Vandas: I feel like giving up

[stefpix]

VandaFan when you pot your nice Vandas do you use any medium at all or the roots are just in the pot?

[VandaFan]

Originally Posted by stefpix

VandaFan how long have you had them potted that way? how often do you water them? spraying or dunking in a bucket? Is there any medium in the pots?
stefano

Stefano,
I've been away from the forum. Sorry, I did not reply earlier. Below is my detail "operating procedure".

I've had this for several years. I spray once a day with a spray bottle. If I have more time then twice a day (preferred). For each plant, it takes just 10 seconds or so until the roots turn from white to green after absorbing water. I've tried this way with no media, with coarse or medium-size fir bark filled about 1 inch, or fillled about 2 inches at the bottom of the pot. So far (5) years, I haven't seen any difference except those with no media I have to spay more offten. Once every few weeks (more often if I have time), I flush them with water (shower head) for 10 seconds or so. I used 20-20-20 a few times a week (also spaying).
For ventilation, I use a midium-size table fan hooked up to a timer. The fan turns on a few times a day, 5, 10minutes each.
When getting a new plant with long roots hanging down, I first shower it, then try to arrange all the roots in a 1-gallon (or smaller) pot and use 4 galvanized wires to hold the basket "floating" on the upper part of the pot. I prepare the pot in advance by drilling 12 3/4-inch holes. The galvanized wires go into the tiny holes of the small basket that comes with the plant. The other ends are attach to the pot. Note that I never disturb the plant nor its roots.

Some of the plants develop more roots than others. The roots are very healthy: fat, firm, with green tips. If the roots are long and tend to go outside, I just shower the root base (so that they become soft) and bend/direct them back to the pot.

All of them continue growing healthily and blooming on a regular basis. They all start to have spikes in the early summer through the fall (right now). It seems that the key is night day and night temperature difference. I will post a few more photos tomorrow.

[Trini Kjeldz]

i think the book is Vandas: Their History,Botany and Culture......i dont know if its my very humid climate.....and warm winds...but ive had vandas with one root survive....ive had vandas dat the crown died and the keiki grew unto flowering size.....ive had dem recover from scale insect with no insecticide.....all were rescues from novices btw.....i think the most important thing is soaking those roots through welll....let dat velamen disappear let it look like algae on those roots....light bright.....medium...none...who cud ask for a less demanding orchid?????

[Bud]

Carl, I grow Vandas on my south facing window in my apartment in Manhattan....I also put them outside in the warmer months out on the fire escape lined up on the side rails....some are on S/H; some on vase culture; some are on pots and the bigger and longer rooted ones are in baskets....
first of: Vandas dont like cold....you let your sanderiana die in the cold front? that plant is the oldest among my Vandacious and it gave me two keikis so if I can let it thrive in an apartment in New York=you can grow it well in Florida outdoors! you should put Vandas indoors if the temp is 50F or below
your atmosphere has humidity yet you still need to water twice a day if they are on baskets
let them in a bright shade or under a tree in the warmer months
its not just a matter of watering and fertilizer....
just remember where they were originally from and mimic the envronment in your home....make them comfortable....I have heaters, humidifiers and electric fans....they were not originally from Florida but they can adjust....
Vandas are tenacious and can take so many abuse but dont push it too far...they will sulk and not bloom for a cycle or just like your sanderiana=they die

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by Angurek

I have a very hard time with this genus and its hybrids. I always find these plants to be very hard to grow and flower, and not very rewarding for the effort I put into them. I'll admit that I get jealous when I see tall, healthy vandas in pictures and books. I keep hearing that vandas are fast-growing and reliable plants, but I haven't seen this side of them. I'm embarrassed by the fact that I live in Florida and I can't grow vandaceous plants. I like the big, spectacular vandas, the ones that have huge blue and purple flowers and beautiful criscrossing foliage, but all I get out of them is disappointment.

