Cutting the Vanda

[Jirel]

Okay, general consensous and my own inclination was that this vanda needed to be cut directly after the top most roots:


So today I took advantage of the sale at Kmart and bought a large pot (with a good size hole in it) and a stand to put the top half of the Vanda in and cut it right above the fourth top root. I didn't fill the pot all the way up because I was running out of bark and because I only wanted to go about as far up as the wrapped roots did. The roots and gently wound around the interior of the pot were about 4 feet long. (I forgot to take pictures while putting it in the pot so all I have is the finished result).


There are some few roots above the bark, the bottom 1/3 of the pot is full of roots. Next are pictures of what is left of the original stem:


Below the basket:


I figured I'd post what I did here for anyone who is interested. I will repost if anything grows or dies. I have my fingers crossed as I don't really know what I'm doing. I didn't want to go for a smaller pot because I was afraid that bending the roots too much would result in them breaking.

[bkim]

I would have left it alone the way it was. That's a lot of good roots you just cut off. The roots is what I find intriguing about Vandas. Best wishes!

[Orchidementia]

I don't know anything about growing vandas, so my opinion is worth less than what you paid for it, but I think the repot look terrific. It's a beautiful orchid (this opinion has more value!).

[Brooke]

Aren't vandas one of the plants capable of producing a basal keiki after the top is removed?

Brooke

[solay]

It looks great in the new pot. I certainly hope the bottom half does something for you. It would be really cool if it grows a new growth or keiki.

[evagentry]

Well you did it! I am proud of you for trying something new, I would go easy on the watering for a while though, mist it alot.

[myorchid]

That looks great! Now you have two Vanda's.

It will be interesting to see what the bottom does. Keep us posted.

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by Brooke

Aren't vandas one of the plants capable of producing a basal keiki after the top is removed?

Brooke

no for this one. The bottom is already dead.

[patticake]

I think they both will do O.K._ There's still green in the lower roots. Good luck! I can't wait to see the results!

[NancyG]

Digitalgate,

You think the bottom is dead? Even with all those roots?

NancyG

[digitalgate]

Originally Posted by NancyG

Digitalgate,

You think the bottom is dead? Even with all those roots?

NancyG

pretty certain in this case. The root is green from the algae but tip of the
root is shrivelled and dry. Plus the stem is brown (my monitor is faulty now
everything is yellow). If your bottom is green with new growth in the roots. then side shoot will appear.

[Jirel]

There's a couple of smaller roots that are still green, but the rest are getting shriveled. I would say there's a "possibility" that something will happen with the bottom.

[snowballsarebad]

Interesting thread. I hope you get a keiki on the bottom!
Also, to anybody else who sees it, I reported the above post by grissyt as spam. Dirty spammers...argh.