promoting new roots on a vanda.....

[kaarthiik]

Hi All,
can you suggest the measurements for sugar solution (how much sugar to water)
And if Molasses powder can be used, how much to be used for the rooting solution discussed here?

[VPIK]

Originally Posted by gixrj18

Okay, here is my "root cocktail", and I have new roots everywhere, on any Vanda I've had for over a month. I take a 32oz. spray bottle, to keep on the porch, and a 2.5 gal. water jug (with the spout on the front) to keep inside for a re-fill station. That way, I only have to make new food once, every week or two. To the 2.5 gal of water, I add 1.5 scoops of "Jack's Classic" Blossom Booster 10-30-20 (about 1400ppm), 2.5ml of blackstrap molasses, 3ml K-L-N rooting concentrate (by Dyna-Gro), and 15ml of hydroguard (for a little biological re-enforcement). The key factors, for those who don't want to buy all of that, would be: the blossom booster and the K-L-N. But the molasses is really high in potassium, so it helps, too.

How often do you fertilize with this cocktail? Do you water in between fertilizing? Do you wet Vanda leaves (foliar feed) with the cocktail if there are no roots?

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by VPIK

How often do you fertilize with this cocktail? Do you water in between fertilizing? Do you wet Vanda leaves (foliar feed) with the cocktail if there are no roots?

VPIK, Welcome to the Orchid Board!

This is a very old thread. Most of the posters are no longer active on this forum.

Most of us growing Vandas have great success with much less complicated regimens than mentioned in this thread.

Vandas need a lot of water. Bare-root Vandas need to be watered every day. People who grow them in pots say they can water once a week if growing in a very humid greenhouse.

I have heard two commercial Vanda growers say they fertilize their bare-root Vandas at every fifth watering, year-round, with 20-20-20 Peters solution at 1-2 tablespoons per gallon / 15-30ml of powder per 3.78 liters. They count a soaking by rain as a watering. They water with the fertilizer solution instead of with plain water, and they don't water first, before applying the fertilizer.

The idea is there should be constant new leaf growth. The new leaf growth zone is a paler shade of green than the older part of the leaves, and this pale green zone should be a centimeter wide.

Orchid leaves, including Vandas, are too heavy and waxy to absorb nutrients or water. There is no point spraying anything on Vanda leaves, except to wash dust off them.

Many people use rooting promoters monthly on their Vandas. I use KelpMax from First Ray's. The owner of First Ray's is a member of this forum. I mix a solution of 2 ounces / 60ml in a gallon / 3.78 liters of water, and use that for one watering.

Vandas without roots cannot absorb water. The only hope for survival of such a plant is to put it into a very high humidity environment, and hope it makes some new roots before using up all the water stored in the leaves. I would treat a rootless Vanda with KelpMax once a week.

There is a Vanda forum here, where you can learn a lot. From the left menu select Forums, then scroll down to Vanda Alliance - others. There is also a Search function in the top maroon menu bar.

[Ray]

If your plant is rootless, I recommend 1 tablespoon of KelpMax per gallon, and completely submerging the plant for a few hours.

[rosebudforglory]

Originally Posted by cb977

Jasen, the molasses idea is interesting...I'd never heard that one before!

Blackstrap molasses is a nutritious byproduct of sugarcane production. Unlike refined sugar, it's naturally rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6 amongst other natural nutrients.