New Member, Need Help!! (please)
 

ive been collecting orchids for a couple of months now and just started noticing some things that are worrying me (sorry if its no big deal, i have very little idea of what to look for)! :blushing: below are some pictures of spots that look suspicious, would greatly appreciate ANY feedback!

the first two images are the same plant... there is a straw colored spot that has made the leaf almost see-through... as you can see its the only spot on the plant. the rest of the plant seems happy since its strongly putting out a new sprout of leaves

the third and fourth are of a vanda that i bought knowing it wasnt doing so well... the bottom two leaves are yellow and the roots arent turning as green as my other vandas during watering. the plant is desperately trying to bloom though! (also not looking too good)

lastly is a new vanda i came across, the roots looked fine when i bought it however once i watered it tons of white dots appeared (is this normal for some types??)... it seems to be healthy otherwise and is in strong bloom, looking much healthier than the previous plant mentioned...
sorry if the questions seem silly!

First of all :hello and :welcome: to the OB !!! Now as far a your concerns go.
The yellowish spot on your oncidium is more likely sun damage. Did you move it to a higher light level suddenly or did you expose it to sudden light. If so that's what caused it to burn and turn that yellow. If you wish to do so you can go ahead and cut the leaf
The vanda doesn't look that bad at all. It needs some TLC but other wise seems fine to me. Go ahead and cut that spike since those flowers are about done and the dots on the roots are not a big deal. The roots will look white when not watered and as soon as you water them they acquire that green look to them. Vandas must be watered on a daily basis in our hot conditions. Once in the summer or less if the days are gloomy. They are also heavy feeders so weekly weakly fertilizing will help a lot.
If you have any more questions just ask and we'll be happy to help.

thank you! i am so relieved to hear that nothing terribly serious is going on! sadly i think the vanda is at the beginning of its blooming, not the end :( i would have assumed the same however i was told it was at the start and have been watching it suspiciously and to my surprise today the first flower fully opened.. the color is super dull though, maybe just the plant?... although i was told it would be more towards coral..hm

as for the burn, that makes complete sense.. im still getting a feel for which plants are most happy in which place, and that spot appeared ages ago and since then its been ok..... mystery solved!

thank you thank you! if i have any other worries i will for sure re-post! greatly appreciate your help!

p.s. love the sea horse picture!

You are very welcome. The flowers look kind of dull on the vandas. They do like a lot of light without getting to the point of burning the leaves. I did realize that there were still buds in the spike. You can either let it bloom and enjoy it or cut the spike and start fertilizing weakly weekly and watering daily and very likely you'll see some improvement. Here in Florida you can grow both the Oncidium and Vanda outdoors but it does get a bit cold in the winter especially youe way so they will have to come in during those cold days that we have and never give up on them. They are really though plants. Ohhh and one more thing; prepare to increase your "I want" or "must have" list. There are lots of enablers here. By the way Smiley Orchids is close to you and that lady specializes in vandas. You are in a world of trouble my friend :biggrin:

ahahahah oooo i know!! i started my orchid collection this summer and im already 14 plants in! i got really into vandas before thinking through the practicality of it all... which will be interesting when i have to bring them in for winter.. i definitely have to get in to the routine of using fertilizers.. sounds tricky, little bit intimidated

these are the plants i started with:
Yfrog - q34.jpg

and these are my most recent vanda purchases:
Yfrog - wc3scrnshot031309154400.jpg

so funny you mentioned smileys because i plan to go there this weekend!! looks dangerous! very excited though....... :D

Hirschy, nice collection you have going. Soon it will be time to bring them in. Keep in mind for next season, when you take them back out where you place them so the roots don't grab on to whatever they are next to.
I placed mine on my wood fence after bringing them in during one of the hurricanes that came near and I swear it was like overnight they grabbed onto that fence fiercely and now I feel really bad about peeling them off. I know how to do it patiently but I don't have much of that.
Oh yeah and a belated welcome.

around when do you suggest that i bring them in... from what ive read 50 is the absolute lowest they can go?? hah! i will for sure keep an eye on what the roots are doing... if they do cling on do i just wet the roots and carefully try to pry them off??? would hate to do harm in any way...
and many thanks!

Vandas around 50s to lower 40s because they don't tolerate the cool so great however wherever you place them you need to make sure that they get good light and water daily if sunny. Want to hear the good part. We don't get that many cold days.

ahaha true, guess we're pretty lucky.. ill make sure to start scoping out a spot in preparation!
thank you again! excited that i seem to be doing alright... guess that means i can justify investing in a new plant!!

