Help! My Vanda orchid is dying.

[Stanman]

Hi there, I’m new to this forum. I live in the U.K. I’ll be honest, I’ve got experience with orchids but really only Phalaenopsis. I got my first Vanda earlier in the month, brought it home and hung it up. It had a couple of tiny black spots on the underside of it’s leaves but all the Vandas I’d seen at the florists had them so I assumed that wasn’t anything to be concerned about. I wasn’t watering it all that much (about twice a week) and it wasn’t getting much light as it was in the far corner of the room. It started losing leaves like crazy! Serious leaf drop. I haven’t changed my watering routine too much; I have given it more light but both flower spikes rotted and were sticky and I haven’t been able to stop the leaf drop. The roots look absolutely fine however. What am I doing wrong? Could it be overproducing sap and rotting away as a result? I’d love some help. Even if it’s too late for this one, maybe I can prevent losing any other Vandas.

[Shadeflower]

I don't think it will make it Stan.

Something like a fungus has infected the stem.

It is stravelling up the stem and is advanced, it has already completely severed the top of the vanda from the bottom.

That is just connected by a hollow stick so the roots will still hydrate and might even carry on growing but they are not connected to support the top half which will dro leaves and get dehydrated. In the meantime the fungus spreads killing more tissue as it advances.

There is no cutting it out of the plant as like I say I suspect it is far too advanced and has already killed this one long time ago.

What you can do is peel all dead leaves off, you need to be radical and peel it all off like layers on an onion.

These layers trap moisture and promote fungal infections.

See what the actual "stem" looks like with no dead leaves surrounding it. It will be brown but how brown. You could try rubbing it with your fingernail and scrape the stem a bit. You want to see if there is any sign of life left anywhere but it doesn't look good and even if there is sign of life in the stem I doubt drying it would heal the damage done.

But in future try to remove dead leaves that have dried around the stem. They just trap humidity. Ideally buy a plant that has no dead leaves at the bottom. I would not be afraid to peel away any dead leaves in the shop to be able to inspect the stem properly. You can tell if a vanda is healthy or not like this. A bit of browning is usually always present so it is hard to judge initially but the less brown the better and if it looks like there is browning spreading beyong the leaves surrounding the stem, ie the stem looks like a dead twig then don't buy it.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome.

I suspect that it got a chill. (Hybrid Vandas tend to have a lot of warm growers in their ancestry and not be very cold tolerant) I'd suggest keeping it as warm as possible, try to keep water off the leaf area but keep the roots hydrated. As much light as you can manage. If you lose the leaves, it is still possible that it will produce one or more keikis along the stem or near the base if the roots are viable. So other than warmth, and root-watering, I don't think any treatment is in order. Just see what it will do. It may surprise you as the weather warms up.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Like Roberta said, lots of light and lots of water. It's also a good idea to feed them more often than your phals. They are heavy feeders. But the real key is lots of water. I would water them twice a day if possible. At least once a day.

[Roberta]

If it's not growing, I would not worry too much about fertilizing. Especially being leafless and therefore having no energy, it's not going to benefitting much from minerals. Keeping it hydrated is critical. You might even want to put a little sugar in the soak water - it can revive a dehydrated plant, and just maybe provide a few extra carbs that the plant can't make itself in the absence of leaves. (No science that I can point to, but it's a "recipe" for reviving plants after shipment, can't hurt and might help)

[Stanman]

Okay, thank you so much. I’ll increase light and watering and see how it goes. But I fear it may be a lost cause like Shadeflower suggest. The next question is: if all the leaves drop but the roots remain healthy, can I chop back the stem and hope for Keikis? How long could it survive in that situation?

[Roberta]

Leave the stem... keikis can form anywhere along its length. (I have a Renanthera imschootiana and a Vanda tricolor (suavis) that have done just that, and that rebounded to be floriferous multi-growth plants. Just took awhile)

A Vanda cane can look dead and be very alive. If you cut and realize "I should not have done that!" it is too late. I have been growing orchids for a very long time and they still surprise me with their resilience and desire to live. So my opinion is, far too early to give up on it. It may be ugly but it may also reward your patience and care. That sort of leaf loss can be caused by lots of things other than systemic rot.

[estación seca]

What are your temperatures?