Vanda Miss Joaquim In Melbourne?

[Miss Joaquim]

Hi, is there anyone growing Singapore's National Orchid, Vanda Miss Joaquim in Melbourne, Australia?
I bought mine from a vendor from Queensland but it's not doing well. Appreciate if someone can help me with the question. Thank you so much.

[Wjs2nd]

Why do you say it's not doing well?

[Miss Joaquim]

Hi Wjs2nd,
I got them last year around Jun and till now it's not growing - no new growth, no new roots. The old roots are dried and the leaves look kind of 'dead but not dead yet". Not the green, fresh and succulent. I do not have a greenhouse 'yet'. i water it everyday now as it is summer over here. During winter last year, I kept it under shelter. I love my ex-country national orchid and I hope to grow them here.

[Discus]

Vandas love to be watered - probably more than once a day in summer, particularly when it's hot/dry. How humid is it where you are in Melbourne? It's a good idea to water them, wait 10-20 minutes or so and do it again - that way, the whitish velamen on the roots gets a chance to get damp, and then really wet, ensuring the plant gets properly hydrated. Properly wet vanda roots are green/green-brown; the whitish velamen goes pretty much transparent when properly wet. You can also sit the roots in a bucket for about 5-10 minutes or so. Vandas are apparently also quite hungry feeders when they are in active growth.

I water my Vanda (not a Miss Joaquim) twice a day in summer - once in the morning before work, and once at lunch time; this is restricted to just morning when the weather is cooler/more humid. Lots of leaf and root growth so far - no flowers yet in the year I've had it.

[Miss Joaquim]

Probably I should repot my vanda. Do you use just bark or any special mixture? I thought of tying them to a avocado tree but worry that they might not survive the winter here. Any suggestions? Thanks

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

These are no longer classified as Vandas. They were once upon a time called terete leafed Vandas. These are now more commonly known as orchids in the genus Papilionanthe.

I grow my Papilionanthe on a piece of log with moss on it and it grows very well.

They are naturally extremely slow growing.