Sounds good to me and it definetely means that you can get another plant:rofl: I saw that you've got a bit of some mayor groups but didn't see any phals. I saw paphs, onc. intergenerics, catts and the vandas. So far so good. If you need any more help just shout.

I'll add one more thing that I think no one's addressed yet...

The roots on the Vanda that's doing well, are very thin. I make this a point because, eventually, if the plant doesn't start developing strong, thick roots, the same fate will befall it that which happened to the Vanda that isn't doing so well.

There is a cause for spindly roots on Vandas, but right now I can't pinpoint it. I think it's from not enough water.

do you suggest just twice daily watering for that plant? ive only had the three bigger vandas for a week now and since having them ive watered them every morning and if i have time before class will quickly spray them down a second time.... should i start looking in to fertilizer?...
the one that i said isnt doing well i think is slowly getting worse! or at least the bottom two leaves are... they are pretty yellow, should i cut them?

They will fall off eventually. I had a really hurt vanda in worse shape than yours. I hung it upside down for about 3 months. It became stable, quit getting worse. Then I turned her right side up again before finding a place against the aforementioned fence. Now 1 year and half later its doing great.

thank you! i guess i just need to give her time and see how it works out.. i think ill cut the spike and let it recover...
i read that if i wanted to clean off leaves/ roots it is suggested to use rubbing alcohol... anything i should be cautious about or anything better to use??

(sorry about all the questions!)

I use water and my fingers when I see something strange. LOL that seems so crazy I know. If I want it gone NOW I add a little soap. I vaguely remember once using alcohol, it didnoharm .
Be cautious about... loving it to death:) I mean back off sometimes and let them be. Suddenly they go BANG! and they recover fully.
I'm sure there are other things, and you will hear about them. But that's caution to get you started.

Watering twice a day during hot days might help out with the spindly root problem.

That's how much I'm watering them right now. No root rot. And I have them potted. The roots on many of my established Vandas are all thick.

Try this just to see what kind of results you get.

Use the Vanda that's not doing so well and pot it in a terra cotta pot with large grade wood chips and put a thin layer of moss on top of the bark as dressing. Sit back and see what happens.

wow awesome! will do!
thank you both for all the help! hopefully ill have great success pictures to post... fingers crossed.
(or photos of new plants... im hooked!)

bought 2 small vandas that came bare root with no viable roots - put them in a basket together with a division of a seedling of Den aggravatum.
just some lava rock with a few pieces of bark and moss here and there - mist 2 3 times a day - now the vandas are really sprouting a lot of new root tips. southern window + 23 W CFL a few inches away to supplement.

as a novice I find that Cattleyas and Vandas are really resilient at creating new roots without rotting.

stronger survival ability than Phals...

At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden saw all these Vandas with old new roots everywhere. I am wondering if it is normal that roots die after a year or so and new fresh roots take over

I use fresh squeezed lemon juice to wipe down the foliage of my orchids. It shines them up very nicely and gives them a nice gleam.

Hi and welcome,
Your Vanda needs a good soaking. Would you be able to let it soak in a bucket of water for about 15 minutes a day (or at least a couple of times a week)? I sometimes add fertilizer to the bucket of water as well. The leggy stem is a dead give away for dehydration but don't worry it will still flower for you. Once you start soaking the roots they should begin to show some green, and you will also get new roots eventually coming off the stem. Eventually you will be able to cut that stick off (once you have 3 good sized roots) and you can use the part that has been cut off to force a keiki (place in the shade to do that).

Sorry forgot to add, cut off the new flower spike on the vanda if it is struggling as you say. Let the plant get the energy and not the flower. Most vandas will bloom a few times a year in Florida for you to enjoy later on.

thank you to everyone for all the great advice!

poppyseed: used the lemons and am so pleased with how it looks! somehow water couldnt get everything off so this is a great trick

stefpix: i have no idea how vanda root growth develops/ dies off but i recently bought a huge vanda that has very healthy roots and underneath it looks like some old, dead ones... i assume they just sprout new ones that are potentially more efficient?? your orchid setup looks great though! what a cool flower!

mantis: ive been watering the poor thing liek clockwork but havent thought to soak it!... its sitting in some water right now, there is one root coming off the stem that looks promising so ill keep up the soaking routine.... ive now cut the spike, and plan to start with fertilizer so i hope it can pull through!

thank you thank you everyone!

