Yellowing Vanda leaves

[Ccarr23]

I'm a proud parent of a beautiful Vanda but it's leaves are yellowing at the bottom. The stem that had the flowers when I brought it home is brown and hard as well. I want to save it and care for it as best as I can but I'm not sure what to do!

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

That is, indeed, a beautiful plant. Important question... where do you live? The plant grew like that in an environment that was warm and humid, with plenty of watering. How does that compare with your conditions? Your challenge, I suspect, will be to get as close as possible to what it needs, and you'll probably have do some improvising, as well as accept some compromises that may not be ideal but will keep the plant going until you can arrange something better.

For a start, lots of water - daily if possible. Many people soak their Vandas in a bucket of water for a few hours, then hang it up in the shower (so that it doesn't drip all over the floor)

[Ccarr23]

Hello!

I trimmed a bunch of dead roots off and the yellow leaves. I live in Florida and bought it in Florida, but I think it was in a more humid place than now. I hope trimming the roots did not harm it, I also cut off the old spike. I'm going to keep an eye on this guy, thanks for your reply!

[Roberta]

If the roots that you trimmed were dead, no harm... it looks like it has a really good root system. If you're in south Florida, where it is hot and humid, outside is fine... Mother Nature will take care of a lot of the watering for you. If you're farther north, where you have to worry about temperature this time of year, you'll have to work a bit harder until spring. As long as nights are above 60 deg F or so, it should be quite happy au naturale.

[DeaC]

Welcome to OB. I've always wanted to try Vandas and here in NJ growing inside has made adaptations challenging. However, mine hang by a south window under lights and those with long roots get a shower ev. other day. Smaller ones I've put into slatted wood baskets fit nicely in the kitchen sink. So far so good.

[Orchidtinkerer]

This would be a good example of a Vanda that would need roughly 3 times what a small phalenopsis would need in fertilizer. Don't overdo it but something like 600-800ppm on a regular basis. It's a big plant with lots of roots, it will need regular feeding unlike a phal that doesn't need much and can get it released from the substrate over time.

As it has no substrate it has to rely on what you feed it every time you water it. If it doesn't get enough it will start "eating" its own lower leaves (ie recyle them to gain nutrients)

[aliceinwl]

It’s hard to see from the photo, but look at the leaves. If they’re relatively flat, it’s getting enough water. If they’re folded like tacos, it’s water stressed, and you need to figure out a way to allow it to uptake more water. Water stress is one factor that can cause leaf drop and is the one of the easiest to fix.