big it is! Hope this helps, good luck!

P.S.
None of these mixtures should ever exceed a total parts per million (ppm) of 1400, or you can burn the plant. This can be metered with a TDS meter (Total Dissoved Solids), which you can get on Ebay for about $20. Your PH should also stay between 5.8-6.2 for most plants, they also have these meters....and combo meters with both functions, but they are a little more $. It all depends on how much you want to put into them. I plan to one day cultivate them commercially, so this is all a must for me.


Quote:

[iceicebaby]

Thanks buddy for ur answer

[karate kid]

no problem,anytime