Vanda Care

[siriusmk]

Hi everyone,

I had purchased a Ascocenda Princess Mikasa "blue" a few weeks ago. It is hanging in a basket and I have been dunking the roots in a bucket of water for a couple minutes daily and fertilizing every third watering (20-20-20), but the roots seem to be dying. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I live on the 11th floor of an apartment building (no trees blocking light) and have many east facing windows. It is hanging up against my window, but not touching anything so I'm hoping it's getting enough light. The leaves are fine and it's still in bloom, but some of the roots are starting to get soft and the tips on some of the healthy roots are black. Any advice?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Does the building have softened water? This could cause the problem. Low humidty is my second guess. Vandas make very poor house plants because they like high humidity. I grow my Vandas in pots with roots mostly contained in the pots, as my greenhouse is a little low on humidity.

[tillystuff]

Hello all,
I think Cynthia is right on. Vandas are difficult to grow in low humidity. They are also very sensitive to root disturbance. Once roots are disturbed, it takes time for them to settle down. Like Cynthia, the best thing to do is keep the roots contained in a pot with the proper media as to keep the roots moist and not have to disturb them by the constant dunking in water.

[tom499]

yes as already mentioned, dunking them in water every day is bad bad, and will cause root rot. they only need a dip in water for a few minutes once a week, and a light misting inbetween that time

[turkeytaker]

I've had success with these guys in water culture. I just plopped the plant into a bucket of water and it was very happy with everything, and I didn't have to worry about watering it three times a day or keeping the humidity really high.

I've also had them growing successfully in lava rock, but they make me nervous potted.

Stacy

[tillystuff]

Please remember, when I said "keep the roots moist" I didn't mean all the time. Just as in most all orchids, the roots must dry out before the next watering.

[siriusmk]

I was thinking about potting my vanda into a clay pot with very course bark, but it is currently in a basket. Should I take the plant out of the basket? or should I pot the basket along with the roots?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I think the basket should be removed. Sooner or later that basket will have to be removed. It may be easier now, before the plant grows more roots. You can usually cut the basket into kindling to prevent damage to the roots. Not sure about the soaking being a problem. Plenty of reports of long soaks for Vandas on a regular basis. And the idea of growing in water culture may be OK, as the usual rotting organisms may not survive this environment. But for sure, don't mix methods.

[Ak_Orchid]

My first attempt to grow a Vanda didn't start out well. It came shipped to me in a pot, with large bark mixture. I grew it in this for a while untill the blooms fell off. I noticed the airial roots stopped growing, so I checked the roots in the pot and found out that the roots were close to rotting. I now have it bare root and water it almost every day by leaving it in a bucket of water for an hour or so. Once a week I leave it in the bucket overnight. Ever since I made this change it's thriving again. The humidity is very low in Alaska however and this might not be good for others to try.

[jerrymeola]

Vanda want tremendous amount of water and have to totally disagree with misting and short dunks.

I generally recommend a dunking of 4-5 hours at least once a week for hobbyist. We have had good results with the heavy dunking for those who can not water every day.

Commercially we water Vanda three times a day. One of which each day is with very light fertilizer.

I have done water culture and the roots do not rot since rot needs water and air to form and there is no air.

In general, Vanda do not like their roots contained in a pot. I have been impressed with Cynthia's success with pots. It clearly can work but is not easy, then Vanda are never easy.

For best flowering they need 8000 foot candles of light and that is almost full sun here in Florida. In Maine you may never get more than that.

[daytriper]

Vandas DO NOT like their roots contained in a pot---EVER--People like Vandas roots contained in a pot because it requires less care that way. It is simply easier!!!!! Not better! Potting a sick Vanda is NEVER recommended treatment. As a general rule--if you have an epiphytic orchid with a root problem----remove it from the pot and mount it---this will correct most root problems--actually the problem lies in the way we water but that is another story. Mounting it solves this. So---of all the orchids why would we ever want to pot a sick Vanda with a root problem?
Vandas need abundant water and weak fertilizer during the growing season. My Vandas are watered every day under sprinklers for 15 min. ---during the winter---every other day.
Growing this Vanda indoors is where the problem lies. Not in watering or the way she is growing it. It is prolonged exposure to extremely low humidity. Now that warm weather is here--can you hang it outside with East exposure would be perfect?
Daytriper

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Sorry Daytripper, but Vandas do grow in pots reasonably well. If not absolutely optimally, well enough. All my Vandas are in pots. http://www.pbase.com/schnitz/potted_vandas As they say, if you can get the watering right, you can grow in just about anything. I think part of the discrepency is in our unique locations and the experiences we have with these locals. I don't see you location in your Profile. It may help to update your profile with your location. I live in Arizona, and this is not outdoor Vanda growing territory in any season. Even in our greenhouses, humidity is a challange, somewhat like the average home.

