Vanda Pures Wax root issues?

[Houston]

Hi All,

I got this Vanda pures wax from Lowes last week for $5 as they were doing everything they could to kill it. I took it out of a hanging basket it was in and trimmed a lot of the dried up dead roots off. Are the roots in this picture diseased or just dying from neglect? Will the "brown death" continue to creep its way up the healthy roots?

Thank you!

[sithwitch]

Using my 2 vandas as a reference, I'd say it looks like drying from neglect. Just sqeeze them a bit, if they're firm then I'd leave them as is, if they're soft, I'd cut them until only the healthy part remains and dab the cut with cinnamon powder or medicine of choice.

The rest of the plant looks okay, so I am thinking you picked it up just in time to save the poor thing. Just use some rooting stimulant like KLN or seaweed extracts when watering and it should be popping up new roots soon enough. Hopefully they'll go downwards instead of upwards and straight horizontally like mine lol

[Oscarman]

Maybe it's just natural die back of that root. I would be inclined to trim off the dead parts, treat with fungicide, cinnamon etc and basket it up.

Just my , I am far from an experience Vanda grower, although I do have V. sanderiana v. alba growing very happily in a waterlily pot filled with LECA!

[CR7cristiano]

It seems to me that the roots are partially damaged due to poor water quality or salt damage. Just give them a nice 45 min soak in a mix of water/superthrive/half tsp of 20-20-20 fertilizer....and u should start to see some new root growth in as early as 2 weeks. Make sure you are not fertilizing too often as that could have been what caused the die back in the first place.
Cheers

[Gage]

Whenever you see this type of die back in Vanda roots you must suspect Fusarium. You should cut back with a sterilized blade, checking for anything purple, which is indicative of Fusarium. If you cut into purple your blade is now contaminated, and you must use a freshly sterilized blade to continue cutting until there is no more purple. Fusarium can get the best of a Vanda in a short time, so don't wait. Good luck!