Vanda sunburn - Orchid Board

Raimisx9 · #1 05-05-2021, 01:15 PM

Hello all! I recently purchased thia Vanda orchid and it had some serious sundburn on lower leaves so I cut them down to avoid rot. Now it looks little like a palm tree. Could it still be grown into beutiful plant or I should buy a new one? I just fell in love with it’s blooms but pirchased a specimen with buds still closed.
Thanks in advance!

Roberta · #2 05-05-2021, 03:14 PM

You will soon (but could still be a month or two) have flowers. Then you will fall in love... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - I think it is beautiful now. Actually, you didn't need to cut sunburned leaves, they would have fallen off on their own in time. If burned, the damage will dry up, be ugly but not harmful. But at any rate... Vandas tend to lose lower leaves anyway, especially if humidity is too low. What counts is the new growth. Will it get tall? Yes. The new growth will look prettier. The plant may produce side shoots or basal keikis - another way that it propagates. If the lower part stays bare, you'll need to wait for significant aerial roots, when that happens it can be cut below those new roots, and you can end up with two plants. But that will take some years to get to that point. (Think about it when you get a 1.5 to 2 m plant

) Just let it grow, give it good care, and it will get bigger and perhaps look more balanced to you. But be patient - it is not likely to get as prolific and lush as it would in the tropics, but it is still possible to provide good enough conditions to get flowers and keep growing.

Raimisx9 · #3 05-05-2021, 03:25 PM

Thank You so much Roberta for such an amazing and informative reply! I guess I will just have to wait until she looks more balanced as the top will continue to grow.
I’m a little sad now that I removed those damaged leaves, as it wouldn’t have caused an issue with rot. But your answer made me happy again that she will potentially grow some keikis, bloom and grow taller each year!
I just have a aquestion, how fast does Vandas grow? Like two or three leaves a year?

Roberta · #4 05-05-2021, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raimisx9

I just have a aquestion, how fast does Vandas grow? Like two or three leaves a year?

Impossible to say... it is so dependent on conditions. Mine tend to grow pretty slowly, but they're cooler and drier than they'd like to be, and don't get fertilized as much as would be ideal. People on the Board who live in tropical areas have them grow much faster, and don't have to work to make it happen

. Orchids teach patience... they don't tend to do anything fast.

Raimisx9 · #5 05-05-2021, 04:41 PM

Oh yeah! I hope Vandas will teach me some patience as now I’m super inpatient haha

My mother’s Vandas tend to grow like 3-4 new leaves and they are not fertilized much and standing on north facing window, as these hybrids from ANSU (Netherland grower) tends to be fast growing and very floriferious!

---------- Post added at 03:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 PM ----------

Also as I read somewhere on OB I pulled the leave’s remains off the stem to avoid water getting in it and causing stem rot, but now I’m in question as I see little root eyes on the stem. Will it be okey or these root eyes are opened to environment prematurely?

Roberta · #6 05-05-2021, 05:07 PM

I don't see any problem, if new roots are going to develop, they will anyway.

Raimisx9 · #7 05-06-2021, 05:51 AM

Thanks Roberta for clarification! Maybe you can also suggest how deep I should plant it in bark (inside wooden basket)?

Roberta · #8 05-06-2021, 10:28 AM

At about the depth that it is now. In fact, if it is in a plastic Vanda basket with roots tangled within it, don't bother to try to remove that basket - just drop into your new basket. But you'd only cover the roots - the stem needs to stay exposed to the air. If it develops aerial roots, that's great... that's what Vandas do. But you can't encourage them by potting deeper.