[daytriper]

Good Morning Cynthia, While I respect your experience in the orchid world and seldom do I voice an opinion here. However, in this instance your position has no resonable basis. I looked at your web site and the article says nothing backing your stance. It simply shows a picture of a potted Vanda from a website selling potting mix. Hmm, not a very botanical site would you say. Besides I have already conceded to you the fact that you can grow a Vanda in a pot. However that is not the issue here. The point here is ---we have an ascocenda with a root problem which will eventually cause a failure to thrive. Potting it is never the answer. One glaring point is that this Vanda is in New Jersey not in Arizona and in N.J. there is plenty of humidity. Assuming the water quality is OK and the fertilizer is proper for an orchid---place the orchid outside with proper light orientation and see if the problem goes away. This is the only resonable advice that can be given with the information provided.
Last, While I concede the point that a Vanda can be grown in a pot--nowhere can I find from a reasonable authority that this is the prefered way to grow a Vanda only that it is an alternative way of inferior quality.
Daytriper

[daytriper]

PS. Besides, soon I will have in full bloom several of my Vandas and Ascocendas grown in the proper enviroment and in the proper way. I will try to post pics. I am certain they will withstand any scrutiny and serve as a testament to my position as to the culture of this type orchid. They have already withstood the keen eye of the AOS.

[fred]

daytriper

this forum is for all members to voice an opinion with there knowlage of orchids and orchid growing.
If you have an issue with Cynthia I ask you to sort that out via a private pm as this is a public forum.
You can send a pm to any of the Staff Members with your concerns.
Cynthia is a Respected Member and a super Moderator of the Orchid Geeks forum.
If you can not respect Cynthia or any other members I would kindly ask you to refraine from comments such as that.

[tom499]

i dont wanna get sucked into the argument, but a point i think that should be made is people from all diferent areas of the world are on here, and different conditions will mean different techniqes. also, there are people here, are gonna be growing commerically, 1000's of plants in giant greenhouses with all the latest gizmo's, but there are others, who maybe have a few orchids to brighten up the house, and just want it to be quick and easy. vandas can be potted in large bark, and they will grow. maybe not how a commerical grower wants them to, but they will grow.

I like to use guides to learn the basics, but there are some areas you want to do yourself, find your own style that works for you and your plants. just because it works for you doesnt mean it will deffinately for others. so please guys, offer tips, dont force ideas

[jerrymeola]

I have to step in as a moderator and define some rules for etiquette on the forum.

Everyone has different ways of caring for their plants and EVERYTHING can work. I would never recommend to my customers to grow Vanda in pots, but I respect the success that Cynthia has had with potted Vanda. I also have a Hawaiian vendor that ships in 5 inch pots.

Every differing opinion is welcome, but attacks on another member of the forum is never acceptable. Disagree all you want. We all learn by hearing different opinions. By examining different techniques we can learn and adapt some to our use and discard those that do not seem appropriate.

If anyone has a better Vanda than this one by Renee Halstead, I would like to know. It was her only orchid, she had no knowledge of how to care for it and watered it only 12 times in a year by soaking in Worm Tea. She convinced me to use worm tea as a result, even if I can not get up the courage to stop watering my Vanda daily.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Daytripper, I was responding to the absoluteness of your statement: "Vandas DO NOT like their roots contained in a pot---EVER--" If you retracted that somewhere else, I did not see it. I also said that growing in pots may not be optimum, but they grew reasonably well. My opinion here as to how well they grow in pots. BUT, I take offense to the statement that I showed a picture from a site of someone who sells potting mix. That is my Pbase picture sharing site, that is my plant, and I don't sell potting mix. I don't sell anything orchid related. All my surplus plants are donated to the orchid society that I started up here in Prescott. Any comments on my pbase site about potting mix are my sincere sharing of my experience. I am sorry in your haste to be negative that you interpreted my pictures as an advertisement. Well, now that you realize that the picture is a valid representation of how I grow Vandas in pots, do I have any credibility with you, or do you still think I don't know what I am talking about? I am happy to hear that the OP will be able to grow the Vanda outdoors during summer, and that should give the plant a good start. This is fine until the plant goes back indoors for the winter, then it will probably be Arizona humidity time for the rest of the winter.

[tillystuff]

Easy everyone!!!! Daytripper...give it a break!!! I joined this forum because it is fun and full of experienced folks that like to share with others their ideas and also share the experiences they have had concerning the many different issues of growing orchids.
There are many different ways to solve a particular problem. The thought of someone trying to cram down the throats of others what they think is right as the solution and the only solution is out of line.
Sorry to the moderators if this is out of line, but I felt the need to state my opinion to this as the above comments by daytripper is why I quit the other forums. I wish you had a way to remove those comments so that the others don't get the wrong opinion of this fine forum.
So hey...it's starting to be a beautiful day here in south central Florida so I think I'll go out and take care of my vandas in baskets and pots. pic below!