Differnces in plant-leaf shape Vandaceous plants=

[Blueszz]

Today I was in the garden center to get some fertilizer and I noticed three Vandaceous plants out of bloom. Because they were out of bloom and the roots suffered a lot from dehydration and rough handling, they were only 9,95 euro each. In bloom they sell for 29 - 39 euro's.
I asked if they new what colors they bloomed but they didn't take notes. H. who works here, let me have a closer look at the plants and offered me the three of them for 15 euro's. How could I say no! From two, the leaves looked very well, the third plant was a bit odd shaped... but for that price...

Now I wonder if I can see from the shape of the leafs if I have a Vanda, Ascocenda or an other intergeneric? Also I wonder if I can predict the color of the flower by the color of the leafs (like Phal's with purple flowers often have more pigment in the leafs)?

H. told me these could be reds, orange, purple´s ore yellows.

Currently it's past midnight here, will make some pictures from the leafs tomorrow. Maybe you can give me a hint what these Vandaceous plants might be, but I guess I have to rebloom these first

Nicole

[Swamper]

The only "clue" will be to look at the tips of the roots. When they are healthy, a light colored almost yellow/green tip will correspond with the color bloom. The purples will have a much darker tip.
The leaves will tell you if they are terete, semi terete or the more common strap leaf vandas, but not the color.
The clue is in the tip.

[Blueszz]

Thank you Swamper. No current root growth, by damage they lost lots of roots. With TLC, patience and time (and know how to grow) they must be able to recover. I've seen enough orchid miracles here :-)

In March I got my Vanda (Trudelia) cristata. It had compacted moss in it's wooden basket and I guess that is whay a lot of roots rotted at the base even before I recieved the plant. It had only 4 2-inch roots left and currently 9 actilvley growing roots. Overall the plant looks much better than a few months ago.

One of the new plants looks dehydrated, maybe I might loose one, but still 2 left then .

Thanks for your response Samper!

Nicole

[Swamper]

I was looking for pictures in your gallery and although I didn't find the vanda, I did see another rescue of a phal, so I'm sure you can work "orchid miracles".
I wouldn't be surprised if you brought all three back to good health. Good luck and keep us posted. Oh yeah and take pictures when you can please.

[Blueszz]

I'll will make pictures Swamper. The Phal. in the gallery is doing awesome! I'll make new pictures from her too. The pot is filled with roots and it's starting it's third new leaf since March or April this year (as most Phal's here). The last full grown leaf is as large, maybe larger than the growers ones.

About the Vandaceous plants; the only one I owned before is the small Trudelia which I only own for a few months now. It's probably too young to bloom but grows very well.
The most challenging part for the ones I bought yesterday will be the climate here. I also wonder if I can rebloom them on my balcony but otherwise I have to grow them indoors year round.
With a central heated house in the winter I might need a different setup than most of you, but I read a lot on a German board and they seem to cope well with a bit different culture and even can bloom during winters, despite I life in NL.
Currently we have nice hot weather, they are playing outdoors but still in the shade. They only get early morning and late evening sun. In won't expose them to more light until they show signs of recovery. I have a lot of spare time, so I can dunk the root system often, after they were allowed to be dry for a few hours.
Not looking very well now, but that makes it even better when I get rewarded with healthy growth. Bonus is ofcoarse rebloom them, but I focus on re-growth of roots and new leafs now.

I'll put the pictures from the Vanda's in this topic, it's easier for you to find them that way.

I'll provide you a link to the Phal. in question too. I'm convinced she will me thank me with beautiful flowers later this year, probably will set a spike during late fall when night temps drop naturally.

Nicole