exotic orchid (bangkok sunset) is dying. please help. - Orchid Board

cb99 · #1 06-18-2014, 02:02 PM

Hi,

A friend of mine gave me this exotic orchid. the full name is Rhrds. Bangkok Sunset "M" (Rhrds. Thai Noi x Aer. houllet). I don't know how to care for it so it can start growing new roots and flowering. Please help I don't want it do die.

Right now I have it bare root. and dip it in water every day. I don't know whether to put it outside in the patio or keep it indoor.

LizB88 · #2 06-18-2014, 03:04 PM

I think this plant is in the mini-Vanda family, I would also put this tread in the Vanda alliance so the members that are more familiar with Vandas can provide you with info.

it would also help to know what your growing conditions are.

I'm not very familiar with Vandas, hope this gives you a bump up!

cb99 · #3 06-18-2014, 05:44 PM

Hi Liz,

Thanks for the heads up. I will post this on that board. I recently put the orchid outside. I live in Los angeles and it has been pretty warm recently in the 80's.

Optimist · #4 06-18-2014, 06:27 PM

I see a vanda on a table in a house. The first thing that says to me is that it is not getting enough sun or light. A vanda needs nearly full outdoor sunlight. Vandas need some shading, to be sure, but not all that much. The first way to save it is examine your property. Do you have a balcony or porch? Do you have a backyard with a tree? (Ideal)

The first thing I wonder when someone says water is whether you have a water softener. Vandas usually have very nice white velamen roots because there is a high need to get immediate nutrients from mist or rainwater, which as we know does not tend to stay in one spot. They need a quick misting or occasional rain shower, not a daily dip.

Have you tried to suspend it over some sort of evaporating water and misting it? I do not feel that dunking it in water should have the horrific consequences this looks like it is suffering from.

Another alternative is to cut it off from water because it is showing you no growth. Denying an orchid water can often force it into creating more roots. The only moisture seeking parts of a root are the live tips. The other part, the long velamen shaft is there for gaseous exchange and the transfer of H20 into oxygen by stripping it of its two hydrogen atoms. Too much? Okay.

Vandas require watering maybe every 7 to 10 days. Orchids like this (especially like this) are highly evolved xerophytes. Xerophyte means a "desert plant." Even if it is an epiphyte in a so called "Rain Forest" it is used to a rather arid condition because it lives on a branch. Yes, they need water, but they need much less than a normal plant because they are CAM plants which means that they favor water conservation methods and the result is slow growth (that is the least technical thing I can say). They require a small amount of water. Too much will drown them. Give it full sun in the morning. Water it less, allowing the water to totally drain past the roots. (Seriously, all the water needs to do is touch it and the velamen goes to work. Velamen is highly evolved and will act as a sponge immediately. ) Possibly use a cool air humidifier in the corner it is in to raise the humidity level around it.

When an orchid lives in undesirable conditions it goes into a hibernation kind of mode and no growth occurs. The best way to see growth is if any new little green or reddish green tips appear on the ends of new roots. Leaves follow root growth.

Please someone chime in! This vanda looks okay and looks like by next year with the proper culture it may do well.

cb99 · #5 06-18-2014, 06:37 PM

Thanks for you reply. I live in los angeles, ca. It is around 80's here during the day. I have a balcony and a covered patio. I put my phal. orchids in the patio and so far they are liking it. But this orchid just does not want to grow. I am thinking of suspending it on above moist sphagnum moss to see if that works. Should I fertilize it every week?

Optimist · #6 06-18-2014, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb99

Thanks for you reply. I live in los angeles, ca. It is around 80's here during the day. I have a balcony and a covered patio. I put my phal. orchids in the patio and so far they are liking it. But this orchid just does not want to grow. I am thinking of suspending it on above moist sphagnum moss to see if that works. Should I fertilize it every week?

Give it some time. It is sick (as it looks and as you say). It is not growing because you need to establish a root system first. Work on getting those roots growing. Vandas have huge masses of roots. How to get more roots growing? Like I said. Water every week, not every day. The less water, the more roots the plant needs to produce to catch more water. Then the leaves come. Higher sun than phals. Like I said, nearly full light.

cb99 · #7 06-18-2014, 06:56 PM

Ok so by watering you mean spray the roots with water once a week and put the plant in full sun.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #8 06-18-2014, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb99

Ok so by watering you mean spray the roots with water once a week

This plan is not going to work, especially when you're in SoCal.

I'm in SoCal, and I can definitely say that this is not enough moisture. You gotta drench the plant's roots in water thoroughly here.

Right now, I'm growing my Vandas and Opsistylis outdoors and I water everyday or every other day, sometimes twice a day on very warm days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cb99

...and put the plant in full sun.

Not here in Los Angeles. Full sun here is way too much sun for this orchid. You gotta place it in the brightest spot on your porch, not in full blown sun here in SoCal unless you want the orchid to be fried to a crisp. The light's bright, but indirect.

If you place this in full sun here, within 1 day, I guarantee your orchid will not be remotely salvageable at all due to the severe amount of damage it would've received from sunburn.

Your orchid is an intergeneric hybrid comprised of the natural genera Rhynchostylis and Ascocentrum. It is not a true miniature. It may be a smaller sized orchid because of the genes it inherited from its Ascocentrum parents, but it is not a true miniature.

cb99 · #9 06-20-2014, 01:36 PM

Hi Philip,

Thanks for you tips. I have a jade plant in my patio. would it work if I put my orchid between the branches of the jade plant in its bare root since they grow on trees in their natural habitat and then water it daily. The jade plant get direct sun in the morning but indirect sun the rest of the day.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #10 06-20-2014, 01:55 PM

I would just grow the Vanda in a plastic pot, (preferably clear plastic pots), with good quality large grade bark.

You can mount the orchid, but it will take a lot of watering. It's too much work, and it may kill off your Jade Plant from the large amount of water the orchid needs.

I have posted pics of my Vandas growing in pots before. Just copy what I do, and you'll be able to slowly figure it out on your own in order to grow where you are.