| Hi,
I am new, but I have 3 vandaceous orchids (Rhynchostylis gigantea, Asc. Haad Ravai, and Vanda Pachara's Delight). All three are in hanging baskets with a little sphag to stabilize them and retain a little bit of moisture for humidity. With the Rhy. I generally just spray the roots and never let the moss get 100% dry, but most roots hang out of the basket. The other 2 I soak in a bucket everyday unless it's overcast, in which case I usually just mist them (if I soak them on overcast days, the moss doesn't always dry very quickly). The bucket is very deep and I put it in the bathtub and then hang the vanda basket from the spigot so that the plant dangles into it, so the roots don't get compromised or broken.
Both of them seem to be pretty happy with what I've been doing, with new roots forming. The Pachara in particular grows like crazy, I fertilize it very weakly almost every watering, usually skipping a day or 2 a week. I was using a high N fertilizer, but now I use a bloom booster b/c I'd like it to worry about blooming and stop growing for awhile. Also, it was growing so many new roots they were coming out kind of high on the stem and busting right through the leaves, cutting them in half (I was also using some superthrive too). The Asc. wasn't in great shape when I got it, so I am not trying to push it to bloom and use the high N fert. and superthrive with it, it's developing nice new roots.
Sara  |