terete Miss Joachim

[Bud]

so its not the soil that nourishes the plant= it is the multiple aerial roots gathering moisture from the atmosphere....this must be dependent on the fertilizer and water regimen given to the plant by the botanical garden growers. In nature by itself it will be hard to survive.....its a created hybrid after all....

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

1. The soil we have here in SoCal is most likely not the same type of soil that is present in Malaysia or Indonesia, (where these guys come from). Remember, sand is just a designation of the size of the soil particles, it doesn't encompass the chemical composition of the material that composes that sand. For example, there are granitic type sands and there are calcium type sands, and these 2 types of sands are not the same chemically.

I have not done a thorough study on the sand we have here in SoCal, but it is most likely a granitic type of sand. Granitic sands would have some quartz crystals in it, and some mica in there.

The sands in Malaysia might be more calcium type sands because of the ridiculously large amount of exposed limestone present in that country.

2. Vanda Miss Joaquin is a hybrid containing the genetic material of Vanda teres and Vanda hookeriana.

Vanda teres grows not only as a terrestrial, as the species name suggests, but it also grows as an epiphyte. There is photo evidence of both types of growing modes, I just forgot where I found them at the moment.

So, it really doesn't matter if Vanda teres is stuck in the ground or on a tree, it will grow.


Vanda hookeriana is an epiphyte.

However, it is an epiphyte of larger broad leafed swamp dwelling plants.

Tropical swamps such as those that Vanda hookeriana inhabit are warm and humid areas.

3. Even I cannot grow any kind of Papilionanthe under the full sun we have here. I suggest you not grow yours in full sun either.

Grow as bright as a Cattleya and you should get the desired results.

4. Depending on how large your cutting is, it may take years for the thing to bloom. They will bloom when they get to be a certain height. What height that would be, idk.

[CR7cristiano]

I grow my settled terete vandas in full Jamaican hot sun and they are laden with blooms. His declining plants are resultant of shock or planting a new cutting. Unless he has consistently dry earth, the thin roots of a new cutting will surely rot submerged in earth.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by CR7cristiano

I grow my settled terete vandas in full Jamaican hot sun and they are laden with blooms. His declining plants are resultant of shock or planting a new cutting. Unless he has consistently dry earth, the thin roots of a new cutting will surely rot submerged in earth.

That may be true, but our sun is so strong that even under Cattleya lighting, the Papilionanthes I'm growing are covered with anthocyanin pigmentation.

---------- Post added at 10:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:22 PM ----------

Forgot to mention...

We live in a semi-arid desert type environment here in SoCal, the humidity is not like that of the Caribbean islands.

Humidity may have some effect on how bright you can grow your orchids to some degree.

---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 PM ----------

Oh, yeah, since we live in a semi-arid desert, you gotta water these guys everyday if you're growing them mounted.

[CR7cristiano]

Humidity indeed....but the air movement above all assuming one intends to water their orchids. Lol
Air movement prevents the surface temp of leaves from increasing; being warm to the touch.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

SoCal is pretty big, I really don't know what part of Southern California he lives in, but breezes can vary depending on what area he's at.

Here where I live, in the San Gabriel Valley area, the air can sometimes stagnate. We get breezes too, but not like those from the coastal regions.

[CR7cristiano]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

SoCal is pretty big, I really don't know what part of Southern California he lives in, but breezes can vary depending on what area he's at.

Here where I live, in the San Gabriel Valley area, the air can sometimes stagnate. We get breezes too, but not like those from the coastal regions.

Yep! You will definitely have problems with your orchids and direct full sun with stagnant air and high heat. No good at all. So u adjusting makes a lot of sense.

[tryingtoflower]

WOW!!! I'll keep trying to make it happy.