2nd set of blooms on young (Vanda Mad Rattana x Vanda Sirllak) x Vanda Bangsal Queen

[cdayinflorida]

I've always grown Vandas but I was a nut for the Catt alliance and collected mainly species. I would wait all year for them to bloom, while the Vandas were always in bloom and never appreciated. One day I looked around and thought...why in the world aren't you just growing Vandas?
I still have quite a few Catts. I've kept some for sentimental reasons and others are just here.
Anyway, I seem to always be rewarded with blooms from the Vandas. I don't have to wait a year to see the next set of blooms and they bloom at a very young age.

[catttan]

Congrats, Cathy for a really beautiful blue vanda. We seem to have gone on a different route. I started with vandas and vandaceous and ended up with cattelyas and now renewed interest in vandas. Come to think of it renewed interest in all things orchids.I now also have dendrobiums, paphios, oncidiums, catasetums and 3 grammatophyllums. All thanks to OT and the people and their posts in OT that have inspired me.

[cdayinflorida]

Lew, I inherited my Grandmother's orchids when she passed away. I was about 18. All but a few were imported in from South America...when you could. She had a few vandas. I still have 2 of her plants. The others went the way of benlate poisoning in the 80s.
I seen to have blinders on anymore. I try not to look at anything but vandas when I'm looking for plants. I did purchase a catt a few months ago just because of the fragrance and the sheer amount of blooms on a very young plant...the lip was gorgeous, too.
My dream is to visit Malaysia before I'm too old to hike around and enjoy it.

[catttan]

My dream is to visit Malaysia before I'm too old to hike around and enjoy it.

You won't be disappointed when you do visit us. In spite of the bad publicity from anti-logging groups, environmentalists, Malaysia is still more than 52 % virgin forest. Of course we have lost a lot of our nature to 'progress' but that is to be expected. We are not a big country and we have 28 million people and it is nigh impossible to survive in the 21st century and expect us to live in an 18th century environment. Malaysia is the 'original' Lucky Country' - famine and abject poverty is unheard of. The worst natural disasters we have is the occasional landslide, the annual floods that last a few days, when it's big news if a couple of people die in the floods; . we are located just outside the Pacific/Indian Ocean rim of fire and and don't suffer the devastation of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of our neighbours in Indonesia and the Philippines, We are just outside the typhoon belt too. When the great tsunami hit S E Asia and killed more than 200,000 in Aceh which is just across the Straits of Malacca from us we suffered less than 20 killed.We are rich in natural resources including oil and we've had a reasonably capable government (debatable, of course).

You've seen the pictures posted by Zain re the orchids that can still be easily accessed and don't miss the pictures by Mietek of his visit to Sabah and Sarawak. Even where I live, within a radius off 30 miles, at least 50 species can easily be seen, including some endemic to limestone hills.

Come and enjoy yourself - we have a tagline in our tourist brochures - Malaysia, truly Asia - and that refers to our peoples and our cultures. And English is widely spoken.

[cdayinflorida]

All I need is a few weeks off work and a ticket. I honestly think I'm going to look into travel to your part of the world next year. Thank you for such a lovely description.

[vandagirl]

Well Cathy, as usual a lovely Vanda again. I can understand you like Vanda's the best. They are also my favourite. Mine is already spiking again after 5 months. So it's no
wonder we love them.

[cdayinflorida]

Willeke, I'm going to see my Thai friend who has an old greenhouse full of vandas, today. I'm looking for young plants of his crosses. He always has something I can't live without ;-) I wish I could take you with me.
Can't wait to see your vanda in bloom!

[zainal abidin]

Cathy very pretty blue vanda congrats I also love vandas too, some how they are not free flowering especially species from Indochina and certain species from far east. I will post those vanda immediately they bloom.

[cdayinflorida]

Can't wait to see them Zain.

[pavel]

Nice vanda, Cathy. I like the pic composition also.