Need help with many questions on new Vanda given to me!!!

[Bud]

You have scale infestation.
Walmart has the insect spray that is used for roses(that will do) you can spray that plant till soaking wet....then let it dry. Get a cottonball dipped in classic listerine mouthwash(brown); as you are wiping the scaly areas scrape the insects with a blunt plastic knife or a used soft toothbrush until all the insects are gone.
repeat this the following week
scales can come back as I have read the other members complain about it.
repot...you dont want eggs still hiding in your media

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Do you know the name of your terete Vanda (aka Papilionanthe)?

Papilionanthe teres grows as an epiphyte/terrestrial. It is predominantly an epiphyte of large trees in tropical Asia.

Papilionanthe hookeriana is an epiphyte of 6 ft tall swamp plants. They are often seen riding piggy back on these plants.

Most other Papilionanthe species are epiphytes of large trees.

I know of only one super popular hybrid - Vanda (Papilionanthe) Miss Joaquim, which is a hybrid of Papilionanthe teres and Papilionanthe hookeriana.

Rather than growing on a thin trunked and branched tree, It'd probably work out better if it was stuck onto a log.

My Papilionanthe pedunculata is stuck on a log, btw.

[tucker85]

Give it plenty of light. It can take full sun. All the medium does is to hold it upright. Some people use standard cypress garden mulch or bark. Water the aerial roots often.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Yes, water often. It will grow faster if you do.

I've never really had to grow mine in full sun for good growth. In fact, I'd be careful about the amount of sun exposure it gets depending on what part of the country you're in. It does need a lot of light, though. If it gets enough pigmentation from anthocyanins, you're good.

[vanda man]

i suggest you take out all the potting mix and grow it on wood planks or just charcoal.Mine are doing quite well in charcoal or coconut chunks with daily watering.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

I'm just a bit north of you, also on the coast... V. (Papioionanthe) Miss Joaquim is marginal in our climate. I do know a few local people (old-time growers) who have grown it. I have V. (Papilionanthe) teres, one of the parents, it grows outside, grows slowly. If you have a block wall (or wall of the house), those absorb heat during the day, and radiate it at night... if you grow it in a spot like that, with strong light, you may be quite successful with it. Our coastal climate permits a lot of pushing the boundaries by finding those microclimates.