Advice about Vanda Orchid
 

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone with experience can give me an advice regarding Vanda's root trimming.

I've recently purchased a vanda- "mimi palmer", it's a mature plant. The stem of the plant in the bottom seems to be dry and also the roots in the bottom seem drying up. The roots that grow above it look normal and they are thick and green. I added some pictures to demonstrate it.

Does anyone know if I can trim the bottom part of the stem (at the level of the red line) and that won't harm the plant, given that he has several roots above this point...?

Thank you for all you help!

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I wouldn't touch it one bit.

Some people will say, "Yes, go ahead", but I am very hesitant to say so because of my past experiences with dividing Vandas. Let's just say the divisions I made were not very happy campers and they ended up dying.

I now do not divide any of my Vandas. I let them grow offshoots as much as they want, and I don't bother them at all.

Again, this is me, you might find others who'd say what you want to do is not a problem. It's your decision.

I will tell you though, it is a risk you're taking.

If you're sure the roots are dead, I'd be more inclined to remove the dead roots instead of chopping the stem off.

The name of this orchid is properly written as Vanda Mimi Palmer.

I agree with the post above. If you cut at the red line, you will be removing living roots; why would you want to do that? The plant needs all the help it can get to absorb moisture, so each root is valuable.

I'm in agreement with Philip.

The more roots you have the better flowers you will get. You may think that the roots are dead, but the innermost layer is still alive and collecting nutrients for the plant. Some Vandas have fresh roots turn green when wet but the older roots cannot manifest this due to the helpful fungi that developed on the roots as it age. It may look rotten but it is not. Be very careful in pruning roots of Vandas ....that is also one way of sickness entering the system.
Here is my 8 year old Vanda sanderiana that I will not dare cut any root.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7389/1...9d62f3d4_b.jpg

That's beautiful, Bud!

Thanks, Mom!

I agree with all the above. The more roots a Vanda has, the better it grows. The more leaves it forms, the more it can bloom.

Realize Vandas need their roots completely wet every single day. If they aren't watered enough, the roots will die. You don't say where you live. In a lower-humidity environment like mine, I need to soak them in water for 8-12 hours every 1-2 days in the summer to keep the roots healthy.

In the future, when you are very familiar with Vanda growing, you might be able to grow plants as beautiful as Bud's. Then you will know enough to be able to cut ugly roots and get away with it. But you won't want to!

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your great replies!!!

I'm new to the Vanada orchid but liking it already. I live in Ithaca, NY but my plants are all in a controlled environment, I'm keeping them with partially artificial light and partially sun light (3 ours of direct sun and the rest through a shading curtain). The temperature is between 80-85F at day and around 70F at night. The humidity is being kept around 60% and I'm watering them twice a day. The morning watering is for about 30 min' soaking and in the afternoon for 10-15 min'. There is also a ceiling fan working at a very low level 24hr.

I have one Mimi Palmer, one Pachara Delight blue and one Pakchong pink (beside my other orchids). The Pakchong pink already bloomed once and got 2 new leaves in the last 2 months and also have 3-4 new, wide roots beside some growing roots from the small ending. The Pachara Delight blue is new but already have new leaf coming out and all the roots are showing growing tips. The Mimi Palmer has some thick roots with growing tips in the upper stem but all the bottom roots don;t show any growing tips, it might be coming but not there yet.

The reason I was asking about the Mimi Palmer is because comparing to my other 2, it look "thirsty" and not as green like the rest. I thought that part of it might be due to dead/dying roots or I was questioning if there is an infection in the plant as well but I don't really have evident for that.

I don't see anything wrong with the Vanda in the picture so please stop pruning the roots....let them be. For your peace of mind try disinfecting in once a week with:


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon liquid ( you can buy this at the spice aisle at the supermarket)
15 drops dish soap
fill your 1 liter bottle sprayer with tepid water from your sink and spray the whole plant most especially the roots

* please do not use cinnamon powder