Vandaceous orchids in the home?

[poetiscariot]

Are there any Vanda-type orchids people recommend for growing at home, under lights? Especially miniature or at least small ones. My Catts and Dens do fine, so I'm wondering if there are any that do well in those conditions. I don't want to get into daily watering for 15 minutes at a time, but the flowers keep catching my eye.

[orchidlady]

It is certainly possible with the right amount of light. The smaller ones might do okay with T5 lighting. For the larger plants you would most likely need HID lighting. Check out this member's setup.

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...grow-area.html

Susan

[Cjcorner]

There are articles online about "vase" culture for the smaller Vanda types, such as Ascocenda. You basically set the plant on top of a clear glass vase, letting the roots hang into the vase. A few times a week you fill the vase, allowing the water to sit for a few minutes, then drain the water back out. I have never tried this, but have heard other members say it works great for them, when growing the Vanda types indoors.

[stefpix]

Neofinetia falcata.
I have a few Vandas - too small to flower. They are growing. I have some in a clay pot either with long coco fiber, hydroton, coco chips, some charcoal.

You are in WA not in FL. If you do not have a greenhouse I doubt you have the same humidity that a grower in FL has. Anyway I put mine outside in the summer, I think Vanda coerulea can take low temperatures. I would check on IOSPE etc.

[poetiscariot]

It's actually ridiculously humid just in this part of NY state through the summer because of Lake Erie, but winter, nothing doing. Additionally, when I say "in the home," I mean "in my apartment" -- my orchids are on a humidity tray under a grow light in my living room, & I won't be in a place where I can build something like that basement setup any time in the near future.

Vase culture is really interesting, though! That looks worth trying with some smaller varieties that would fit into my space. Fun science experiment at the very least.

stefpix -- how often & for how long do you water the ones you grow in pots?

[stefpix]

Well I meant FL is humid most of the year, NY is humid 2 - 3 months. I go visit the BBG conservatory often and they have a ton of Vandas hanging with no media, but when I walk in there my camera lens fogs all the time except in the summer/ late spring.

I try to water them daily with a pump sprayer. sometimes I forget, sometimes I do it 2ice daytime and evening.

The larger one I got it from a nursery in FL, came with really long thin roots, but here it developed shorter thick roots and the old roots basically got replaced.
That one is in a 7 inch slotted orchid pot [like azalea pot[ I put a thin coco liner in it with, the Vanda is sitting on half of a coconut husk I got from a rasta juice bar here, then filled the gaps with hydroton and some coco chips. it has been hanging the whole summer / warm spring outside my fire escape railing / southern window. No blooms though. Maybe need to fertilize more. Has bloomed before I got it. A dedrobium hard cane type is spiking next to it and has one or 2 leaves with some sun burn mark. So should be enough light for the Vanda... But who knows?
I killed a couple of small ones and a small one is thriving. They sent me 2 of the same [I think Vanda Pakchong blue] and the one in the wood basket is growing a lot faster and bigger than the one ins the 2" net pot.

I wonder if larger pot makes a Vanda grow faster. Also I think some plants are healthier than others as some in the same spot grow healthy and fast others do not.

Anyway notice even at the Botanic Garden Vandas trhiving next to a few losing leaves/ dessicating/ leggy / dying/

[Raver]

if the dendrobium is doing ok with that much light and its not getting burned then a cattleya would probably do good under this light but a vanda will probably need more light. Try increasing the light a lil bit more and maybe it will fix this problem or try giving it more fert. or try doing both =). I hope it blooms!

[stefpix]

Thanks. They are in full sun outside my southern window. Hanging on fire escape railing facing east. so they get full sun from morning to mid afternoon.
The dendrobium has some sunburn marks so does my Ansellia africana, but mostly on old leaves. I have some plants on the roof which is always breezy and sunny and with the black tar and metallic adjacent roof really hot and bright. I put sugarcane and hot peppers there and Arundina graminifolia.
I think the Vanda may need more fertilizer. I usually just water it with the pump sprayer.

Maybe will add some nutricote-type pellets. But I have 16-3-14 slow release. Fert I use is better gro 15-31-15. I wonder if the media is loose the fert may not stay there long enough.

[Raver]

Can you mix some fertilizer with the water and spray the roots with it everyday but make sure its a weak solution, otherwise you will burn your plant

[stefpix]

yeah I mix the fert with the water, but now I am considering adding some slow release fert as well...
But seems to be growing new root tips all over and some new leaves. ON the hottest days the leaves were a bit dehydrated for a week or 2 but now they perked up.

I usually use 1 teaspoon per gallon of Better Gro fert.