Vanda Pakchong Blue in an apartment

[cirillonb]

I have not put any of my blooms on line since I don't think of them as particularly rare or unusual compared to others. However, this time I need to "Crow" some.
These are current blooms from a Vanda Pakchong Blue purchased in July from Hausermanns with no sign of a spike. Some may recall the pictures I published of the repotting into a clay pot with EpiWeb and PrimeAgra.
The plant resides in a true east facing window, on the sill on a humidity tray. There is constant circulation with a small fan. I water/fertilize it every Mon, Wed and Fri soaking in a bucket with standard strength DynaGro (Orchid or currently Bloom) for about 30 minutes. I have needed to treat for orchid snails with old coffee with apparent success.
I am tickled since almost everyone said it couldn't be done.
The color renditions are not the same. Lack of experience with the camera and PhotoShop, but they are close.(according to my wife.)
Thanks for looking.
Nick

[Ross]

Looks fine to me. I understand you comment about Photoshop. You really need totally controlled processing from camera to output to be sure the colors appear correct. If your wife says they are, then you're "good to go." Nice shots.

[dounoharm]

nice job! it is indeed hard to grow vandas sucessfully indoors, you must be doing it right judging from the results.....great work!

[camille1585]

Looks great! How is the primeAgra and epiweb working for the Vanda?

You should post more bloom pics! Orchids don't need to be rare or unusual to deserve a pic on OB. Photos of other peoples orchids are always nice to look at.

[Swamper]

Congratulations Nick. Great job. They look awesome.

[cirillonb]

Originally Posted by camille1585

Looks great! How is the primeAgra and epiweb working for the Vanda?

You should post more bloom pics! Orchids don't need to be rare or unusual to deserve a pic on OB. Photos of other peoples orchids are always nice to look at.

camille1585,
I suspect all the roots place there died and I haven't seen any poking out the side holes on the "orchid" clay pot it is in. At least it is a firm anchoring medium. I have several aerial roots but none so long that they are longer than the pot which would be a problem the way I have it situated. I did not seen even a hiccup of distress during the transplanting process which (horrors!) required trimming several of the longer roots.
Nick

[JennS]

Great job! I didn't know if your conditions would work, but it looks like they have. It just goes to show how amazing and adaptable orchids are. Not only that, but what a great grower you are! Great job!!!!

[VandaFan]

Originally Posted by cirillonb

I have needed to treat for orchid snails with old coffee with apparent success.
I am tickled since almost everyone said it couldn't be done.
Nick

Very nice jobs - both making vanda bloom and taking good photos. Pakchong Blue is one of my favourites.

Can you explain how you treated snails with old coffee? Some of my orchids - those bought recently from a nursery - have small milipedes and centipedes. I wonder I could treat them with coffee as well.

[Grandma M]

Congratulations Nick. It looks great. Quite an accomplishment growing in a window. Thanks for posting.

I tried planting a neo cross in EpiWeb and PA. It's only been in there for about 3 weeks but I can see that a tiny root have grabbed onto the EpiWeb. Glad to see it works for you.

Marilyn

[cirillonb]

I collected enough leftover coffee to drench the pot. This was based on studies done by a scientist with the USDA Extensions service in Hawai'i on caffeine killing the snails.
For other critters I use a solution of soap, cinnamon extract in water. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll attach the formula
Soap pesticides would also work...probably just as well.
Sorry, apparently by 22 kb word document was too large to upload.
Sometime soon I'll copy the basic formula but not now.
Nick