Vanda in a vase...not doing too great - Orchid Board

LobsterOfJustice · #1 09-22-2016, 01:49 PM

Hi,
I've been growing a new Vanda in an extra large mason jar (picture below) for about 3 weeks. At first it seemed ok, but I noticed some mold growing on the roots and many of the roots have died (when I put it in the vase, all roots were alive and green). I had been misting it twice daily and filling the vase up to the base of the plant 1-2x per week, depending on how dry it seemed. I fertilize half strength 1x/week and the Vanda gets very bright, full-sun eastern light until about 2pm.

I took it out of the vase, sterilized it with hydrogen peroxide, and cut off the dead roots. Now it's sitting in a smaller, very open vase (more like a bowl than a vase) that is cylinder shaped (diameter around 4"-5" I'm estimating) but only 5" or so tall. It seems fine (only been 3 days...), but I can't get it to sturdily sit in the new vase, and since it n dis to move to the sink to be filled, I need it to be sturdier and not fall out when I pick up the vase.

How have others gotten their vandas to stay in vases? I put it in a 4" basket and sat the basket in the short cylinder vase, but it's only barely sturdier than without the basket. If you look at the picture, this particular vanda has three roots that come straight out the sides, so the vanda can't be pushed any farther into the vase without breaking those roots.

Any ideas on why my mason jar did not work? Not enough air flow for the size? Would it help to get a fan or something to keep near the Vanda if it's in the mason jar?

Any ideas or help is appreciated!
Thanks!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk