Vanda novice - leaves dropping!

[Enigmatise1981]

Hi everyone

I am based in Cyprus so we have hot summers and cold winters (though this year has been very mild).

I was gifted a Vanda in November last year. It’s in a clear glass jar and cane with instructions to soak once a week for 30 minutes. It was originally kept by a window but the area was still quite dark. I have since moved house and it’s now in a very bright and airy location.

Between me moving, my plant seems to have dropped several leaves very quickly. The area at the top happened just before I moved and looks like the leaves died at the base then came free. I then noticed loose leaves at the base which came away easily in my hand, but they weren’t brown. Im wondering what the problem is and why this may have happened.

When I first got the plant the root system was quite large and stuffed in the vase... I realise now that most of those roots were dead (I think because they got snapped when being put in the vase) - yesterday I went and removed all the dead stuff so I could see better if I was getting new roots or not.

Anyway... any help and guidance would be much appreciated...

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board!

All the roots I see in the vase are healthy. How old are those photos? How long has it been in the basket with just a few roots?

What was the lowest temperature it experienced recently?

Vandas drop lots of leaves when they get too cold, or when the stem rots. When they are too dry they tend to drop leaves one by one over some weeks.

[Enigmatise1981]

Hi there

The pictures were taken yesterday and I did the dead root pruning yesterday also.

Yeah I agree the riots looks healthy and I think the leaves that remain do too, hence my confusion!

Temperature wise it’s been pretty cold at nights here (around 7-14 degrees centigrade) - but we did have a very very cold snap last week! I’m hoping in its new location even on a cold day there will be the warming effects of the sun but not sure how to protect if it gets super cold at night?!

[estación seca]

One night at 10C can make that degree of leaf drop happen. If it was lower that is the problem.

It appears you cut off healthy roots. I recommend people not cut off roots. It's usually not possible to be sure which are dead. There is a tremendous amount of misinformation on the Internet about cutting off roots.

[Orchidtinkerer]

your orchid has picked up an infection on its stem.
Cold temps rarely do damage but they do stress a plant that can lead to damage.
You need to treat that infection but everyone uses different products so I cannot tell you what to use.
I use diluted hydrogen peroxide, 0.5% strength but that's what I use and since mixing it in the right concentration goes beyond most people's ability I would recommend you get a proper treatment from an orchid specialist to stop it spreading.

[WaterWitchin]

Looks mostly like damage from low temps, as estación seca mentioned. I'm no vanda expert, but the ones I've had tended to do that when I left outside in fall too long. Especially if you watered late in day and there was still water in between the leaf crevices. You're going to have to keep it warmer both day and night. 7-10C is just too cold.

He's also correct about not cutting those roots. Even if they have a crack, or they don't green up when watered doesn't mean they're dead.

[estación seca]

Except in very warm, humid climates, diseases usually result from incorrect horticulture.

[Orchidtinkerer]

rofl I can guarantee this vanda is going to die if it just assumed to be cold damage.

Cold damage will never "start" in the middle of the stem

[estación seca]

That's stem dying from cold damage. Get a sample and look for organisms under a microscope. This is one reason many hobbyist growers outside tropical climates find Vandas difficult.