Very new at this

[andy]

Hi!1 I just got a Vanda....help, what do i do , got it from an aunt

[orchidexpress]

hello Andy,
Welcome to OrchidBoard!!
Vandas are high light orchids but what makes them great fun is that they bloom more than once. YEA!
First determinations, how is your vanda potted, is it bare rotted in a slatted basket, or in a pot with medium in it.

Will check on you....

Lee
Orchid Express & Leasing
http://orchidexpressandleasing.com

[andy]

Thanks Lee, it's bare rooted in a hanging basket thingy, with no soil or anything...she had said it needed shade.....I live in an apt in NYC and only have E and W exposure, she said that would be fine, just hang it and spray the roots with H2O from "time to time"..... needless to say I don't want it to die. thus the plea for help/advice!!

[orchidexpress]

Do you have a name for your plant? Some vandas are actually ascocendas which are more forgiving with the light.

Lee
Orchid Express & Leasing

[Ray]

Give it the maximum amount of light you can - especially as winter approaches - and water and feed it regularly. As it is in a basket, a daily dunking would be fine, just be sure to do it in the morning so the plant is dry by nightfall.

Vandas are surprisingly adaptable to light levels, but more is definitely better for flowering.

[andy]

No, I have no idea what the name is, Lee, The tag says just Vanda. :? I can certainly move it closer to the window, and do the dunking you recommend,Ray, sounds straightforward enough. Apart from water , what does one "feed" an orchid, I prefer natural over chemicals . Thanks for the speedy and informative help so far!!

[andy]

Ok yes, another tag (which had fallen off ) says "Asc. Butterfly." Does that help? Or even make sense?!

[Ray]

Andy,

Orchids need all sorts of minerals to grow and bloom well, and vandaceous plants tend to be pretty heavy feeders, too when they're in active growth. Check out the free info page at my website, and you can learn a lot more, if you wish.

My suggestion is to buy a fertilizer designed specifically for orchids, having complete trace elements and minor ingredients, but avoid a high-nitrogen blend like Mir-Acid (even though it was actually invented specifically for orchids, a long time ago), as newer info suggests that high nitrogen fertilizers actually reduce- or stop plants from blooming altogether.

"Natural" fertilizers like fish emulsion, kelp extract and the like sometimes have the disadvantage of smelling bad and often do not contain all of the minor and trace elements the plants need. The decent orchid fertilizers on the market from GreenCare, Peters, Dyna-Gro, and the like are made from beneficiated minerals mined from the earth. It's hard to get much more "natural" than that.

Besides, those so-called "natural" things are really just chemicals anyway, and they have to we ionized in water for the plants to absorb them...

[orchidexpress]

Dear Andy,
Ascocendas are more forgiving with their light than the true vandas. Yet they have smaller flowers. I grow quite alot of Ascocendas here at my store. I believe that your orchid is a gold or a yellow. I could only find Ascdas. that had 'butterfly' in a cross. Some were gold and others a yellow. A very pretty flower.
I suggest to use Dyna-Gro. I am a true blue Dyna-Gro gal. I bet I could even make a commercial for them I believe in their product so strongly. Dyna-Gro has worked wonders for me.
To look up the color of your orchid, I got under 'google' and then I typed in 'Ascocenda Butterfly' and then researched some of the links. You can look up most orchids for their picture that way.

Happy Growing Andy!

Lee Rowell
http://orchidexpressandleasing.com

[andy]

Thank you, Lee, for all that helpful info, I'm definitely on it!