Vanda overnight soaks - add physan

[guccisimo85]

I’ve started soaking all 8 of my vandas overnight in a single 10 gallon container. I add fertilizer at 1/4 strength and reuse the water for a few days before swapping it out. I am a little worried about anything growing in there, but it would be a hassle and waste of fertilizer to change the water daily. Do you think it would be effective / cause any issues if I add a very small amount of physan 20 to the water? I’m thinking a 200ppm dilution

I’ve used it as a foliar spray and they reacted fine, but I’ve never soaked their roots in it overnight. Some of their leaves inevitably end up underwater as well, so I thought this might prevent any issues in that respect too.

Thanks!

[estación seca]

Physan won't kill everything, and won't help at all in your situation. Preventive biocide treatment is useless. Only use chemicals if you know what's attacking your plants and know the chemical treats that problem.

So long as your Vandas dry completely the next day, and it's good and warm, complete submersion of the whole plant for 12-24 hours will cause no trouble whatsoever. However, they absorb water through the roots, so you can submerge only the roots and get all the benefit.

I would never reuse fertilizer soak water for orchids after an overnight soak. Use it outside on other plants. The cost of fertilizer solution is far less than the cost of cross-contaminating plants. Would you share bathwater with your family, and save it for re-use over the next few weeks?

A large rectangular plastic container holds Vandas stacked flat. Or, you can stand a lot upright in one and add water just to wet all the roots.

"Quarter-strength" doesn't mean much because different fertilizers have different concentrations of nutrients. Vandas are heavy feeders. Motes Orchids in Florida waters all Vandas every morning, and afternoons too of hot days. Every fifth watering they use 20-20-20 fertilizer at 1 Tablespoon / 15ml of powder per gallon / 3.78 liters instead of plain water. You can go to their Web site and sign up for a monthly newsletter on Vanda culture.

[hypostatic]

I've sprayed physan directly on flowers, stems, leaves, and roots of orchids, and let the solution dry (a few hours?) without much harm done.

I haven't done prolonged soaks however. I would imagine, similar to bleach, the solution in the container would lose its efficacy over time. Also like bleach, I'd imagine that prolonged exposure would also be harmful to plant tissue over time.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Would you share bathwater with your family, and save it for re-use over the next few weeks?

That would be a shocker if somebody were to say that they do (or would) hehehe

[guccisimo85]

Ok, point taken. I will forego saving the water! I’m in a condo so I was trying to save hauling it to the sink every day but I’d rather not have bigger problems down the road.

I keep them pretty steady at 85F and 65-70% humidity all day. Right now I’m soaking them nightly in dilute fertilizer, alternating between MSU and Jack’s 20-20-20. I’m using 1 tsp in around 8 gallons, but based on what you mention perhaps that is too dilute even for daily use?

I have been trying to get them positioned so that all of their roots are submerged as high up as possible. This is no small feat, given their size! I’m wondering if that is really necessary or should I just make sure their roots are in contact with the water? I’ve heard that vandas are unlikely to get crown rot but I am soaking nightly.

Appreciate all your help!

Originally Posted by estación seca

Physan won't kill everything, and won't help at all in your situation. Preventive biocide treatment is useless. Only use chemicals if you know what's attacking your plants and know the chemical treats that problem.

So long as your Vandas dry completely the next day, and it's good and warm, complete submersion of the whole plant for 12-24 hours will cause no trouble whatsoever. However, they absorb water through the roots, so you can submerge only the roots and get all the benefit.

I would never reuse fertilizer soak water for orchids after an overnight soak. Use it outside on other plants. The cost of fertilizer solution is far less than the cost of cross-contaminating plants. Would you share bathwater with your family, and save it for re-use over the next few weeks?

A large rectangular plastic container holds Vandas stacked flat. Or, you can stand a lot upright in one and add water just to wet all the roots.

"Quarter-strength" doesn't mean much because different fertilizers have different concentrations of nutrients. Vandas are heavy feeders. Motes Orchids in Florida waters all Vandas every morning, and afternoons too of hot days. Every fifth watering they use 20-20-20 fertilizer at 1 Tablespoon / 15ml of powder per gallon / 3.78 liters instead of plain water. You can go to their Web site and sign up for a monthly newsletter on Vanda culture.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Would you share bathwater with your family, and save it for re-use over the next few weeks?

Originally Posted by SouthPark

That would be a shocker if somebody were to say that they do (or would) hehehe

Sorry to burst your bubble, but when I was a kid, visiting my grandparents and uncle on the farm in Saskatchewan, there were neither electricity nor running water.

Water was brought up from the well, bucket by bucket by hand, heated on a wood-burning, cast iron stove and poured into a galvanized bathtub. Yes, bath water was shared.I also used that bathtub as a small boat on the lake.

I was afraid of using the outhouse at night, so got a spare tractor battery, some wire, a switch, a lightbulb receptacle and a 12v bulb, and rigged up lighting. They kept it that way until they got plumbing, years later.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Would you share bathwater with your family, and save it for re-use over the next few weeks?

Originally Posted by SouthPark

That would be a shocker if somebody were to say that they do (or would) hehehe

Originally Posted by Ray

Sorry to burst your bubble, but when I was a kid, visiting my grandparents and uncle on the farm in Saskatchewan, there were neither electricity nor running water.

Water was brought up from the well, bucket by bucket by hand, heated on a wood-burning, cast iron stove and poured into a galvanized bathtub. Yes, bath water was shared. I also used that bathtub as a small boat on the lake.

I predicted that we'd see a shocker !!!!!!

But - I think that when it's necessary ----- it's necessary! Hats off with that - genuinely - as it teaches about tough or hard times, and have to make-do and get-by the best we can when resources are limited.

Was that bath-water re-boiled after 1 person finished using it, just before the next one came along to re-use it?

[vegetalmatter]

I'm also guilty of reusing my dilute fertilizer soak for a week or two before changing it out . My vanda has been having issues lately which I just made a new thread for. (new roots suddenly went dormant, exisiting roots are shriveling in segments) I am not sure if it is disease related or not. I also worry about pathogens breeding in the soaking water and am very curious to hear your verdict on adding Physan if you decide to try it

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by vegetalmatter

I'm also guilty of reusing

hahaha. That's pretty good ----- since at least you know about possible issues or risks that come with it. The words "I'm also guilty of" ----- spells it out clearly heheh.

[aliceinwl]

I’m guilty of reusing water too. I wound up with roots going dormant with some minor root death in my Vandas too. Now I’m pretty good about using the soak water on my other plants and giving the Vandas fresh water for their overnight soaks at least every couple days. In mine, roots rapidly resumed normal growth once I freshened up the water.