Vandachostylis 'Charm' var alba x Rhy. coelestis & Vanda Arthur Lauffenberger
This was an unexpected surprise from MotesOrchids.
Initially I had planned to be receiving only 1 plant, but I ended up with 3!
The one that I directly purchased was Vandachostylis 'Charm' var. alba x Rhynchostylis coelestis. The pictures on MotesOrchids makes the flower look like a Lou Sneary 'Bluebird', but the plant is definitely larger than a Lou Sneary 'Bluebird'. There's 2 of those.
The freebie I got is Vanda Arthur Lauffenberger, a hybrid of
Vanda Rothschildiana and Vanda Danny German. Pictures show that this guy will grow big purple/pink-ish flowers.
In my inifinite wisdom when I made my purchase, it didn't occur to me "hey Vandas would probably be shipped bare root" so when they arrived and I was surprised to find 3 plants, I realized I never got any baskets or slotted pots to put them in. Luckily, I had some cheap Thai production Phal pots and, forgetting I have a chunky mix of orchid bark, charcoal and perlite, I used the biodegradable packing peanuts in the package they came in to fill the pots. Not ideal and not the long term solution, but it's a quick one that'll work for now until I get some baskets.
The other thing is that I didn't occur to me how large Vandachostylis 'Charm' var. alba x Rhynchostylis coelestis would be, and considering it's going to be 9-14 degrees Fahrenheit early next week, I can't put these guys outside at the moment. Luckily, Vandas like bright light so they're chilling on the top shelf of the cabinet with my Pinguiculas and some Sundews. I upped the humidity a bit so they should be getting comfortable with their new environment. Again, not entirely ideal, since they'll all probably get bigger and start spilling their root everywhere, but it will likely suffice until I put together a more permanent solution for what to do with them when winter rolls around.
I haven't watered them yet, but I will on Saturday along with the rest of the orchids. I know to keep it more sparse between waterings in winter, so long as the humidity in the air is good.
These are my first big vandas, and big orchids, really, as even the Cymbidium I have is a small Asian species. Excited to see how they flower!
P.S. If you're worried about the one that looks like it's tipping over in the cheap Phal pot, don't worry, I fixed that not long after taking that photo.
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