How do I make my vanda orchid bloom?

[trevor05]

Hello there! I am new here and would like to ask some tips regarding how to make my Vanda Orchids bloom. I have bought 5 Vandas at a local store here in the Philippines about 3 years ago, all have flowers at that time.

I have them mounted on a tree and they are receiving enough morning sun from 7am to 12nn. I water them every other day considering the type of climate we have here in the Philippines. I regularly fertilize them, weekly, with 15-30-15. My problem is, they have not produced flowers for 2 and half years now that is why I changed the fertilizer I'm using to 9-45-15.

Any tips? thanks.

[Kmac]

I haven't a clue, as my one vanda simply will not bloom. I hope you get some good ideas, as my next thought is to torture mine by holding its little feet to an open flame...

[Halloamey]

From what I can say, the only parameter you think is sufficient, but is clearly not sufficient is the light. Vandas like to roasted LOL, some of my stubborn plants will not bloom until they start getting little scorched spots on old leaves.

[trevor05]

Sigh.. I might as well torture mine.. (just kidding)

[gavstang]

Occasionally despite having done everything in your power to make your plant bloom, nothing works. In such circumstances, I have found, you need to change the cultivation circumstances for your plant to try and stimulate the plant into bloom. Vandas are voracious feeders and require lots of fertilisation and water and though not direct sunlight, lots of it as well. Perhaps you may want to try moving your vandas to an area where they will receive slightly more sun? Bear in mind, this may come with a cost, as orchids once established hate to be moved and may setback your plant a little, but since you dont have any blooms, I think this is a risk worth taking no?

[espranch]

Sun all day, except at the noon hour, and plenty of fertilizer is what I've heard from successful vanda growers/bloomers. Betty :-)

[trevor05]

Thanks Gavin!
I'll surely try that one. Do you think the fertilizer I am using now is the right one for my Vandas? Lately, I fertilize them twice weekly, as instructed by the store owner where I purchased the said fertilizer.
Thanks.

Thanks Betty! Your advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks Gavin! I'll surely try that one.

[catttan]

I assume that you are referring to strap-leaf vandas, which among the vandas is the least tolerant of too much exposure to direct sunlight. Exposure to to the sun, as in your case from 7am - 12 noon is perfectly ok as the sunlight strikes the plant at angle and the angle keeps on shifting so no single area is exposed for too long to cause burning. It is from noon onwards that could be your problem, especially if the tree it is mounted on, is very big and provides too much shade. BTW the key word here is light as opposed to sun. Lots of light. Here is a piece of advice I got when I started growing orchids, 80% of which were vandas then, ' Give as much sunlight as possible without burning'. To get the maximum exposure to sunlight, the plant should be mounted on the tree facing north or south.

As to fertilising I use foliar feeding with 21:21:21 fertiliser, 1/2 strength weekly and a 18;33:18 every 4th week, for all my mature plants. All my strap-leaf vandas flower on a regular basis except my V Robert's Delight 'Garnet Beauty, which at best, 2 times a year and not all these last 9 months. Two other varieties of Robert's Delight flower about 4 times a year. Apart from light, genetics do play a part in the frequency of flowering.

[trevor05]

Thanks Yew!
Glad to have that insight from experienced orchid grower like you.

[gavstang]

Yew fantastic advice! Thats the great thing abt these forums, you get to learn so many things and from the experiences of others! I had a vanda given to me couple months ago and I was rather blase abt where to mount it so I just mounted it at the back of one of my sleeper logs with very minimal shade from my phoenix as I was quite interested to see if I could train the vanda to take the sun and heat. One of the leaves got severely burnt and subsequently dropped off but its now been 3 months and I think the plant has adjusted well and has rewarded me with a new bud a month and a half after the last flowering! Im not advocating putting all our plants under direct sun..I reckon there would be a rather high mortality rate, but in the case of tht particular strap leaf vanda (and cos it was free!) I was willing to experiment..