Help! Sick Vanda ( I think )

[Meggan813]

I inherited a V. Bangsai Queen a few months ago and it is in a hanging basket with no growing medium whatsoever. It came from FL and now I am in Illinois. Had it for 3 months in FL and gave it plenty of indirect light watered it daily. It just kept losing leaves (they turned yellow and then fell off). In IL I tried to keep the conditions the same (though it needs to be indoors in the winter) and I would even soak it weekly. The roots just appear dry and I am affraid to cut off all of the roots that appear dry and dead. It has one stalk which fans out in two places but one of the fans recently broke off. I believe it is just extremely dried out but I am so affraid of ruining it even more. I have plenty of Phals., Paphs., Dends., and one Cat. and they are doing great with new growths. Help with this Vanda. It is, I believe 15 years old and I would like to nurse it back to health.

Meggan

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Without high humidity, it is almost impossible to grow Vandas bare root. I grow all my Vandas in pots, where thay have access to moisture almost continuously. Those with good roots suck the mix dry very rapidly and get watered much more often that my Catts in equivalent sized pots. I grow in a greenhouse, but often have less than perfect humidity. If you have doubts about the plant having any live roots, and it sounds that way, this may be a candidate for sphag & bag, with a very large bag to be found somewhere (dry cleaner bags?). I would try to get this guy converted over to pot culture as soon as possible. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[Meggan813]

I was examining it for quite some time last night and at the base where it fanned out into two seperate leaf growths I noticed that it dried out so much that at the end of the stalk one of the fans was cracked. I cut it off b/c it has two roots growing from it. So now I have that one peice with roots that has leaves (that look healthy) and then the remaining peice that is attached to the crown with the large dried out root system but no leaves. Does this mean that I technically have two plants and should do the sphag & bag seperately? Also, do you know where I can find some information on this technique. I am fairly new to orchids and I have never heard of this technique and I am sure that it is something I should do.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The piece with roots needs to be potted up now. Make sure the roots are covered by the mix, and that you don't damage the roots putting the mix into the pot. Use the smallest pot the roots will fit into and will allow covering them. If they are of odd size and shape to make this difficult, you probably need someone with experience to help you out. The second half of the plant can be placed in a large bag with a little damp moss added and then sealed up. This may produce something, but my guess is that that part of the plant is a goner, but, it is still worth a try just for the education value. Once bagged up, keep the bag out of direct sun. If you get any experienced help with the first piece (from a local orchid society maybe), have them look at the bareroot piece to see if there is any life left in the stem to make the S & B worth trying. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[Meggan813]

Thank you so much for all your advice. I will keep the blog posted with an update.