Vandas

[FreeSpirit]

Hello EveryOne,
Let me introduce myself. My Name is Renee(FreeSpirit) I live in southwest Georgia, and I am new to growing Orchids. I lost all but 3 when I moved to georgia, from NC. I have a vanda that has been growing like crazy I have had it 3 yrs now,,my question is do I transplant it to a bigger pot poor thing is so top heavy, I have also noticed new growth on my cattalaly ( spelling horrible ). Do I start fertilizeing my orchids every time I water them in the summer or once a month I am not sure when they bloom.

Thank you for your answers I hope to make some good friends here and to share information.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Fertilizing can be done about every other watering to 1 out of 4 waterings, and better to use half to 1/4 strength of what ever is on the label, unless it is "Orchid Food", in which case the directions have already reduced the concentration for you.

[Ellen]

If your vanda is very tall and top heavy you can cut off the top part and replant it. You just need to be sure that you cut below the point where roots are growing out of the stem, leaving 3 or 4 nodes with roots on the top part. The bottom part may eventually produce a new plant from the base. You probably know this, but the ideal way to grow vandas is not in a pot, but in a hanging basket so that the roots can breathe and have room to cascade downward. However, having said all this, if your plant is growing like crazy, you're obviously doing something right, so maybe it's best not to mess with it at all and just try to stabilize it by putting the small pot inside a bigger, heavy one like a clay pot.

[fzzdk]

hi! i used to live in south georgia before moving to atlanta. i lived around valdosta. let me tell you that the humidity down there would be great for leaving your orchids outside in all but the very bitterest of winter (which down there isn't saying too much! ha!), especially the vanda as i hear they're pretty water hungry plants. i remember living down there and it never getting below 50% humidity ever.

i miss it. it's too dry up here in the atl

[NancyG]

Hi Renee,

I have a about 10 vandas hanging in my backyard. I talked to a grower about one of them that doesn't bloom. He suggested to use Jack's Bloom Booster fertilizer once a month and use 20-20-20 a quarter of the strength once a week. My vandas have all benefitted from this but the one non bloomer still isn't blooming. I'm going to try worm tea next especially with it's insecticide benefits. The grower also said that the bigger the vanda the larger the blooms so it wasn't necessary to cut down to a smaller size if you didn't want to. Growing vandas is fun since they bloom more often than cats (which I have the most trouble getting to rebloom). My vandas are blooming on average every three months.

NancyG

[jerrymeola]

It is hard to say why one Vanda does not bloom out of ten. I am amazed that Vanda do so much better in Broward county than where I am in Lee county. My brother lives in Broward and he finds them easy.

I am surprised that you say they bloom more often than Cattleya, since I have several Cattleya that are in bloom almost continuously.

Young Vanda normally only bloom once a year, although, that gets better with age. Are you sure all your Vanda are Vanda and not Ascocenda which bloom more often.

I saw a 30 year old Vanda at a growers last week that was ten feet tall with 8 inch flowers. Only $475.

[FreeSpirit]

Thank You everyone for your responses, I guess I have work to do

The weather here in GA has not been nice, 90's for 2 weeks and the bam the bottom fell out,well hope this week it will warm up again and stay that way so I can put my orchids outside.WEll thats what the albany weather is telling me anyway,,dont trust the weather men anymore.

Again thanks to everyone for there imput very much appricated