Need advice to rescue vandas
 

After my wife passed away last year I returned to the orchids which I had lost interest in over the last few years. To my surprise some of them have survived, and I've repotted almost all of them. The Cattleyas are thriving, to my great satisfaction, and the Dendrobiums at least haven't died yet and I think are going to grow well, though I don't think they'll be big enough to bloom this year.

My current problem is two small Vandas. Well, I'm pretty sure they're Vandas. If my memory is correct they started out as keikeis near the bottom of the stalk of a vanda my wife bought me. It never bloomed afterward, and I never found the right combination of sinlight, watering, and fertilizing. Gradually the leaves all fell off, but somehow these two little bellows survived. As nearly as I can recall they first appeared about three years ago, but they've never grown larger.

Several years ago I think I saw a Youtube clip showing a method for fixing monopodials in a basket, but I haven't been able to locate anything like that. Can anyone offer me guidance on how to proceed? I've heard that Vandas are a bit difficult. I thought I had more reference material (books) which discussed them, but now I don't find any detail about monopodials in general or Vandas in particular.

I'm thinking that if I don't contrary advice, I'll just go ahead and pot them the same as my Dendrobiums and Cattleyas, although the little comment I've found is that monopodials should be placed in "slatted baskets" with no potting material. Trouble is, I don't know what that means.
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Hi Acharn, so sorry to hear about your wife, but glad you've rediscovered orchids.

"slatted baskets" are usually square or octagonal "hanging baskets" made out of strips of wood. You can also use plastic "net pots". In Thailand, I suspect you can pretty much get away with tying them on to a piece of string!

If you look at these posts, you'll probably see my Vanda growing "in" a plastic net pot; effectively, teh roots just grow out of the holes, and there is wire attached to the basket to hang the plant up:
Orchids on a Balcony: Vanda

My Rhynchostylis is also similarly mounted:
Orchids on a Balcony: Rhynchostylis

Effectively, all you have to do is get a basket or pot like that, thread the roots through the holes, and perhaps use some kind of wire or string to support the plant in the pot while the roots attach to it; you attach "hanging wires" to the top of the pot and hang it somewhere. Water profusely at least once a day!

Here, in Florida, most vandas are grown bare root. They can be tied into a basket with little or no media or they can be tied onto a wire hanger or long 's' hook. In Thailand they often attach them to a piece of wood like a 1" by 2". Just let the roots hang free. It's best to water them every day if possible. As you might suspect, with those thin stiff leaves, they prefer strong light. Just protect them from the mid-day sun that can burn them. If they've been growing in lower light conditions, slowly acclimate them to stronger light so you don't burn the leaves. I spray some liquid fertilizer on the roots twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter. They grow all year long. They don't have a rest period. Check around the area where you live. Vandas are very popular in Thailand. Good luck.

I have some in baskets, but the one that is doing best for me is growing bare root in a clear glass vase. I fill the vase with fertilizer and water and soak it once a week during the winter and twice a week in summer. I mist the roots daily. The only thing I worry about is burning the roots when the sun heats up the vase. I have read that some people put foil around the vase when the sun is strong.

If you are living in Thailand at the moment, then you have no problems growing Vandas. They are endemic to your area.
You have high humidity in the atmosphere.
If you cant find any baskets then mount it on a piece of wood or if you have a garden then mount it on a tree.
You don't have frost so you will be fine growing it outdoors all year round.
You may gradually expose it to direct sun or the shade of a tree will do just fine.
The summers in Thailand can be scorching so you have to water it twice a day....when it gets cooler you may water it every other day.
Those are healthy keikis and they will survive if you follow the Vanda culture religiously.
Feed it fertilizer weekly.

Bud is right. In your area you should find them easy to grow.

I agree with all that has been presented. I would also like to know more about living in Thailand as I am thinking of retiring to Thailand/ Indo in a couple years when I retire. I can have all the orchids I want and spend time knowing others who grow them. And I can surf any time with no wetsuit.

Well, I love it here, but I married a Thai girl when I was in the Army stationed here back during the Vietnam War. She died eighteen years ago, but my pension and Social Security are just enough to meet the income requirements for a retirement visa. Try to learn as much of the language as you can, because most places outside of Bangkok very few people speak English. I live in Nakhorn Sawan, about 150 miles (250 km) north of Bangkok. If you live in an area with a Thai Buddhist temple they usually offer Thai language classes.

I'm not much into beaches or diving, but I get the impression that most divers do wear wetsuits here. Sadly, there isn't any surf. Nothing like Hawaii, or even California. Don't know exactly why that is, because we do have wonderful sand beaches.

Depends on which side you are on and the season. Great waves there when it is on.

Thanks, everybody, for the endouragement. I think the reason I didn't succeed with the original plant was that I had it in a place that didn't get enough sun. I've found a place for my current plants that seems to be better, and they are all doing better, so I have some hope.

I know a guy (through the Internet) who owns an orchid farm, and he mentioned that Vandas are in great demand. I was lucky enough to go to the flower show in Chiang Rai over the New Year, and they had literally thousands of them. Amazing spectacle.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I'm certainly going to try it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oh, thanks. Gee, that's quite big! I don't think that's what I need for these little guys. When my niece and nephew brought the new orchids three weeks ago my niece was talking about taking me to visit an orchid farm they know. It seems to be owned by friends or relatives, so I expect I could pick up some new plants there, although they probably don't normally sell in lots of less than fifty. So I'm hoping I can maybe pick up some materials there.

When I was living in Phanat Nikhom about thirty years ago there was a garden supply shop in town that had everything: clay pots, plastic pots, wooden baskets of all sizes, potting soil (not for orchids). I was able to buy some wooden slatted baskets about three inches on a side. That's what I hope to find now. Trouble is, I have to depend on the kids to drive me anywhere, and they have to work, so scheduling shopping expeditions is not easy.

update
 

Just wanted to update the situation. One of the Vandas has sprouted a new root. I've got them both in plastic "pots," one (the one that's growing a new root) is in a small square basket-like thing that seems to be standard for vandas here in Thailand now. I wish I could find the small wooden ones, but I'm afraid a trip to Phanat Nikhom is out of the question, and I don't have any way of knowing if that shop still exists (I did like that town, but there's no going back).

The other has lost one of its leaves, leaving two. It's not showing any sign of roots, yet, but there seems to be a new leaf emerging, so at least it's not dead (yet). The one growing the root is in a place where it's getting a bit of direct sunshine in the late afternoon, the other is farther back where it's getting indirect light. The sunshine reflects off the ground in the afternoon, and I'm hoping that's enough. I'm dunking them for a few minutes every morning and on hot days again around noon or 1:00 o'clock. Want to let them dry out before nightfall.

Saw on some other orchid site today, "Two months is not very long in vanda terms." That's encouraging. Thanks to everybody for your help.

May I also suggest you contact kultana orchids? Thai based vanda specialists. ..

Hmmm. "Minimum order US $250.00 not including shipping."

I'm afraid that's more than I can use. I have to just deal with the guys who have booths at the open air market on weekends at the nearby Army base.

I actually meant as a local point of contact for advice.

I got impatient and soaked them a second time last month. As I say, the one is growing a beautiful root, The other one isn't, yet, but doesn't seem to have died yet either. They're both from the same parent, so if I can save one of them I'll be happy.