Vandachostylis 'Charm' var alba x Rhy. coelestis & Vanda Arthur Lauffenberger

[alecStewart1]

This was an unexpected surprise from MotesOrchids.

Initially I had planned to be receiving only 1 plant, but I ended up with 3!

The one that I directly purchased was Vandachostylis 'Charm' var. alba x Rhynchostylis coelestis. The pictures on MotesOrchids makes the flower look like a Lou Sneary 'Bluebird', but the plant is definitely larger than a Lou Sneary 'Bluebird'. There's 2 of those.

The freebie I got is Vanda Arthur Lauffenberger, a hybrid of
Vanda Rothschildiana and Vanda Danny German. Pictures show that this guy will grow big purple/pink-ish flowers.

In my inifinite wisdom when I made my purchase, it didn't occur to me "hey Vandas would probably be shipped bare root" so when they arrived and I was surprised to find 3 plants, I realized I never got any baskets or slotted pots to put them in. Luckily, I had some cheap Thai production Phal pots and, forgetting I have a chunky mix of orchid bark, charcoal and perlite, I used the biodegradable packing peanuts in the package they came in to fill the pots. Not ideal and not the long term solution, but it's a quick one that'll work for now until I get some baskets.

The other thing is that I didn't occur to me how large Vandachostylis 'Charm' var. alba x Rhynchostylis coelestis would be, and considering it's going to be 9-14 degrees Fahrenheit early next week, I can't put these guys outside at the moment. Luckily, Vandas like bright light so they're chilling on the top shelf of the cabinet with my Pinguiculas and some Sundews. I upped the humidity a bit so they should be getting comfortable with their new environment. Again, not entirely ideal, since they'll all probably get bigger and start spilling their root everywhere, but it will likely suffice until I put together a more permanent solution for what to do with them when winter rolls around.

I haven't watered them yet, but I will on Saturday along with the rest of the orchids. I know to keep it more sparse between waterings in winter, so long as the humidity in the air is good.

These are my first big vandas, and big orchids, really, as even the Cymbidium I have is a small Asian species. Excited to see how they flower!

P.S. If you're worried about the one that looks like it's tipping over in the cheap Phal pot, don't worry, I fixed that not long after taking that photo.

[Roberta]

Get those biodegradable "peanuts" out of there - likely to turn to glue when they get wet. If you have some of the non-degradable ones, they work. But big bark is fine all by itself. "Humid air" around the roots is the goal, lots of different ways to achieve that.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Get those biodegradable "peanuts" out of there - likely to turn to glue when they get wet.

I was actually thinking about that this morning, weather they'd be okay when wet and I was skeptical. I can probably swing by a Calloways this weekend and see if they have any bark or coco chips. The mix I have has more medium sized barked (3/8 - 1/2").

I'm also going to cut slits in the plastic pots. It looks like they have places to cut out the slits...they just were never cut in production.

[Roberta]

Little plants like those will be OK in medium bark. Use small pots - If you have any of those 3.5 inch square pots with the mesh bottoms that many plants come in, those would work well.

As Vandas grow, most of the roots will be outside the pot no matter what kind you use. So you want to give these babies a good start, their needs will change as they get larger.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Little plants like those will be OK in medium bark. Use small pots - If you have any of those 3.5 inch square pots with the mesh bottoms that many plants come in, those would work well.

As Vandas grow, most of the roots will be outside the pot no matter what kind you use. So you want to give these babies a good start, their needs will change as they get larger.

Uh I don't know if I'd call them little.

The biggest one out of the 3 has a leaf that's like 6-7 inches in length. The Vanda Arthur Lauffenberger has a root that's sticking out about that same length, 6-7 inches, as if it was growing in a basket.

[Roberta]

Oh, didn't pick up the scale from the photos. The roots didn't look that big, Fact is, roots are not huge relative to the plant, don't overthink the potting issue. If you just added some medium bark to those Phal pots, you'd likely be OK for the near term. And longer term, they're likeliest to be happy in baskets, hanging. But if you can't maintain them that way, as they grow just shift to larger bark as you go to larger pots.

---------- Post added at 07:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:54 AM ----------

Just had a thought... in pots, consider a mix that is all or mostly inorganic - lava rock or pumice. Lots of surface area to hold moisture, but also very airy and doesn't rot.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by Roberta

If you just added some medium bark to those Phal pots, you'd likely be OK for the near term. And longer term, they're likeliest to be happy in baskets, hanging.

That'd be the goal eventually. Only thing is figuring out what to do when winter roles around here. But that's a concern for next year.

Originally Posted by Roberta

Just had a thought... in pots, consider a mix that is all or mostly inorganic - lava rock or pumice. Lots of surface area to hold moisture, but also very airy and doesn't rot.

Yea that might be better because the pots are flimsy and have 0 weight to them. They also have a big hole in the middle, so while it's not mess at least they aren't closed off at the bottom.

[Roberta]

Before I got my house (with yard and room for a GH) I lived in a condo. Here is what I did for the Vandas in winter: http://orchidcentral.org/GrowingAreas/Vandacity.jpg

I set up an old ironing board in the tub of the spare bathroom for potted orchids. (long skinny shape worked well) and put up a shower rod for the hanging plants. I put an HID light over the whole thing (this was a long time ago, new LED fixtures weigh a lot less and use less electricity). For watering, I set up some low-flow sprinklers, a submersible pump in a 5 gallon bucket (good for 2-3 days) and added a timer to run those sprinklers for a few minutes each morning. It worked...

[Leafmite]

Lava rock and basket pots (if the roots need contained, the basket pot can be put inside a plastic pot with a little extra room so the roots do not grow all over....) work great with the Vandas and Vanda-types.

[alecStewart1]

For now, I put these guys a medium sized mix of bark, charcoal and perlite. It's heavier so the plants are more secure, obviously holds onto water better and still gives air between their roots.

Near springtime I'll get some pumice/lava rock and some smaller 6-8" baskets to hang them outside.