Vanda Denisoniana x Mimi Palmer

[theorchidapartment]

I bought this Vanda Denisoniana x Vanda Mimi Palmer hybrid from Orchid Classics this summer after reading about growing Vandas in wine corks.

I had a number of flower spikes that blasted before getting very far. Earlier this month, a single bud finally bloomed from the smaller of the plant's two growths:




As that flower bloomed, a spike grew from the larger growth and achieved its peak today:






The difference in coloration is so intriguing; is this just a thing hybrids do, or is there a cultural reason for it?

Really glad this guy has gotten acclimated. I don't think it was very happy with the cool shoulder season between hot humid summer and hot dry winter in my apartment, but it seems fairly happy now!

I water this Vanda daily. It's on the highest (and warmest) shelf of my grow space, about as close as it can get to my Jungle Dawn LED bar. With the heat on, it's been drying out so quickly that I'm thinking I might do a top layer of smaller pieces of cork to maintain more humidity inside. Here's the whole plant before watering this morning:



Thanks for looking!