Easier Vanda

[prc11]

I have been growing orchids for about a year and a half and all of my orchids are doing great in my collection. I've took interest in cattleya's and brassavola's, but I don't have any vanda's. I was wondering if there are any vanda's that can do in lower humidity areas. Light is not a problem because of grow lights.

[smweaver]

How low is the humidity that the plant will need to tolerate? Can you increase the humidity with a humidifier (many vandas get tall, so humidity trays sitting beneath the plant, especially if air circulation is strong, would be of very limited use)?

[katierkincaid]

What are your conditions? Temp, Light Situation, Current Humidity? Are you growing indoor or outdoor?

[katierkincaid]

In my opinion Vandas are hard, but I dont have alot of experience with them. I know the hybrids are harder to grow so be careful of buying a hybrid. I am sure that someone more experienced is going to chime in so be on the look out for recommendations

[wonderlen3000]

I would say starts with Ascocenda. They are the easiest and managable in term of size. If you have eyes on pure vanda hybrids, any hybrid with high % of V. coerulea do well under grow light condition and tolerent of low humidity. You don't need to water them everyday, but might need to give the plants a little misting daily (which shouldnt take too much time).

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[Izzie]

I've heard Ascocentrums can do better on the drier side.

[Angurek]

As far as "easy" Vanda species to try, I would recommend brunnea, coerulea, insignis (if you can find one), and denisoniana. Coerulea tends to be a larger plant, but the rest aren't quite as big. If you want something that will stay compact and bloom in lower light, try an Ascocentrum (I.E. A. curvifolium, A. miniatum, etc).

Make sure they stay moist, with good air circulation. You can compensate for the low humidity by spraying them with a bottle (preferably early in the day, so the water doesn't sit in the leaf axils and rot them).