Which should I choose? Psycopsis or Vanda

[Bud]

yeppers...get both...you can care for them just fine...as for the vandas; it is a misconception that it is delicate and needs special caring; it is a very hardy plant(I have yet to kill one) it will tell you signs if it is not happy...the leaves of a strap vanda will close when hungry or thirsty...it will open when happy and satisfied...the tips of the leaves will brown or yellow if it needs to be flushed from salts on its roots due to over-fertilizing(just soak it in a basin of water for a day) you do not even alter its regimen even while in bloom...I have a Euentha sanderiana(10 yrs old) in my bathroom window now in spike...I will post when it opens its blooms...its my most prized posession because it is rare in the wilds and it was given to me by a very good friend of mine ...its 7 yrs in my care and been with me on tour and whenever I had to travel for a long period of time due to work...it just stays in the bathroom of the hotels I stay...airlines dont open the big coat box it is contained while checked in cushioned with lots of damp tissue paper...It is on a redwood basket in the summer while outside the fire escape...and inside a glass with holes in winter centered at the bathroom window

[Susie11]

Originally Posted by Bird Song Farm

Go with the Psychopsis.

You won't be sorry.

Al

I hear you Al. Thanks for your opinion. Decisions decisions...?

[Susie11]

Originally Posted by Bud

yeppers...get both...you can care for them just fine...as for the vandas; it is a misconception that it is delicate and needs special caring; it is a very hardy plant(I have yet to kill one) it will tell you signs if it is not happy...the leaves of a strap vanda will close when hungry or thirsty...it will open when happy and satisfied...the tips of the leaves will brown or yellow if it needs to be flushed from salts on its roots due to over-fertilizing(just soak it in a basin of water for a day) you do not even alter its regimen even while in bloom...I have a Euentha sanderiana(10 yrs old) in my bathroom window now in spike...I will post when it opens its blooms...its my most prized posession because it is rare in the wilds and it was given to me by a very good friend of mine ...its 7 yrs in my care and been with me on tour and whenever I had to travel for a long period of time due to work...it just stays in the bathroom of the hotels I stay...airlines dont open the big coat box it is contained while checked in cushioned with lots of damp tissue paper...It is on a redwood basket in the summer while outside the fire escape...and inside a glass with holes in winter centered at the bathroom window

Wow! what a diva she is. I think that I can get the the two of them but which one first? lol

[camille1585]

I would say Psychopsis. It's partially thanks to Al that I got one a year ago, and I found it surprisingly easy to grow and bloom, and I'm very very happy that I got it! What I really love is that these guys really keep blooming and blooming. Drops a bloom and a new one is immediately ready to take it's place.

But my choice is biaised, I don't own any Vandas simply because I can't give them the light they need.

[Susie11]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I would say Psychopsis. It's partially thanks to Al that I got one a year ago, and I found it surprisingly easy to grow and bloom, and I'm very very happy that I got it! What I really love is that these guys really keep blooming and blooming. Drops a bloom and a new one is immediately ready to take it's place.

But my choice is biaised, I don't own any Vandas simply because I can't give them the light they need.

Yes that is why they appeal to me too. I have heard though that they can be quite hard to repot and that they have to dry out before watering but they can't be too wet either and they have to have dry roots after repotting and so on. If you can tell me that I just need to water it and feed it now and then and then forget about it I will definitely go with the psychopsis.

[camille1585]

I had heard the same things, which is why I was surprised how easy it is to grow. However I think that this largely has to do with the way mine is potted. The grower I got it from (Nardotto e Capello) puts them up in a net pot with fairly chunky bark, and then it's placed inside a slightly larger transparent pot. Lots of airflow and the medium dries quickly. I just pop it out of the clear pot sometimes to see how the roots are doing water wise. So far so good!

[Susie11]

Originally Posted by camille1585

I had heard the same things, which is why I was surprised how easy it is to grow. However I think that this largely has to do with the way mine is potted. The grower I got it from (Nardotto e Capello) puts them up in a net pot with fairly chunky bark, and then it's placed inside a slightly larger transparent pot. Lots of airflow and the medium dries quickly. I just pop it out of the clear pot sometimes to see how the roots are doing water wise. So far so good!

O.K Camille, I am decided now. The Psychopsis will be my first new purchase this month followed closely after (next month) by the vanda. One last thing, I am getting a blooming sized plant so how long do you think that I will have to wait before I get a spike? Do they take a while to bloom or is it dependant on the culture given? I am so excited now that I know which one to get well, I think I know which one it will be. I might change my mind and go for the vanda first instead. Oh I just can't think...

[camille1585]

Like I said, I've only had it a year, so I have limited experience. It arrived with a new growth just starting, and the spike appeared as soon as the growth matured, which took nearly 8 months. Don't know if that's normal or my conditions are not optimal. I was moving around a lot last fall-winter, so the plant was living in a dark spot, a bit chilly too. Took a further 3 months for the spike to grow and start a bud.

[Susie11]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Like I said, I've only had it a year, so I have limited experience. It arrived with a new growth just starting, and the spike appeared as soon as the growth matured, which took nearly 8 months. Don't know if that's normal or my conditions are not optimal. Took a further 3 months for the spike to grow and start a bud.

That's o.k I don't mind waiting for a spike to grow it's just the waiting for it to arrive in the first place! I am very swayed now towards the Psy. I think it is going to be that that I get. I just hope it doesn't die on me a few months after it arrives. Thanks Camille. The decision continues although I have kind of decided to get them both anyway.