Vanda questions

[Bud]

soak it in the morning for 5 min in a basin...then let it dry all day and spritz it at 5 pm...its not enough to water it if it is in a basket. we both dont have the Florida or California humid atmosphere...and vandas love bright shady light...and warmth...even the coerulea can withstand 45F but not for long...vandas need to be 80F at day and 60F at night...invest on a humidifier.
And repot the vanda...do not put them in a basket(remeber we are not in FL or CA) pot it on a coarse large coco chips, lava rocks and charcoal but the bed of coconut husk to retain the media free flowing and roots should be able to breathe...I have learned to drill holes on glass vases and four of my vandas are on S/H(pachara, all my mokara)
*refer to my album "my babies" = all glass and pottings are there....but in summer; all my vandas hang their roots loose as they all hang on my fire escape

[amsteele2]

I am brand new to this forum, so this is my first post. I got nipped with the orchid bug when my husband brought me home a very pretty phalaenopsis orchid from the grocery store... I normally have a black thumb and would never have bought one for myself. Within a couple of weeks however, I purchased another, and another, and oh dear... several more over the past year. They are all doing incredibly well, and the first three are now sending up their first new spikes
I decided to branch into some different orchids, and I have a new vanda seedling... my very first vanda! It is "Tokyo Blue" and (I hate to say it), I ordered it on Ebay from a seller in France It's so cute, and arrived in perfect shape with lots of roots (bare). I also got another Vanda (Pachara Delight) for a friend, which unfortunately did not survive the trip... although the seller is sending me another, and two dendrobiums, Ladda Orange and Polar Bear. Anyway the seller has been great to deal with and we'll see how these do.

The first thing I did when I received these orchids was give a good soak in water, which perked them right up. I decided since they are so young, and since I mentioned the black thumb, I decided not to leave the vanda bare root... can't do watering a few times a day! Instead I put it in a small pot with lots of holes, in a well soaked and drained cocohusk, charcoal and perlite mixture I've made, not packed too tight.

I am unsure what to do now... do I water similarly to my phals (I do the soaking method approximately 1 x per week, when the roots appear to be drying), and do I water with normal orchid fertilizer (its late fall, so should I be watering as much at all, or fertilizing?). I currently have the little vanda with all my orchids in a west facing window... which as worked well for the phals... would it do better in an east window? I worry that that one might be too chilly.

Thanks for any newbie tips you may have... I can see why there is a need for orchid forums... these things become an obsession!! andrea

[Bud]

Andrea, you are growing orchids and you seem to be successful at it...do not undermine yourself as the "black thumb" you have the instict to grow vandas...soaking it was the right thing to do after getting it in the mail...vandas love light and warmth...it drinks a lot and feeds a lot...there is no rest period for it... water it once and spritz it in the afternoons and fertilizer it weekly regularly all year round...they are not phals or catts...they can even slowly get used to direct sunlight in summers as mine does...but gradually let them sun themselves or they burn too...WOW! a Tokyo blue! I want that too...since it is just a seedling you will wait 4 yrs for it to bloom...good growing and may your tribe increase

[amsteele2]

Thanks for the speedy reply, Bud! I hope I can keep all these plants alive and happy... so far, I am being quite fanatical about their care I hope my little vanda survives to flowering...I can't wait to see those gorgeous flowers one day. I knew that it was going to take a long time, and I thought it would be fun to enjoy the entire process... will make those first flowers even more satisfying.

So, is Tokyo Blue a desirable vanda? I have to say I was kinda naive in choosing it... one of those "well that's pretty moments" from the picture...

Thanks again for the tips on feeding and sunlight... i'll be sure to follow them!! andrea

[CTB]

The forum has a whole section on Vandas that you will enjoy reading. Also as you get an orchid you can use the search button at the top and put in the name and see others that have it, so many in bloom too. Welcome and enjoy!!!

I have several vandas and I water once a day because I keep them bare- root. As you read the vanda section you'llk see all different ways to grow your vandas. Try different ways and see what kind of results you get.

Congratulations on your first vanda, Andrea, and I am sure it won't be your last one .
I have several seedlings too and keep half of them in empty glass vases, the other half - in the square plastic vanda baskets with just a handful of coconut husk chips, so the roots are not completely hidden and sticking out everywhere.
Those in a vases get soaked every day for half hour, in baskets - I usually water every second or third day, depending on how dry the chc is.
Tokyo Blue looks beautiful. I also ordered Packchong Blue because I read that it can bloom on very small plants.

[orchidsamore]

Paul

First your number of 2750 for lumens is wrong. That would be only 250 foot candles, which is too low to flower anything.

Your measurement is probably 27,500 lumens which sounds about right for your setup.

But, it is too low to flower Vanda the want about 4500 foot candles as a minimum. 50,000 lumens.

Pachara Delight is an excellent Vanda. It blooms 3-4 times a year with daily watering weekly fertilizer and higher sunlight.

All those thin dead roots are typical of Thailand Vanda. This is another reason to buy from quality orchid nurseries to get better plants. It is not a big problem, better roots will grow.

A Thailand Pachara will flower the first time with flowers about 3 inches. A quality plant can produce 5 inch flowers on a small 10 inch plant. It will take an extra 2-3 years for the Pachara from Thailand to get to 5 inch flowers. This is another reason to buy from quality orchid nurseries to get better plants.

my friend Robert has line breed by cloning the best of each 20,000 plant production for 3 generations and his small plants are all 5 inch flowers.

Temperatures are not too critical for Vanda. Mine go to 40 degrees every day (nighttime 100 degrees every afternoon). during my Florida winters. I grow everything outside year round. They grow and flower all winter.

[Paul Mc]

Orchidsamore, I had to put it in the basement because my partner's mother has been living with us while his father is in the ICU. Ideally, I want it in my western/southern window that has no trees blocking the light. Unfortunately this is his mother's room for the time being.

I may have been wrong about the lumens then. What I do know is that my hibiscus blooms like crazy under this light. However, I don't know really the amount of light needed to get them to bloom in relation to Vanda's. Outside, I can get it into full sun and it's the happiest blooming plant, but shade is a bad thing for the hibiscus and blooming. I placed my Vanda's just above the Hibiscus right under the light.

The light meter actually reads almost 4000 footcandles where they are located. I guess I can shorten their hangers a bit to get them higher up and closer to the 4000.

Bud, I will take your suggestions and add lava rock today to the one that does not have anything in it. However, I will say that both have plent of new root growth, but perhaps the addition of lava rock to that one will spur even more.

[Wrebbitrocks]

orchidsamoure: id like to get my hands on one of those vandas

[amsteele2]

So, I posted a few weeks ago about my cute little vanda (tokyo blue) that I received. Looked perfect when I got him, but now, he's a little under the weather. I soaked him initially, then I figured for the time being, I would pot him in a clear pot with coir chips/perlite and charcoal that I have been using for my phals (phals are all setting up spikes!!).

I've been perusing the site, trying to learn about vandas, and I got really interested in the vase method. I unpotted my perfect baby vanda to find that his beautiful green roots, were now a rather "olive" green at best when wet, and there was lots of dead, mushy stuff. Oh, Oh!! So, I currently have him sitting in a vase, at the top, with roots dangling over a puddle of water (to increase humidity in the vase). Its been a couple of days since I watered... I was afraid that he was too wet in the mix, and wanted him to dry a little. I will take a pic and post it tonight.

Any thoughts? the leaves and such still look pretty healthy, but its just a matter of time I'm sure. Any other tips that I meant use to bring him back from the brink? Thanks!! andrea