Soaking a Vanda (NoID) with a Basal Keiki - How Deep?!

[LauraM]

Another question!

A few weeks ago I happened across a big blooming yellow noID vanda at Lowe's and promptly brought it home. It's my first bareroot baby, and only my second vanda ever (the other is a seedling).

I started out just spraying the roots 1-2x/day, but have since discovered it seems to really like soaking for an hour or two every 2-3 days in addition. I've read on other posts here that crown rot is typically not an issue with this as long as the plant is able to dry between soakings, and possibly because no one is submerging the plant all the way up to the top(?), even if some allow a few leaves to be underwater. But I'm having trouble figuring out how to balance this with mine, because it has a small basal keiki growing and several of the largest/healthiest roots of the mother plant are higher on the plant than the top of the keiki. In order to submerge all of the roots of the mother plant, the water would have to be probably 2-3 inches above the top of the keiki leaves. Thus far, I've avoided this for fear of causing crown rot issues in the keiki.

Should I not worry so much and go ahead and let the keiki be fully underwater? If I continue to keep the water level below the top of the keiki, any suggestions for getting more water to those top roots? I've been wrapping them in wet paper towels while I soak the rest of the plant but that's a bit time-consuming.

---------- Post added at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 PM ----------

Correction: I found the ID tag I forgot it once had! (Or rather, a picture of it!) It's a V. Fuchs Gold x V. denisoniana.

[LauraM]

Not the best photos since it's dark out, but here are a few anyway!

In the last one you can just see the keiki at the base there, with the tips of it's leaves pointing to the corner of the basket at the front (bottom) of the photo.

[estación seca]

If you submerge the offset among the roots for a few hours and then let it dry out, there won't be any problems.

[DeaC]

Hi Laura. I started with Vandas only 2 yrs ago and like the challenge here in NJ. Two I have with short roots are in vase culture and get soaked about 2x/wk and others with long roots are put in the shower on one of those "tree towers" that would be used to hang clothes to dry. I leave them there for sev. hrs and all gets wet except for blooms and once dry I hang under lights. Never had issue with rot in vase or shower. But house is dry,even with humidifier so they really need the benefit of freq. watering.

[Orchidtinkerer]

Hi Laura, I will second what DeaC is saying, a vase will really benefit your orchid. The reason you are needing to soak it so much is because it is dehydrating so much in between, if you use a vase, the roots will retain more moisture between waterings. I would not submerge the keiki, it shouldn't be a problem but better to avoid it. The roots can transport water just fine and don't need to be fully submerged to soak up as much as they want so no need to submerge the keiki.

I like to place a lump of moss or a microfiber cloth on a root that I keep wet at all times. they don't all need to be wet all the time, a few roots is enough to sustain an orchid. I should add here that does not mean an orchid will flower well with too few roots - too little roots is a sign of bad health and will affect flowering, what I am saying is that a healthy orchid with hundreds of roots only needs a few of them to be wet to sustain all its needs which a lump of moss or microfiber cloth do nicely to prevent the orchid ever dehydrating between waterings.
Try it, just don't suffocate any roots, keep them exposed to an airy environment all the time, just add something to keep a few roots hydrated