Vandas in Glass Vases

[Fuerte Rav]

Hello
Are there any updates on the vase culture? I've been growing a large NOID blue/purple vanda in one for about 18 months and it seems very happy and healthy but has not rebloomed this year. It was in the vase when I bought it, in bloom when I bought it and rebloomed a few months later.
I've upped the fertiliser the last 3 months, I use a kelp product once a month and have plenty of strong healthy root growth. I soak once a week for an hour and mist the roots 2 or 3 times day. I also moved it to a brighter, much warmer room 3 months ago after I had an extension completed. It sits just inside a large southerly window with a fine sheer curtain and gets the sun from early morning to about 4pm. The top section of the window is permanently open so there is good air circulation. Day temps around 25-30C, night temps 20-25C and this is winter. RH 30-60%.
Anything else I can do to encourage blooms?
TIA.

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by Fuerte Rav

Hello
Are there any updates on the vase culture? I've been growing a large NOID blue/purple vanda in one for about 18 months and it seems very happy and healthy but has not rebloomed this year. It was in the vase when I bought it, in bloom when I bought it and rebloomed a few months later.
I've upped the fertiliser the last 3 months, I use a kelp product once a month and have plenty of strong healthy root growth. I soak once a week for an hour and mist the roots 2 or 3 times day. I also moved it to a brighter, much warmer room 3 months ago after I had an extension completed. It sits just inside a large southerly window with a fine sheer curtain and gets the sun from early morning to about 4pm. The top section of the window is permanently open so there is good air circulation. Day temps around 25-30C, night temps 20-25C and this is winter. RH 30-60%.
Anything else I can do to encourage blooms?
TIA.

I would up the fertilizer to once a week, also I would soak it more frequently - given how dry the Canaries are I would think 3 or 4 soaks per week would be good for it. I soak mine for a few hours twice a week and sprayed the roots the other days and my climate is more humid and far less sunny.

[Fuerte Rav]

Thank you jcec1, I'll do as you suggest and then keep my fingers crossed



---------- Post added at 08:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

Forgot to say:
Because of the way it was grown before I got it, a lot of the roots curl up around the leaves. I've managed to gradually direct some downwards but it means that when I soak the plant I'm soaking halfway up the stem! When I finish the soak I stand the vase almost upside down for 20-30 mins to clear as much excess water from the leaf/stem joints as possible. It doesn't seem to have caused a problem so far so hopefully it can cope with more frequent soaks.

[Roberta]

Vandas are high-light plants. so I suspect it isn't getting enough light. Once the weather warms up, if you can move it outside it will benefit. (Night temperatures of 18 deg C or more are fine for even the warmest-growing Vandas)

[Fuerte Rav]

I wish I could put it outside but unfortunately our winds prevent it. Our island is 60 miles long x 20 miles wide and only 60 miles off the coast of Africa. We have virtually constant very strong wind, either boiling hot dusty desiccating winds from the East (from the Western Sahara desert), or from any other direction it is full of salt from the sea and lava grit. (Despite that we are very happy to live here in a tiny village 1 mile from the west coast!)

View from front of house:


View from back of house:


Sorry, I waffled on a bit there but wanted to be clear why I don't think outside is a viable option here. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Roberta]

The view is beautiful!

[DirtyCoconuts]

Originally Posted by Fuerte Rav

I wish I could put it outside but unfortunately our winds prevent it. Our island is 60 miles long x 20 miles wide and only 60 miles off the coast of Africa. We have virtually constant very strong wind, either boiling hot dusty desiccating winds from the East (from the Western Sahara desert), or from any other direction it is full of salt from the sea and lava grit. (Despite that we are very happy to live here in a tiny village 1 mile from the west coast!)



Sorry, I waffled on a bit there but wanted to be clear why I don't think outside is a viable option here. Thanks for the suggestion though.

this sounds like HELL but that view is more like HEAVEN.

stunning! but that wind, no thanks

---------- Post added at 01:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------

HAHAA look at that wind sock! you weren't kidding!

[livtodance]

I found a vanda in a vase in Home Depot around 5 years ago. I was so excited to see a vanda in NY. It did have one flower, but as I picked up the vase, the flower fell off. Nevertheless, I have kept at it with all sorts of trials. First off I would soak the vanda for an hour once a week and then remove it and let it sit in the vase the rest of the week. I would spray it with water whenever I thought of it. When I bought it, it was sitting in one of those teensy baskets. Hardly any roots on it that i could see. After doing this one hour hydration routine for about one year and seeing no change, I went into full water culture. I just let the vanda sit in about 2-3 inches of water all the time. I take it out once a week and change the water. It wasn't doing much this way either. I did this for about 1.5 years. And, by the way, I specifically bought a plant lamp for this orchid. I then looked over the non-existing roots. I took off the basket. It really wasn't doing anything. Then I happened to notice a small bump the size of a pencil eraser up the side of the bottom stem (not the leaf). I didn't know what it was. Didn't look like a root. But, I took a chance and took some sphagnum moss, wet it and secured it at that spot with a twisty tie. I continued the once a week water change and would moisten that moss periodically. That went on for another year. Suddenly, I saw a root sprout from that very spot. An aerial root. So exciting. And now (about one year later) it has a multitude of roots at the bottom. They are really branching out. And, it now has two very large aerial roots coming out from the leaves. I hand wash the roots once a week (they get very slimy). I'm very excited to see if this orchid is ever going to bloom for me after all it has been through.

This is all a very extremely interesting thread for me. And, so you know, the vase that it sits in is about 12 or more inches high and about 6 inches in diameter.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Bump
I'm so glad I found this sticky as I was going through some older posts. The vanda that I am working so hard to rescue after its unfortunate brush with Hurricane Delta has been struggling. I have been keeping hanging in the garage under a shop light with a heater going to keep the temps above 60 at night and in the low 70s during the day. I have been soaking it in a bucket of water every day, alternating between fresh, fertilized, and root promoting hormones, weekly. Following advice from another member, I have removed all remnants of the dead leaves. I have just this morning placed the basket in the neck of a large vase and used the hanging wires to support it. It will be coming in the house soon and going in an east window. Hopefully this new technique will show some positive results.

[estación seca]

I would put it in the warmest spot you have.