Vanda dropping leaves, can this be saved?

[captainbug]

So I've had my vanda since mid-August. It's from the grocery store and came in a glass vase. Initially I took it out and let it hang in the window. Now that winter is here I've taken it down and had just been letting it sit in the vase.

Initially I was soaking the roots 1-2x a week for 30-45 minutes and hanging it back up. Then when it went into the glass vase I started misting the roots. Big problem, water never evaporated and the roots just held water between the root and the glass even when I did dump excess out. There's a fan on, it sits in a windowsill, and still no evaporation. I noticed the other day that it really just looked.. bad.

It had already lost 3-4 leaves.

Further inspection showed me roots that weren't just dry, but many dark gray and black. Some roots had mold. I cut off all mold and black, soaked the roots, and then cut off any that didn't green up and get healthy whatsoever. I realize now I should have taken pics of this process, but oh well. The roots are about 6 inches long now, down from about 1.5 feet.

So, out of desparation I've gone ahead and planted it in a medium-coarse bark mix in a terracotta pot because the roots *cannot* seem to get enough water while hanging and want to turn nasty in the glass vase.

I don't know what I'm doing, if that wasn't clear enough, but I'm trying.

It wants to keep dropping leaves. They'll crack at that dark line near their base, starting at the edges and progressing to the center until it yellows and then ultimately blackens. Do I pull leaves until I see no more yellow? What do I do about the stem (which doesn't honestly look much better)?

The cut spike is black. I do much better with phals and I'm used to the spike drying out to a light brown and never posing another problem. Is it supposed to still be black?

I live in Texas hill country, zone 9. The vanda is kept inside. Temp varies from 74-76F. It receives light through the window and from a grow light.

I'm just rambling at this point. If you have specific questions I can answer I'd be happy to!

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[Roberta]

Actually, to me it still looks pretty healthy. I would suggest not removing leaves... let them drop if they will, but as long as there is any green it's photosynthesizing. Lack of sufficient water can make these shed leaves... probably a defense mechanism to cut moisture loss. The stem looks OK to me. Putting it in bark was probably a good idea - it's hard (probably impossible) to maintain adequate hydration bare root in the house. Now, I think just patience. Don't be in a hurry to cut or remove anything further. With luck, it is likely to produce some new roots, and when it does, you're on your way.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

Growing vandas inside house with ac and heating can be a substantial challenge due to low humidity, weak sunlight and low temps.
Your plant is loosing leaves as it is trying to balance moisture intake with number of leaves that the reduced moisture intake can support through a failing root system. Your root system is failing as it is in a medium that has minimal to no air in it. It is the wrong kind of medium for vandas. A better medium would be coarse chunks of barks where plenty of open space for air. Vandas need frequent watering and or misting, a high humidity environment and DRY ROOTS in between these water events. I would remove plant from pot, rinse off all from roots, remove any dead/mushy.dried roots and place back inside vase, place some pebbles at bottom of vase about an inch layer. Roots should not be sitting in water full time, your original regimen of soaking roots was correct. I would do that at least daily and once a week, use 1 tsp of water soluble fertilizer in your water soak. Roots can stay wet for a while as long as they openly exposed to air. You will know your plant iis doing better when you see green root tips indicating they are growing. Am a bg fan of vandas, but my growing environment was much easier that inside the house.
BTW there are other orchids much easier to grow indoors.

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[Paphluvr]

Normally when a plant is not doing well constant repotting is not a good thing, but in this case I agree with Ben (it was my initial thought when I saw the photos) that the potting mix is way to fine for a Vanda.
Something much chunkier is in order, probably straight bark. I hate to disparage a particular brand, but this mix looks like Shultz, a brand commonly found in big-box stores.

[captainbug]

It's actually MiracleGro. Unfortunately it's all I've got around me in any of the stores that are close.

I will go ahead and order some of the rock and bark suggested and see if I can get things looking up again.

[captainbug]

What would y'all's consensus be on leaving the vanda bare root inside the clay pot?

Has anyone had luck suspending a bare-root vanda upside down to induce new roots? Would it be okay to heavily water an upside down vanda and let the water run down the leaves?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by captainbug

What would y'all's consensus be on leaving the vanda bare root inside the clay pot?

Has anyone had luck suspending a bare-root vanda upside down to induce new roots? Would it be okay to heavily water an upside down vanda and let the water run down the leaves?

you could try bare root with a plastic bag or plastic wrap over the top to help preserve moisture until you get your good media. I don't think upside-down would help. While water sitting in the crown when it's cold is an invitation to rot, the "V" shape of the leaves serves a purpose - funneling water to the roots. Think of how these grow in nature... a lot more humid than inside your house, but roots exposed to the breezes - wet (rained upon) and then dry. That "funnel" effect of the leaf configuration helps to capture rain to get it though the drier periods. So "upside down" would work against what you're trying to accomplish.

[Bunch_Of_Roots]

From the look of the roots, I suspect your plant has fusarium. This plant may be a goner since it doesn't seem to have any healthy root. If it does have fusarium, the only way to prevent it from spreading is to cut off the stem until you do not see a purple ring any more. I'd recommend looking up Vanda fusarium on YouTube.

The medium mix you used is not airy enough for Vandas. Vase culture is a good way to grow Vandas indoors. There is a sticky on this forum. When grown in vase, you don't need to mist. Just fill the water level to the base of the plant, and let it soak for a few hours, then dump all the water. Repeat this only when the roots are all white. Vandas do not like their roots to be wet all the time. In fact, it is beneficial to give the roots a "hard dry", i.e. withhold watering for an extended time.

[Roberta]

Has anybody except Miss Orchid Girl ever seen a real case of fusarium? A Vanda does need air around the roots. But please, no surgery and no peroxide... it needs any roots that it still has. Give the plant some humidity, and tincture of time to grow some new ones.

[Bunch_Of_Roots]

One of my Vandas had that, and I threw it away. I would suggest the OP to Google the disease and use YouTube as a resource. There are other YouTubers who had experience with fusarium in Vandas.