Vanda Noob needs help - Orchid Board

Shiffdaddy · #1 09-09-2011, 09:33 PM

Ok so ive done my research and all but id like to hear from some vanda experts. On ebay i purchased 10 vanda seedlings for 50$, had 8 of them mounted and 2 are in hanging baskets. I've placed them in rather shady spots around my yard in order to acclimate them to the sun here in souther california. Need any tips or advice from anybody!

Should i mist the roots every morning and evening? Just every morning?

Will they ever be able to hang on a wall in near full sun?

Help!!!

Thanks in advance,
Ben

Shiffdaddy · #2 09-11-2011, 08:00 AM

Anybody?

Leafmite · #3 09-11-2011, 09:51 AM

I'm definitely not an expert but I've read that most people give their vanda roots a good soak (either with a hose or bucket) every day. I water my vanda orchids until the root tips turn green, as I do with my other orchids. It is cooler where I live and I have mine potted in plastic baskets with lava rock so I only water once a day or every other day. Mine are indoors now because it is getting cooler. As for light, yes, acclimate them slowly to keep the leaves looking perfect (unlike mine). Some take more light and some take less, depending on which types they are so you'll have to do a little research.
All I can say is wow! Ten! It must be really nice to live somewhere warm! I have two small coerulescens, two that will get very large (oops) and then the mini vandaceous orchids (Neo, Lou Sneary and angraecums). Have fun with them and I hope that someday, when they begin to bloom, you will post lots of beautiful pictures!
Leafmite

Paul Mc · #4 09-11-2011, 09:51 AM

Hey there, can't believe no one saw your post from a few days back.

OK, so I'm a complete Vanda noob myself but I will try to answer your questions as the way I understand it myself. Please remember that I'm a complete noob as well so I may be off on this. If someone with more experience says something different, for sure go with their comments, lol...

In cooler weather, I water it once a day. The key here is to not just quickly hit it with water and walk away. You want to water it long enough that the velumen (white stuff on the roots) turns a dark green/light green depending upon the type you got and what it's been bred with. If you just keep watering it heavily you will eventually see the true color of the roots come through and know what to look for.

In hotter weather (say upper 90s and above) I water them twice and sometimes three times a day to help compensate for the moisture lost through the leaves dealing with the temperatures.

From what I've read, it sounds as though it's a good idea to create a bath for it with light fertilizer once a month. Fill your sink or a bucket and dunk the plant in. Leave it for about 10 to 15 minutes or so, then remove and hang back up.

While some orchids are labeled as "high" light, all orchids do need to be carefully attended to when transitioning them from inside to outside and vice versa. The temperature and strength of the sun can cause damage until they are hardened up against mother nature. Think of it like you getting a sun tan, the more tan you are the better off your defenses are against the sun. Until then, you'll fry without protection.

Hardening off plants usually takes a few weeks for me. I put them in a very shaded position for a week, then move them to a slightly less shaded position for another week and so on until they are where I want them to be.

That having been said, I found that when I put it in what I considered "high" light for orchids they did not do so well and started to turn leathery. Of course, we were also experiencing heat of around 110. It was getting about the same light as my Phaius', but I have since restricted the light to direct sunlight in the morning, dappled during the day and evening.

I don't know if you will ever truly get them into "full" sun or not though. It depends what you define that term as. It is not the same as other tropical full sun plants like banana trees and such when you use that term in the orchid world. Orchids do not grow in "full" sun per say. "Full" sun in orchid speak means that the orchid grows higher up in the tree where it gets more sun but is still sheltered against the full effects of the sun from the upper tree canopy.

Hope that has been helpful. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in and give us both a good lesson or two about Vanda care.

tucker85 · #5 09-11-2011, 09:59 AM

I grow vandas in south Florida. I have them in wooden or plastic baskets with no medium (the one in the picture is the only one in a pot). I water all my vandas every morning. Don't water at night because it can cause fungus problems. On hot days I sometimes water a second time around 2 PM but I think once is fine. By the way, I recently went on a two week vacation and the vandas looked fine when I returned. I use a light dose of fertilizer once a week. If you only have a few vandas you can use a hand held spray bottle and just mist the plant with the fertilizer. Vandas can be aclimated to almost full sun (especially morning sun) but only when they get mature and have lots of good roots to hold enough water. Small plants will burn when placed in light thats too bright. Semi-terete vandas actually require full sun.
I hate to discourage you but seedlings often take many years to bloom. The best way to experiment with vandas is to buy a blooming size ascocenda or vascostylis that has a reputation for blooming easily and often. See how they do for you in your environment and decide if you want to continue collecting them. Good luck. Here are some of mine in bloom.

Paul Mc · #6 09-11-2011, 10:15 AM

LOL... Looks like others were posting even as I was! Too funny!

Tucker, what type of fertilizer do you use, balance wise? I'm guessing a 20-20-20 would be sufficient, or do they need a different formulation? Good to know I can just use a spray bottle with the mixture in it as opposed to dunking them in a big vat of water and fertilizer, lol...

tucker85 · #7 09-11-2011, 10:21 AM

I use Peter's 20-20-20. I also use a suppliment called Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed. It's not necessary but it encourages the formation of new roots. There are other seaweed products that do the same thing.

Paul Mc · #8 09-11-2011, 10:25 AM

WOW, I was just talking to someone at our local orchid society about his use of seaweed products. He was really sold by it. I think I'll be looking for some myself now! Thank you!

I do have one other question now that I'm thinking about it.

I've read that coerulea and their hybrids need cooler temperatures to induce blooming. We've had several nights into the lower 50's and one into the upper 40's. I felt that these were too low but I left it out anyways as it was only a 4 day go and we're back into the lower 60's and upper 50's at night. Was that a correct assumption?

How cool is too cool in your opinion?

Suresh Kalyanpur · #9 09-11-2011, 10:38 AM

Ben I will go by what Tucker said - vanda seedlings take any where from two to four years before they reach the flowering stage. Also - of course depending on how big or small your seedlings are - I would not advise you to expose them to the sun so early. May result in the new leaves getting burnt. Even the fertiliser should be a weak solution least you burn the roots. take care and best of luck.

JDT · #10 09-11-2011, 12:09 PM

I agree with what Paul Mc was saying about watering everyday. I also agree with Tucker on care and sun exposure. I too live in South Florida and I will water my Vandas and Ascocendas every morning and like Tucker on some of out hot days will do so again in the afternoon if I can. The one thing I would suggest to what Paul Mc said was don't just stand there and water the roots. The roots on most all orchids can only absorb so much water at a time and standing there only waste the water. I go by the method that Dr Motes suggests for Florida growers and I see no reason why it would not also work on most locations when it comes to watering. Water until the water starts to drip off all of your roots or out of your pots, move to the next one and the next one etc. When you don't hear the water dripping from the roots or pots water again the same way, on Vandas you will find that in some cases you might have to do this more then 3 or more times but I have found that if you keep this up every day then usually after the second watering I get the color I am looking for in the roots and I use much less water doing it this way, I do this on all of my orchids but not all of them can I see the roots to tell if they have all turned green those I go by the weight of the pot. I also fertilizer my Vandas every week doing the same method until the roots turn the green color that I want. There are many types of fertilizer, research what is best for your orchids in the area that you live and see which one does the best for you, during the growing season you will see lots of growth on the roots if they are getting watered and fertilize properly. I also have stopped buying smaller Vandas and Ascocendas as they take too long before they start to flower, I currently have a Ascocenda that is in the process of flowering for the first time and I have had this plant since 2008. I would rather pay a little more for a mature plant so that I don't have to wait for them to produce flowers for as long as I have on some of the orchids I first purchased. Fortunately I live in an area where there are lots of orchid growers and I have a friend that has a nursery in South Miami, he does not grow orchids any longer after he lost his orchid nursery back in Hurricane Andrew but he takes me to the other growers to purchase at his wholesale price which helps to save money on some of the more mature plants that they are willing to sell!
Good luck!!