Walmart Orchids with bare roots just Hanging there?

[New Orchid Lover]

I was at Walmart earlier today, and saw a bunch of hanging orchids just
hanging in these little baskets with all these roots hanging out, but absolutley no potting medium. The lady said they were "Air" orchids, and
just need to be misted every day and they do great. Thats sounds amost too easy to be true. And pro's out there that now anything about this? Can this be done with all types of orchids?

[Orchid_lady]

What kind of orchids? Im guessing they were Vandas.

[New Orchid Lover]

That rings a bell. They were kinda small, had skinny leaves growing all in a veticle row on each side, and has smaller /medium flowers, some pink, some yellow, etc. The roots were almost the size of the plant.

[New Orchid Lover]

I just went and looked at some Vandas pictures, and they look just like them.
Is it true that that is all the more care they need (daily misting). Do they need to be outside, inside, sun, shade? I may have found my new favorite.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

For you, the answer is yes. But then I should let other Floridians advise you. For me, who lives in Arizona, the answer is no. High humidity is a requirement if you want to grow these mixless Vandas. I would recommend outside, and water daily with a hose, not a mister. How much sun? Probably pretty high. Some Floridians talk about full sun, but you probably have to start with less and work your way up. I'm sure some of our growers have experience with Florida and will add their 2 cents worth. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[jerrymeola]

From another floridian let me say that Vandas are probably the most work of any orchid you will find at WalMart.

They have bare roots (which is necessary for most) and dry out very fast. As a result they need tremendous amounds of water. I am a little further south than you in Fort Myers and it is so hard on them that daily watering is not enough.

I recommend to my customers that they water every day and soak the roots in a bucket of water once a week for 4-5 hours. Leaving them overnight is not too much. I do not believe you can over water Vandas.

In Clearwater it will not be quite as hard but give them plenty of water. If you follow the advice of the WalMart person of misting - they will die. They need much more water.

If you are a beginner these are not orchids with which to start.

Try dendrobiums or cattleyas for outdoors in Florida until you get more comfortable with how much effort you are willing to apply to your hobby

[New Orchid Lover]

Thanks for the input. I was hoping to try to grow these indoors. Would that help with the heat and drying out?

[junieg2]

Now, how cool is this? Vandas at Wal-Mart. You don't see that in N.E. Pennsylvania. I have a Vasco. Viboon Perfection and here's what I do with mine; Daily, I soak the basket in a container of water for about 15 minutes. I then hang it in a sunny window or outside for a while. In the afternoon, I hang it in my sunroom. So far, so good. I have a new spike and new roots growing. It may be a little more work than other orchids, but it is such a cute orchid, it is worth the little extra time. Good luck with yours..... june

[heatherbear10]

I live in Lakeland, and Vandas do great out here. I hang them in my Loquat tree and also in my pool house, which has an Eastern exposure. I've got one that's bloomed 4 times since last July and has a 5th spike growing. I do water pretty much every day, every 2nd day for sure. The roots will get whitish when dry, then turn green when you put the hose on them. Enjoy! Oh, and by the way, one I got at Wal-Mart is in it's 2nd bloom in 3 months, Go for it!!

[New Orchid Lover]

Thanks for your imput. So from what I'm hearing, hanging this in my living room across from a wondow and taking my little mister and misting it every day on the roots probably won't cut it, unless maybe I do it in the morning and night. I might have to experiment and let you all know how it goes. Thanks everybody!

[jerrymeola]

also vandas need very high light levels to flower.

I grow mine in full sun all day. Indoors you almost have no chance of flowering.

Most people call all of these type orchids vandas, more correctly vandacious type, but vandas and ascosendas come from a different part of the world. On the most part Vandas are larger and bloom once a year while ascosendas have smaller flowers and bloom 2-3 times a year.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Well, slight correction. An Ascocenda is an Ascocentrum X Vanda and these all come from southern Asia. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[flaorchidfan]

i am in central florida and water one of my larger Vandas at least 2-3 times a day. misting is an understatement. if you want to put it indoors, prepare for a very wet corner as it takes a lot of mist to get all the roots wet. for a while i would put mine in a nice warm shower for about 5-10 minutes a couple times a week. being outdoors now it just dries out really fast.