how do i take care of these plants?

[dragonflylady]

how much light do catts, dens and vandas need , how often should i water them?

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Catts, Dens, and Vandas are fairly high light plants, approximately 40 to 50% of full sun. Catts and Vandas need to dry out between waterings. But most Den hybrids need a seasonal pattern. They can be watered fairly often, and not allowed to dry out completely while the newest growth is growing. But, once the last leaves unfold, and if not blooming, they need to start drying out between waterings. During winter, the watering frequency should be reduced even further, with the plant allowed to stay dry for a week or more. Cynthia

[jerrymeola]

I once promised that every question deserved an answer rather than a suggesting to search the forums.

This is a copy of a post I made earlier today on point with you question

I guess this is a good time to review for beginners the light requirements of the most common families.

Phalaenopsis -(moth orchid) low light - usually grown indoors year round since they only need about 1500 foot candles of light to flower (noon summer sun in most areas will be around 10,000 foot candles)

Paphiopedium ( Lady Slippers) - not a common beginner plant, but the next step for many, is even lower light doing well as low as 900 foot candles - If you grow African violets put these right next to them.

Oncidium alliance and intergenetic hybrids - This is a large group of orchids with long thin leaves. Because of the thin leaf they do not have as much water reserve as other orchids and can burn when the light levels are much above 2500 foot candles. They do best in a garden if they are sheltered mid day with some morning or afternoon sun. Growing them under heavy tree cover usually fits their needs

Dendrobiums - one of the easiest families to grow- they have so many plants in this family there is one for any light level, but as a generalization the common types you find in most stores like a higher light level 2500-3500 foot candles

Cattleyas - the corsage orchid - The flower everyone things of when they say orchid. These like 3500 foot candles to flower. This is about half day sun with maybe some extra protection around noon if you are in a very southern area.

Vandas - often sold in baskets - these require very high light levels 6-8000 foot candles and large amounts of water.

Correct light levels are necessary for flowering. Plants will live with much lower levels, but often fail to flower.

You can easily measure light with a camera.

http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/new...easuring+light


Watering depends greatly on your growing conditions. Allowing Cattleyas to dry between waterings is the safest method. Here in Florida that can be a half day. I often water (soaking) outside more than once a day. This year our rainy season was accompanied by longer rains and overcast skies. Bacterial root was rampant on cattleyas in early July. Last year 24 inches of rain in June was not enough and this year less rain rotted the plants because of lack of sun to dry them.

Dendrobiums seem to be less of a problem. They did well both years, and Vandas like all the water you can give them when growing in the very high light levels they like.