Vanda Blooming times
 

I have two Vanda's which grow like crazy. Vanda tricolor and Neostylis Lou Sneary "Bluebird". Do Vanda's bloom at a specific time of year or do they bloom intermittantly? One of them has bloomed twice and the tricolor is finally big enough to bloom.

Depending on the species or hybrid of the Vanda AND the conditions its growiing in, they can flower multiple times a year. V. tricolor can flower from late spring to mid summer. I've had Vandas flower twice a year where it has flowered 4 times in a year in the tropics. Ascocenda can flower multiple times a year even if not in ideal conditions. I flowered an Ascda Princess Mikasa 3 times in 12 months. Light & a high min ( 12c ) temp is the key.
I haven't had my Lou Sneary flower yet so I can't tell what it will do in my conditions ( too small. )

Thank you for the information Roy, I appreciate it. I believe I need to buy more Vanda's since they seem to do so well in this high elevation. Are there any large size Vanda's or are they all small?

I have a 10 year old pachong blue vanda that flowers 3 to 4 times a year. Usually spring, mid summer and then it gets two spikes, one after the other in the fall and blooms in the winter. Mind you I put it outside during the summer and give it maximum light without burning it. It's flowers are about 3 inches across.

Vanda species flower once a year; the cold blue vandas in winter and the hot pinks, reds and yellows in summer and you may be lucky if they flower twice in a season...my luzonica flowered twice; I think it just had a spike that didnt grow together with the first and decided to come flower 2 months after.
Hybrid vandas flower as many as they can per season...sometimes four times a year...
My vandas had an early winterstorm last halloween: and they decided to spike a month after.
they will bloom again late spring...then in the fall

It depends on what you call large. Straight Vandas can become quite wide & tall given time & maturity. Ascocendas can also achieve large sizes depending on the breeding, ie. multiple infusions of Vanda. If they contain more the Ascocentrum side they will remain on the small side.

There was someone on this board that had to get rid of her vanda because it grew too big. The Mokaras get quite tall. My largest vanda is about 1 1/2 feet after 10 years or so.

Wow folks, I am learning a lot! Thank you. Do Vanda's have any keiki's or offshute plants? Seems like I have new leaves growing from the bottom of the plant and I am not sure why.

You have a basal keiki...theres a small baby growing at the base of the plant.

Vanda luzonica is my largest vanda so far, three feet from crown to top of leaf and four feet length of roots(11 yrs old)
secondly is my Vanda sanderiana with two feet from crown to top and four feet of roots(7 yrs old)

My Mokara Chao Praya 'Boy' is two feet from crown to top leaf and three feet roots (5 yrs old)

Sounds like Vanda's like your location! So does a basal Keiki get taken off at some point or just leave it there? Thanks for solving the mystery.

I think that vandas are very adaptable as long as you can give them their basic needs. Light is very important, but mainly in the summer. Humidity, regular feeding and allow to dry a little between waterings. I'm in Canada but have no problem blooming them. You get to know what they want.
Keep in mind that the hybrids bloom much more easily and more often in most cases.

I am not good yet at knowing if something is a hybred or not sorry to say. I am getting better at Orchid names but I am not there yet. I just love Vanda's and Brassia when they bloom. I have a Brassia that loves being on top of my 120 gallon turtle aquarium and its ready to bloom again, it blooms about every two months, increible long flowers.

Brassia are great! I have one too. I also have a brassidium, which is a hybrid. It is a cross between a brassia and oncidium. It is fragrant, but the spider's legs aren't as long because of the oncidium. A lot of the vandas for sale these days are hybrids, crosses between different vandas and sometime have other orchids added in that are a related species.

You can tell something is a hybrid by one of the ways it is designated on the tag. The first is by looking at the second name - if it is a capitalized word then it is a hybrid, all species are designated by lower case. Some growers never give a new name and instead designate with something akin to Phal so-and-so x Phal. so-and-so. The x designates what one orchid was breed with to create the hybrid. Another one is the use of parenthisis or quotation marks after the two part name, for example Phal so-and-so (Windy Delight) or Phal so-and-so "Windy Delight." To my knowledge, these are the only ways to tell if something has been bred/hybridized or not. I believe the last example may be more of a breeding designation rather than a hybridizing, but don't quote me on that one, lol... Still learning this myself.