Advice please: vanda & oncidium SEEDLINGS

[Lani]

Hi everyone,
I went to my local Bunnings (like Home Depo) and found boxes relatively fresh orchid seedlings. These are the ones I picked


I know the sarcochilus and the loddigessii (pretty sure that is misspelt on the label?) may not be happy in my warmer climate but I couldn't leave them to rot in their little plastic coffins. I will try them out and if it’s not working I will probably gift them to someone at my orchid society that lives up on the Tablelands (higher altitude/cooler climate).

Anyway, my actual questions…..
What to do with the vandaceous babies??
They have come out of sphag and the roots look very soft and vulnerable (I still need to remove the damages roots).



Should I ‘harden’ them off before potting into a basket? I was considering laying them on top of some damp sphag and misting periodically until new roots are evident. Or should I pot up in baskets now and just keep them sheltered and damper then mature plants?

Am I on the right track with the sharry baby?
From what I have read they like water but require a quick dry out time (water in the morning should be dry by evening?). I am planning to use a pot just big enough with a mix of very small lava rock, charcoal, bark and possibly a little bit of chopped sphagnum moss. Or should I do something different until rots begin to grow? Also, is it these guys that can get sulky after root disturbance?

This is not the most outstanding specimen however the other one of offer, although bigger, had a blatant fungal infection. By the way I have already sprayed all of these guys with an antifungal/insecticide as a precaution (also because I found baby snails…).

Any other suggestions or random advice is always welcome.
Cheers,
Lani

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