My small Vandas have 3 / 4 new roots and the ones that came with died off [they are from royal orchid club so from miami via thailand bare rooted].
I wonder if Vanda roots die and new are formed with a change of environment - anyway mist them 2 ice a day.

wonder when they would get blooming size...

flower is Blc Mem.Graciela Garcia.
Was the cheapest blooming size at Parkside orchids. $18. googled but found not much about it

ps I got a cheap railing for $2 at Ikea. screwed above my south window and hung pots with cheap chains and hooks.

anyway want to try S/H for many - so wont worry about watering too many.

yep, vanda roots can die. But they also give the appearance of being dead when they actually are not. the roots can hang down a very long way. Have you tried folding some of what you may think are dead and twist them? if they don't snap than they can be trimmed away as they would be dead. A good way to tell if the roots of any orchid is healthy is to soak them or water the roots from a faucet. You will be able to identify any dead roots and trim them away when you are repotting. if your vanda is in a basket and the roots are exposed to the air and hang free than that is how you want it to be, but i am in florida so you have the right idea for keeping the plant hydrated. vandas roots hang free in the wild and that is why it can be difficult to keep them hydrated. they also LOVE heat, sunshine and humidity and in my personal opinion misting is not enough to really keep them hydrated for good growth. It is very hard to create a humid climate inside. If I lived up North I always thought that one of those warm mist humidifiers could be a worthwhile experiment (and actually in the winter they are great for dry sinus). Also, a small fan blowing on your orchids is a great idea as well. Love the idea of hanging your orchids in your south window.

Hey, Mantis. I wanted to let you know that I agree with almost everything you've written so far, except for a couple little details.

1. Heat...

Not ALL Vandas appreciate the heat. Some will actually suffer a bit if it's too hot. One example is Vanda roblingiana. Although, they can tolerate it. Most Vandas actually grow just fine in moderate temperatures. A few, such as Vanda coerulea or Vanda coerulescens can take it down as low as 36 F (that's almost freezing, you'll get a light frost if any of you experience this temperature).

I'm going to also throw in a bit of a curve ball...

2. Sunlight.

While a good majority of Vanda hybrids and species do need strong light exposure to survive, there are the black sheep of the family. One that I know of right away is Vanda lilacina. I burned this guy thinking that it needed strong light. Boy was I wrong. It actually grows just fine in light that suits the mottled leaf Paphiopedilums.

While I understand you're speaking in generalities, I'd like you to be aware of these things with Vandas.

I'm not perfect either, I'll slip up and say things only to find out what I said isn't exactly accurate or precise. I hope this does not offend you, it was not meant to be.

FYI this is why I try to type in words like "most" or "may".

Just thought you'd like to know more about your keepsakes.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the tips and the info. Will try to keep them in my mind when I post again. :)

i have a question about dirct sunlight for vandas... from what i read it said they like DIRECT sunlight... in florida how long should i do this for??
can i over water? should i try to water 2 times a day?? im affraid to do something wrong and loose the really big plants ive been lucky enough to get a hold of (for a steal!)

i think im going to start fertilizing as well, which im totally intimidated to do.... should i just spray the roots or the whole plant???

any other tips that anyone has picked up over the years??

hi
 

I would introduce your Vandas to the sun slowly if they have not been exposed before. Maybe in some filtered light to start. As far as watering goes it is difficult to overwater most Vandas. My Vandas roots are exposed and open (not potted) so I water them alot when the air gets dry, but since we are still in the rainy season they probably get what they need through the rain showers and humidity. If it's been a few days I would soak them. Do you have a misting system set up or do you use a garden hose? If you use a garden hose they probably do not get enough water so I would soak them periodically unless they are potted in medium. Don't be afraid of fertilizer for your Vandas, once a week weakly should be fine. They need it and I add my fertilzer to a bucket of water and soak them or I put them in a koi pond for a few minutes and they get fertilizer there as well. The leftover fertilzer I give to my garden plants.

they get a little direct light, but i dont think enough (from what i have been reading)... im worried if i relocate them then they will get too much light! seems very touchy...

my roots are exposed as well and i hose them off everyday, and they also get some rain... someone mentioned soaking my sick looking one, but i guess it would be beneficial to soak them all once a week (??).... i want to have a structure setup outside that would include a misting system, but for now have to stick to the hose.

any fertilizers you would suggest.. i was told just miracle grow would be fine..?