Weird Vanda Flower Questions

[flippie8]

Hi,
I am an orchid newbie, but have fallen in love with Vandas. I had my first 2 flower spikes (& then flowers on 1 but not the other yet). However the first plant seemed to have 3 flowers & it only opened 2 while the third turned into a black ball.

The second plant looks like it has 5 flowers, but 3 are smaller than 2 (that haven’t opened, but will) and it had a yellow ball kind of like my first one did, but again that ball turned black on my first plant so I’m trying to keep that from happening.

Are the plants supposed to have that ball? If so what is it called? I can’t find any detailed vanda books or really anything online about it. Pictures attached.

The pic with the flower is my first plant and then ones with bulbs ready to open is my second plant.

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

Vandas need more water than do most other orchids. If growing bare-root, the roots should be completely wet once or twice per day, depending on temperatures and relative humidity. Some people put them bare root into empty vases so the roots stay moist longer between waterings.

Most prefer to be kept quite warm, with high relative humidity and high light.

Orchids drop buds for any of a number of reasons: Not enough water; too low relative humidity; too low or high temperatures; attack of bugs, especially thrips; changing environmental conditions, like moving from a greenhouse to a home.

[Ray]

There are several reasons buds may fail, such as:

• Insufficient watering
• Insufficient humidity
• Sudden blast of hot or cold air
• Ethylene gas, originating with a gas flame or nearby ripening fruit.

[jcec1]

It's just a failed bud, the last bud often fails for me and just falls off or dries up, nothing really to worry about.

[flippie8]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

Vandas need more water than do most other orchids. If growing bare-root, the roots should be completely wet once or twice per day, depending on temperatures and relative humidity. Some people put them bare root into empty vases so the roots stay moist longer between waterings.

Most prefer to be kept quite warm, with high relative humidity and high light.

Orchids drop buds for any of a number of reasons: Not enough water; too low relative humidity; too low or high temperatures; attack of bugs, especially thrips; changing environmental conditions, like moving from a greenhouse to a home.

Thank you! Glad to be here.
Do you recommend adding moss? I assumed moss wouldn’t dry out fast enough & the roots would rot.
They have been with me for about 4 months now(in the same conditions the entire time. I have not moved them). I know they’re getting enough light (they’re in a window + I got grow lights for them). They’re kept inside at a steady temp & humidity is ~70%.

I water them at least once a day.

[alecStewart1]

Originally Posted by flippie8

Do you recommend adding moss?

You can get a bigger basket and finagle the plant in, and have bark, moss or leca in the basket around the roots that are in the basket. If just one bud dropped, it should be okay though. Just be mindful of when you water with moss.

Originally Posted by flippie8

I water them at least once a day.

Since you're keeping them at a steady temp, that should suffice, depending on how cold it gets at night.

Where my bare root Vandas are it gets to the lower end of their temp range, so I have to hold off on watering them a bit to prevent rot.

A lot of Vandas are actually pretty drought tolerant, as in (I believe) a week or even more without water is okay (so long as the humidity is acceptable).

[flippie8]

Thank you!