Is my vanda far off from flowering?

[Bud]

I take my Vandas indoors when it reaches 55F ... I have centralized climate controlled apartment set at 80F all year round....I have a supplemental additional lamp for added brightness, a portable electric humidifier and small electric oscillating fans only in the daytime....lamp, humidifier and fans are turned off at night.

[smweaver]

Brad, do you know what the parentage of your vanda is? If it's a pure V. coerulea or has V. coerulea as one of its parents, it should be able to bloom at this size (although nowhere near as well as it will in a few years when it gets bigger). I have a number of V. coeruleas in numerous sizes, and they're quite capable of blooming at a stature similar to what you have. So, as others have already indicated, successfully flowering any plant depends on your growing conditions. But what's in its background is also significant. Good luck with your vanda!

Steve

[BradGC]

Thanks Steve.

Yes it's a hybrid deriving from V coerulea.
This one is manuvadee x tharab waxy
Vanda Manuvadee - Orchids Wiki

[BradGC]

What time of year does your coerulea spike?

[smweaver]

All of my V. coeruleas usually bloom throughout the fall and winter months (almost all of them are currently spiking). But a couple of them also produce the odd spike or two in the late spring. Summer, for me, is usually the season when the plants struggle a bit and don't flower. This is because, unlike the vast majority of vandas, V. coerulea isn't a great fan of high summer heat. In fact, my coeruleas are doing much better now that fall has arrived. Evenings between 5 and 10 C (and evening humidity between 80 and 95 percent), and days climbing up to around the 16 to 28 C range (humidity drops to anywhere between 55 and 70 percent) are ideal. The plants take full morning light and "bright shade" (which, I know, does sound like something of a contradiction), and they get fertilized lightly with every watering, regardless of the time of year. But please keep in mind that these are just my own growing conditions for the species and its hybrids, and you'll undoubtedly find lots of variations among the different hobbyists who grow vandas. I think the main trick is to learn what your plant appears to respond best to, and keep giving it those conditions to the best of your abilities.

[BradGC]

Thanks for your help Steve. Most of my new vandas seem to be adjusting well to my patio, 3 out of the 6 all have fresh leaves growing since I got them only a few weeks ago.

I love that feeling of not really knowing exactly what the flowers will look like and just waiting till they bloom.

[smweaver]

You're welcome, Brad. And yes, I agree about the excitement of not knowing with certainty what you're going to get when a plant first blooms. There's actually a lot of variability within species. If you have an opportunity to get hold of a V. coerulea, I think you would find it a good addition to your collection. The plants generally stay much more compact than standard Euanthe sanderiana-derived vandas, and they're super hardy (try leaving Euanthe sanderiana or most of its hybrids outdoors when the temperatures routinely drop to the low-to-mid single digits celsius and you'll soon be shopping for replacement plants for your collection). In addition, they bloom more often than just about any other vanda species, and the flowers are spectacular--even the so-called "jungle variety" plants bloom so profusely and with such an eye-catching shade of sky blue that they're show-stoppers. What other vanda crosses did you acquire?

[BradGC]

Adisak x Ascda. kultana blue, lepitotes bicolour, Denisonania, v. Dr Anek 'bai', Aerides houlletiana x v. Liouvelleii alba, papilionthe teres, v. Golamco's blue magic x kasams delight blue, (asc. fuchs gold x As meda arnold) x v. Tubtim velvet.

All of which are smaller than the one in the photo.

I think I read somewhere that there's a type that has slightly different colours every bloom. Have you heard of this type before?

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by BradGC

I'm new into vandas and recently got 6 new ones, 5 are seedlings and one is slightly bigger.

If my conditions are right , would you guys say that this is nearly ready to flower? Or perhaps how many seasons away?

The one to the bottom of the photo can definitely spike at that size. I have one right now that is on its second spike. the first aborted. So you may get lucky and have it spike without aborting or spike and abort the first and then give you something the second time around. As long as you give it the right conditions and fertilize weekly and leave them in a 50% shaded area. If under a tree make sure it gets bright light and rays of sun pass through the foliage of the tree and hit the plant. Make sure it gets alot of direct morning sun while under the shade and late evening sun. If you are in a tropical place you can fertilize all year round except for when it is in bloom. Also skip fertilizing if it gets rain, in which case i usually skip that week. Fertilize early mornings between 8 & 9am after drenching them with water first.

The top two you wont get blooms from for a long time till it is at least 5-6 inches.

[BradGC]

Thanks.
Yea I'm giving it a mild fertilizer almost every day or second day with a local product called "grow + flower Plus trace elements" 12-8-18. Most of the nurseries and societies seem to use it.

The Spot at the moment gets about 4 hours direct morning sun, then bright shade and dappled light. I might try push it with lots of watering and as much sun as possible but I'll keep a close eye, if the leaves start to burn I'll give it a slightly shadier spot