Desperate for vanda help - Orchid Board

Luxanna_crown · #1 05-31-2018, 07:11 PM

Hi everyone my vanda miss joequim isn't looking to hot most of the roots are dead which I cut off and it has lost multiple leaves, I'm kinda at a loss for what to do now

Roberta · #2 05-31-2018, 08:35 PM

If this were my plant, I would wrap the roots with sphagnum and put in a small clay pot. The clay "breathes" and will let the sphag dry out, then water again. This is a really small plant - it will need nurturing for quite awhile. But if you can coax it to grow roots (with a wet-dry cycle for with the "dry" part is short) it should be able to do some growing.

Luxanna_crown · #3 05-31-2018, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

If this were my plant, I would wrap the roots with sphagnum and put in a small clay pot. The clay "breathes" and will let the sphag dry out, then water again. This is a really small plant - it will need nurturing for quite awhile. But if you can coax it to grow roots (with a wet-dry cycle for with the "dry" part is short) it should be able to do some growing.

A small clay pot with a hole at the bottom?

Roberta · #4 05-31-2018, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luxanna_crown

A small clay pot with a hole at the bottom?

Definitely. It needs drainage. (I was thinking of unglazed terracotta pot... glazed pot won't give the air transfer that is desired)

Luxanna_crown · #5 05-31-2018, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Definitely. It needs drainage. (I was thinking of unglazed terracotta pot... glazed pot won't give the air transfer that is desired)

Is this looking good?

Roberta · #6 05-31-2018, 11:08 PM

Looks very good.Good luck!

Luxanna_crown · #7 05-31-2018, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roberta

Looks very good.Good luck!

Thanks! Should I water with tap or distilled water?

Roberta · #8 05-31-2018, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luxanna_crown

Thanks! Should I water with tap or distilled water?

Unless your tap water is very bad, it should be fine. I don't think that these are particularly picky. Just plan to be really, really patient... I don't think that these are likely to bloom until they get to a meter more tall, with LOTS of light - as much as you can possibly give it.

estación seca · #9 06-01-2018, 04:24 AM

Hi Luxanna_crown, It looks pretty good now. The problem is this kind of Vanda is not easy to grow as far north as you are without supplemental lighting. It needs full tropical sun, all day, all year, to grow and flower well. Also it is a very large plant. It is unlikely to flower much before it is at least a meter tall.

There are other, smaller plants in the Vanda alliance that do well with less light than this one. Look up Ascocentrum. Others here from Canada grow them very well.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #10 06-01-2018, 04:33 AM

How bright is the growing area?

Papilionanthe grow under fairly intense indirect sunlight. If the amount of light is good enough to grow Cattleyas, these guys will do alright. I have a Papilionanthe vandarum grown about a little over 1 feet away from a 40W 6,500K LED light that is rated to produce about 3,600 lumens of light.

They grow intermediate to warm (60 F - 95 F).

A relative humidity of about 50% is ok.

I also personally would use bark instead of moss.

They can get big, but they are ridiculously slow growing. It will be several years before that thing will get unmanageably big.