Need advice to rescue vandas

[Bud]

When I was just starting to be interested in orchids, I thought Vandas are hard to grow in a Manhattan apartment. But I saw a florist on 28th street with a large Vanda on the window and I just decided to get the hardest specie to grow and give it a try. I have an 11 year old Vanda sanderiana that religiously blooms for me yearly and gave me three keikis as of this year.

[Lorraine]

These little guys look like they need a boost. You can give them a good soaking in some sugar water for about a half hour. That should help promote some new roots. They will need to be sprayed a couple times a day if it's hot. If you can find a slatted wood basket run a little wire around the base, being careful not to hurt the roots and secure through the bottom to keep in place. A little bit of charcoal in the pot helps too. Won't hurt and mine like it. Until they get going I would keep them out of full sun and once they get some decent roots then move to brighter sunlight.

Vandas are one of my favorite orchids. I grow most of mine bare root attached to a long wire with zip ties. I make a loop at the bottom and the hook at the top. You can thread the wire up through a basket too if you want still securing the vanda to the wire. You can also use a shallow clay pot and do the same thing. I'm attaching a couple pictures. One has a young vanda in a pot and the other has older vandas on the wire. It might help down the road.

If you are ever able to get some Mokaras I think you will find growing them delightful. They bloom year round and have 2/3 spikes at the same time. I have mine on stakes in my garden growing in cypress mulch. I also attached one of mine. This is an older picture. I have several more now growing in 2 areas.

[james mickelso]

Acharn, Here's my addy.....james_mickelson@hotmail.com. I'd love to talk with you about your experiences in Thailand. What it's like to an expat there. Living, food, shopping, living in a town outside the big cities. Weather and the like.

[Acharn]

Lorraine, thanks. These are the kind of tips I was hoping for. The comments from everyone else were a boost to my confidence, but the details are good to have. sugar water? I've never seen that mentioned, but I'll give it a try. Up until last week they were still attached to the dead base of the parent, at the bottom of a small, rectangular plastic pot. I thought they might respond well if I gave them room to grow in. It's really amazing to me that they aren't dead -- they weren't getting much water in the tangled brush where I had left them (well, it wasn't tangled brush when I hung them there, but stuff grows so fast here).

I spoke to my nephew this evening and he said he'll look for baskets for me. I remember when I was living in Phanat Nikhom thirty years ago I was able to get small wooden baskets at a garden supply shop -- Nakhorn Sawan is a much larger town, I should be able to find them here.

[Lorraine]

Originally Posted by Acharn

Lorraine, thanks. These are the kind of tips I was hoping for. The comments from everyone else were a boost to my confidence, but the details are good to have. sugar water? I've never seen that mentioned, but I'll give it a try. Up until last week they were still attached to the dead base of the parent, at the bottom of a small, rectangular plastic pot. I thought they might respond well if I gave them room to grow in. It's really amazing to me that they aren't dead -- they weren't getting much water in the tangled brush where I had left them (well, it wasn't tangled brush when I hung them there, but stuff grows so fast here).

I spoke to my nephew this evening and he said he'll look for baskets for me. I remember when I was living in Phanat Nikhom thirty years ago I was able to get small wooden baskets at a garden supply shop -- Nakhorn Sawan is a much larger town, I should be able to find them here.

A lot of people use Superthrive. It might be hard for you to find it there. I have used it but somewhere I heard of the sugar water. I worked for me. Don't know exactly why but success is success!

[Acharn]

I admit my first reaction to the sugar water was skepticism. "How can a plant respond to a purified extract of another plant?" But then I got to thinking about mulch and "green manure" (plowing alfalfa under to increase nitrogen in the soil), and realized I don't need to know how it works, it's nearly free and doesn't seem like it could hurt. They're soaking now.

[Vanda lover]

I'm certainly going to try it.

[rwiskavitch]

I have vandas and live in Virginia where it gets cooler. I keep mine in teak baskets (slatted) and keep a little moss over the roots, about 6 hours of daily indirect sun, and they do fine. I keep the basket in a container where I can pour water in the bottom for constant moisture. They can be tricky but don't be afraid to experiment.

[sthh]

One of the major issue with keeping Vandas in the equatorial belt is that it is so hot and sunny, all the water evaporate very fast, and your Vanda roots need to be watered more often.

I have vanda roots sticking out from a basket, and i keep some spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) around the basket to retain some moisture. You will find those spanish moss cheap and readily available in chatuchak market on wed/thursday.

[Acharn]

Originally Posted by sthh

One of the major issue with keeping Vandas in the equatorial belt is that it is so hot and sunny, all the water evaporate very fast, and your Vanda roots need to be watered more often.

Yeah, I'm worried about that, too. Right now they're uanging under an awnine where they get direct sun for a while around 2:30. I happened to glance out my window and noticed it. I've had trouble with Dendrobiums getting leaves scorched, but evidently it's late enough after noon that the sun's rays aren't too strong and as the sun movers across the sky (well, you know what I mean, I'm not trying to say the sun really moves) they are in shade again in about half an hour. I'll want to watch that more closely, though, as we go into the hot season.

I have vanda roots sticking out from a basket, and i keep some spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) around the basket to retain some moisture. You will find those spanish moss cheap and readily available in chatuchak market on wed/thursday.

Thanks for the suggestion, but getting to Chatuchak is kind of problematic for me. I don't live in Bangkok any more. My nephew and niece have a small nursery and I'm hoping to have them take me to visit a nearby orchid farm. I also know a Kiwi (New Zealander) who runs an orchid farm down in Nonthaburi, but I've never had a chance to go visit him. In both cases I could probably get enough Spanish or sphagnum moss to last me for years I really want to find someplace where I can buy some Phalaenopsis. I could hang them farther back from the edge of the awning, since I understand they need less direct light. Right now the Vandas and the Dendrobiums are getting strong sunlight reflected from the ground after noon and a little direct or dappled sunlight after about 2:30. They seem to be doing a lot better that when I had them farther back from the edge of the awning.

One that my niece gave me has a cane that is a full three feet long. I am certain it's a Dendrobium, but I can't remember which species native to Thailand had such a long cane. It hasn't flowered since she got it, but it's on what looks like a section of tree branch, so I suspect it was collected from the wild and is probably a species rather than a hybrid. Several years ago I remember running across a description of a Dendrobium with such long canes, but I've forgotten which reference source it was. If nobody recognized is from my description I'll just wait until it blooms and post a picture. Thank goodness it is producing one new cane. I hope it will produce more, but even one is something to be grateful for.