Vandas in Glass Vases

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A lot of people write to only spray in the morning, so they are dry by nightfall, so as to minimize fungus problems. Last summer I sprayed my Vanda seedlings morning and night. No fungus problems. Unless you're right on the coast, where it stays cool and damp all the time, I don't think it matters for you.

The more sun the better, BUT - if there be little air circulation, the leaves quickly absorb sunlight and get much hotter than the surrounding air, and they will burn. If you put a fan so it blows directly on them, they won't get much hotter than the surrounding air.

[sylviab]

I started the vase method this morning. We'll see what happens in a week or so. Thanks again.

[Mocres]

Hi, I've just started this method, but I already have a doubt: do you take the vanda out of the vase to spray? If I don't, the upper roots get green fast, but not the lower/longer/inner ones. But on the other hand, I don't think the plant would appreciate so much moving in and out of the vase...
Sorry si the question seems stupid, I wouldn't want to kill my new vanda.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by Mocres

Hi, I've just started this method, but I already have a doubt: do you take the vanda out of the vase to spray? If I don't, the upper roots get green fast, but not the lower/longer/inner ones. But on the other hand, I don't think the plant would appreciate so much moving in and out of the vase...
Sorry si the question seems stupid, I wouldn't want to kill my new vanda.

I fill the vase with my usual fertilizer mix when the roots in the vase turn white, let them soak a couple hours then pour out most of it. I leave a bit in the bottom,below the level of the roots to provide extra humidity to the roots.

[Mocres]

Originally Posted by Subrosa

I fill the vase with my usual fertilizer mix when the roots in the vase turn white, let them soak a couple hours then pour out most of it. I leave a bit in the bottom,below the level of the roots to provide extra humidity to the roots.

Thanks a lot. I had understood that, but some people mist in between soaks... How do you do that?

And, what kind of water do you use? My local tap water is quite hard, I wonder if It would be better to use distilled water -rain water is impossible for me, it rains very little where I live and, besides, I don't have any way of collecting it.

[Rothrock42]

I have a pressurized pump sprayer loaded with distilled water. I just stick the nozzle in the vase from a couple different angles and spray away. I let it sit a minute while gravity does its work and then dump it out. I haven't noticed a big difference in top to bottom greening. I also have about 70% humidity so that could be part of it.

For the big soaks I use regular water from the tap, but I'm lucky too live in a place with excellent city water.

I usually only take them out of the vases after a good soak, because the roots are softer and more flexible.

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I use a plastic spray bottle. Spray the whole collection's roots once. Then go back and spray them again, to ensure the roots are fully saturated. This mimics what many Vanda growers do, watering their collections with hoses, outdoors.

I have a collection of (labeled!) spray bottles with different solutions: pure water, fertilizer diluted for Cattleya alliance, fertilizer diluted for Vanda alliance, isopropyl alcohol. I water most of my smaller orchids (the ones not in S/H) with a spray bottle, so I can pick them up and feel whether they are light and dry before watering. It takes an hour for me to water my spray-bottle plants, but I enjoy doing it, and don't view it as a chore. I get to look at each plant as I pick it up.

I buy the more expensive, heavy-duty spray bottles at a restaurant supply company. They cost around $6.50. They last a lot longer and have a warranty. The cheap ones have short squeeze levers, which means it takes more pumps to water the collection. This is more likely to lead to overuse pain in the fingers.

[Cilla221]

hi your vandas are beautiful do you think this would work for a seedling?

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Cilla221, almost all my plants are seedlings. The ones in the photos above certainly were/are.

[Laticauda]

Thank you for this post!
QQ though! Has anyone used lead crystal vases? I have a couple beautiful lead crystal vases but I'm concerned about lead poisoning the vanda. (The one I have in mind is Rhynchorides Bangkok Sunset)