Semi-Terete Vanda Question

[Junebug]

I've posted about this Noid Vanda before but now I have a brand new question. It was rec'd as a cutting 4 years ago and has never bloomed ... it is in robust health...gets plently of sun...began producing small bloom spikes in July...now has four 1/2" to 3/4" bloom spikes that don't get any larger. I've wondered why the small spikes won't grow longer and bloom...have been fertilizing with bloom buster since June. Today I discovered a small keiki developing near the base of the plant. Is it possible that the keiki formation is hendering the blooming process? Has anyone else encountered this and if so, what happened?

[dgenovese1]

Hi Junebug,

When I saw you mention this plant in another post, I didn't realize it was a semi-terete. These plants love sunshine...even more so than your regular Vandas, although I don't think your slow growing spikes are the result of too little sun...if this was the case, I suspect that you wouldn’t even have these spikes at all. I also don't think that they are growing slowly because of your new keiki. I think that these types of Vandas are just prone to this behavior. If you look at the photo of the Vanda in my recent post titled "Gold Ribbon Winners", note that this guy had a small nubin about 1/2 inch long for over a year...this spike is it all grown out. Also, this is the first time this plant has bloomed since March of 2007, and it has two keikis that have grown out at the bottom in that time period.

I do have a question about your spikes. Are they nice and green, or do they have any brownish or yellowish discoloration on them? If so, you might have a thrips problem, which will stunt and even halt spike growth.

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by dgenovese1

Hi Junebug,

When I saw you mention this plant in another post, I didn't realize it was a semi-terete. These plants love sunshine...even more so than your regular Vandas, although I don't think your slow growing spikes are the result of too little sun...if this was the case, I suspect that you wouldn’t even have these spikes at all. I also don't think that they are growing slowly because of your new keiki. I think that these types of Vandas are just prone to this behavior. If you look at the photo of the Vanda in my recent post titled "Gold Ribbon Winners", note that this guy had a small nubin about 1/2 inch long for over a year...this spike is it all grown out. Also, this is the first time this plant has bloomed since March of 2007, and it has two keikis that have grown out at the bottom in that time period.

I do have a question about your spikes. Are they nice and green, or do they have any brownish or yellowish discoloration on them? If so, you might have a thrips problem, which will stunt and even halt spike growth.

Thank you for your response David. She gets watered twice a day and receives about 6 hours of full sun and there are no signs of insects. I've included some photos. It's difficult to get a pic of the buds without some of them turning out blurry. She also produces mystery bumps along the main stem that are the same color and texture of the plant. They protrude just a bit but never develop into anything. Although she's a Noid I'm pretty sure she's a JVB or JVB cross. The parent plant was prone to developing keikis. She was a prolific bloomer and absolutely gorgeous.

[dgenovese1]

It is a frustrating riddle...I am sure.

I can see however that this is a very healthy plant! I think that it just needs to grow a bit more in order to support those spikes when they pop out....I am hopelessly hopeful yet again.

[Junebug]

Thank you for your words of encouragement. Another factor could be climate. I'm pretty sure the JVB originated in Asia so it might be waiting for the temps to cool a bit more.