Vanda Questions

[digimom]

Hi all

I recently acquired a vanda about a week and a half ago.

Its out on my balcony and I have been catching rain water and watering and misting the roots daily with that.
I understand Vanda's are heavy feeders but am not sure how often to fertilize. It seems to have some build up on the leaves from the store where I purchased it from as if they where only fertilizing and not flushing with water.
I have attached some pictures so you can see the damage where the leaves attach to the plant.

It gets plenty of light in the morning as my balcony faces east and shade in the afternoon. I have been misting daily and fed once so far.

I was wondering if I should cut it out of the little plastic basket that is inside of the wooden one. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[hera]

If removing the little basket will damage any of the roots I would just leave it. Its a common practice to leave the smaller baskets just for that reason. Looks great!

[sadie]

Hey there. I agree with hera--definately just leave it in the little plastic basket. There is no need to cut it out and you could really damage the roots by taking them out.

As for fertilizer--I would water them weekly during the summer and then cut back to once every two weeks or even once a month in the winter depending upon how much they grow for you.

[Gin]

It looks fine I feed mine weekly in the spring and summer every 2 weeks in the winter . They are watered heavy in the am . and if hot again later on in the day . It depends on the Temps. and Humidity living where you do it should grow really well . Gin

[bc_bareroots]

It looks good digimom,

I don't have a lot of experience with Vandas. Some orchids have a whitish layer or filmy look to them. For example the Brassavola digbyana (I couldn't find a good picture quickly).
This is natural. If it is a film build up you can take an old SOFT toothbrush and soapy water and gently clean the leaves. You may want to start on a lower leaf and try a small area to determine if the film is a build up or natural to the plant. A good friend is a commercial grower and the only water available to him at his nursery is well water. Often the leaves of his plants will turn orange due to minerals (etc.) in the well water. I always clean this off when I get them. You do need to take caution in extreme cases like these because a plant can get use to having the build up on the leaves which filters light. After you clean them they no longer have that filter and can be acceptable to burning.

[Uechi]

Misting roots is nice but you need to drench Vandas with water preferably till the roots look green rather than silvery. During periods of rapid growth like the summer you can fertilize Vandas once a week. In the winter fertilize every two to three weeks. The build of minerals may be from fertilizer or from hard water used where you purchased the plant. Flusing thwe plant with rainwater or distilled water will help remove most of this the restcan be removed with botanical wipes. It is almost impossible to over water a Vanda if you do it during the day and have either no or little well draining media.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Hi, I agree with Uechi's statement:

Misting roots is nice but you need to drench Vandas with water preferably till the roots look green rather than silvery.

Since you collect rainwater to water this guy, you could also employ the dunking method to water. Simply lower the plant - roots and all - into a bucket or tub of your rainwater. Let it sit there for a few minutes until the roots turn that green color, and then hang back up to dry. This way you do not waste that precious rainwater. Go ahead and mix your fertilizer/water separate from your watering and spray it on after the roots have been soaked.

Cheers,
BD