First Attempt at Vase Culture

[Subrosa]

The recent thread about the roots on a Neofinetia really got me to thinking. That and my Holcoglossum kimballianum which has pretty much languished since I got it. I was going to drill this vase for semi-hydroponic use since it's really thick, but it seems the perfect size and I can always drill it later:

[Helene]

Best of luck

It does look nice and are easy to maintain, if the plant likes it👍🏻

Looks good. Good luck!
I used to have all my vandas in vases with success, but at some point their quantity made everyday watering quite a chore, so I opted out for less maintenance - moved them into clay pots with a handful of chc. They liked that too.

[Subrosa]

Thanks! This plant was originally mounted, but that was nuts to keep up with, so I potted in some cubes of Ecoweb with a bit of sphagnum mixed in. It was easier to maintain, and definitely grew more roots, but it still never seemed happy. It's in a SE facing window which has black rubber to protect the sill. I'm hoping that the sun hitting the black creates enough heat to evaporate the bit of water I'm leaving in the vase to keep watering to about the same frequency as when it was potted. We'll see.....

humidity in our house is so low, especially during winter when heating is on, that I had to water them every day when in vases.
Make sure that it is not too cold on the sill. I found in our climate it was too cold to leave vandas on windowsill during winter. Root tips would go black and stop growing. They don't die and eventually resume growing though, but definite setback.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by orchideya

humidity in our house is so low, especially during winter when heating is on, that I had to water them every day when in vases.
Make sure that it is not too cold on the sill. I found in our climate it was too cold to leave vandas on windowsill during winter. Root tips would go black and stop growing. They don't die and eventually resume growing though, but definite setback.

The room is normally quite warm, mid to upper 70s during the day and down into the mid/upper 60s at night. Nice to know what to watch out for, thanks again!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Good luck with your vase method I hope it likes it.

[Orchid Whisperer]

There are loads of variations on vase culture. I've not tried a setup similar to yours, but I think it should succeed. Good luck!

[estación seca]

That should work. Move fast at the first sign of dessication. I grow my Vanda seedlings in a sunroom with 50%-70% relative humidity. I need to fill the vases and soak the roots for 12 hours or so every 2-4 days or they start wrinkling. You could have water in the vase nearly touching your roots. I think the added humidity does make a difference to the roots. They will rot if you keep them in the water.

Aquarium and pond snails, and some fish, will eat orchid roots, so don't put them to soak in such a place. I use my siphoned-off aquarium water from exchanges on my orchids.

I use KelpMax at 2 tablespoons / 30ml per gallon / 3.78 liters rain water for an overnight soak every 2-4 weeks. The plants have new root nubs in the morning.

[Miri the Wildmage]

I also have a vanda (noid), which in a last ditch attempt to save it I have recently put in vase culture. Roots in about the same condition as yours - I hope both our vandas take to this!