I always start off with healthy plants that have may leaves and roots, but within six months, either the roots shrivel up or the plants decide to drop all their leaves and die. I also have a hard time getting them to bloom. I give them all the light in the world short of direct sunlight, but they seldom bloom. I also make sure they're well-watered and fed, but they grow, like, an eight of an inch a year. When my sanderiana was still alive, I got lucky one time and it put out a short spike with three flowers. After that, it never bloomed again, and it slowly declined until the cold front finished it off. My vasco lost all of its roots, and never put out any roots again. It, like the sanderiana, it weakend until the cold front put it out of its misery. Then there's the young Doctor Anek plant that I had for a while. It just faded away gradually until it turned into a lifeless collection of leaf stumps. As with the angraecoids, well, both of my late angraecums grew like weeds the first few months I had them, but then died suddenly, for no apparent reason (The roots stayed healthy, but the leaves turned brown at the axils and dropped off). The only vandaceous plant I have ever grown successfully is Rhynchostylis gigantea. At least that one made an attempt to stay alive for the time I had it.

Right now, I have a seedling that isn't really doing anything. I water it every day, I feed it during the growing season, and I make sure it gets good light, but it's growing very slowly. It hasn't put new roots out since January of last year, and it hasn't put out an apical leaf in eight months. At this rate, it won't be of blooming size for a very, very long time. While a part of me wants to try again with fresh plants, I'm this close to just giving up on them. These are very expensive plants, and I always end up finding that they aren't worth the money or the effort I invest in them.

If anybody has any suggestions on how to grow these plants, I'd appreciate them. I'd also appreciate any suggestions for hybrids and species that aren't going to die out within a few months.



Note: The plant in the picture is not mine. It would already be deader than yesterday's news if I even touched it.

I don't know how you are fearing today with Vandas, but I stumbled on your post while doing some google searches on some vanda info.
From your story it sounds to me like you had everything right except for one major thing. I noticed you never mentioned the light it was getting; all the ones you mentioned were strap leaf vandas. A 50% shaded tree or overhang with dappled direct sunlight is great and full morning sun is even better, avoiding direct midday sunlight. On hot days watering twice a day may be necessary, you can usually tell by the leaf axils starting to wrinkle a tad bit that you need to start watering twice a day. Watering between 6:30am & 8:30am in the mornings is best as the plant is actively absorbing moisture & nutrients at this time of the morning, fertilizing after soaking the plant if fertilizing that day. if you must water in the evening, do so with enough time that the leaves can dry before nightfall; I do so between 4 & 5pm. The single most important thing you can do for your vanda if its starting to look stressed out is to reduce how much light its being exposed to. You would do so until you see strong new root growth and gradually introduce it to original light levels. One thing i didn't see people mention is humidity, Vandas need good humidity and with high humidity they need good air circulation, and one thing florida is famous for is humidity but minimal air movement and this is breeding ground for bacteria and fungus. I have hundreds of Vandas and I fertilize everyday usually with a balanced or specially formulated fertilizer for the tropics. A quarter teaspoon to a gallon of water. The idea is that the hotter the days and warmer weather signals fertilize. The example I always use is an athlete; the more exercise and physical activity he does is the more food he will need to sustain his/her body. The same goes for your Vanda; the hotter the days the more energy the plant loses in exerting energy to hold back as much moisture loss from its leaves as well as converting all that light into sugars & energy, your plant will need help from you by means of fertilizer since its not in its natural habitat. If the days aren't so hot in a week you can miss a day or two to fertilize.
Lots of water when you do water, and adjusting by observing stress levels of the plant will go a long way. If the plant is happy, believe me it will tell you by constant new roots and new leaves emerging one after the other between flowerings.
So remember, a declining Vanda can mean bacteria, low humidity and minimal air movement, or stress from extreme conditions (high heat w/o air movement) or maybe its getting a little bit more dappled direct sunlight at the hottest points of the day so you will need to give it some more shade.
Follow these guidelines and you will have strong plants that will flower for you multiple times a year.

[Will-13]

Please provide more details on your exact growing conditions. What is near your plants? And specifically how do you water and feed them?

It's very surprising to hear that you have these kinds of problems growing Vandas in Florida. I live in zone 12b and the weather is similar to South Florida with year round highs in the 90's and lows in the mid 70's + or - a seasonal swing of 10°.

I water liberally twice day, once at sunrise and again in the early afternoon. I fertilize sparingly and infrequent and I have great success with my Vandaceous plants.

And by the way. . . they are not fast growing plants.