Vanda - only 2 flowers

[dianecty]

Hi everyone! I have a Ascocenda Mikasa Blue. It only has 2 flowers. They are just starting to open.

However, I was wondering why they don't have more flowers on the same stem. Aren't they supposed to be that way?

In between the 2 flowers, there seems to be a tiny bud that wrinkled.

Is this normal behavior for a vanda? How do the buds come out? Does the stalk have to lengthen a lot before the buds show up? Right now, the stalk is just long enough to have these 2 flowers side by side.

Thanks!!

Diane

[Dorothy]

[Swamper]

Hey Diane, unfortunately I do not own a Mikasa Blue but if they are anything like other ascdas then I would say definately not normal. An ascda is a cross between a vanda and an ascocentrum. Sometimes they are called miniature vandas, having smaller flowers, but more plentiful. Again Im not sure about Mikasas so I'll say no more for now
How old is your plant? Do you have a pic?

[Ray]

A reduced number of buds could be to a nutritional-, or light deficiency.

If the buds started to form, but then shriveled and dropped, it's possibly due to a change in conditions or mites.

[cloudswinger]

I have a Ascocenda Princess Mikasa 'Blue', so I'm assuming that's what you have. Mine just bloomed with about 8-10 flowers. I don't know how big vanda flowers are in general but these are some of the bigger flowers in my collection, about 3 inches across. It also comes in a pink version. All my buds developed before the flowers opened, so I don't know if your spike will have more flowers.

[JennS]

Do you mean your plant has open buds or are they still developing? Generally (on my Princess Mikasa and other vanda types) the spike grows for awhile with a big bump on the end and as the spike gets larger the bump starts to spread out. That may sound confusing, but sometimes the bump will look like a closed flower bud and you can count the seperations in it to get an idea of how many flowers you will have. This is not exact though, just a guess.

If you plant is very young, 2 flowers is not to worrisome. I just got a vanda hybrid that had it's first bloom and only had 3 flowers. I have also noticed that sometimes the flowers are not as large in the first bloom but get larger the next year (but again this is just sometimes).

I bought my Princess Mikasa back in May with a few dying flowers on it. Right now it has one spike that has about 8 buds (so far) and the first is opening, as well as a second spike that I cannot tell how many flowers there will be yet. So, if this is not the first time it has bloomed, then 2 flowers sounds pretty low.

I was told that thrips (which are not visible) are very attracted to vanda spikes and buds (they suck the juices out of them!). You should start with some sort of pesticide treatment or something to keep your plants for getting bugs. Mites (as mentioned above) and condition changes could be the case too. If you bought the plant in bud and it lost some buds (blasted) after bringing it home it could be because of the change in environment, gases released from ripening fruits or automobile fumes.

If you can post a pic we can try some more guesses...