Watering Vandas In Baskets

[sailor]

How does everyone water their Vandas and Ascosendas in baskets? I mist the roots daily with water and MSU fertilizer. Once a week I soak the basket and roots in a shallow pan of plain water.

Most of my plants are doing great, but I have two 8" plants that are losing lower leaves. Even with 2 humidifiers, my sunroom generally runs just 45-50% humidity, so there are times when I feel my Vandas need more water.

[Wendy]

I have a basement grow room and i grow my vandas in clay pots. They are all in small baskets which i put into a large pot and fill it with large loose medium like bark chunks or wine corks, then I place the pot into a shallow dish of rain water. The clay stays moist which adds humidity to the inside of the pot. Also the roots have the choice of growing down into the water or out the top of the pot.

[phragguy]

I spray my Vanda roots every day

[Ray]

If basket culture is just too dry for your plants, then you might follow Wendy's lead and go to pot culture, using a very coarse grade of medium that holds a moderate amount of moisture.

FWIW, I have grown ascocendas in ordinary plastic pots using PrimeAgra as the medium. It holds the water for a moderate time period, but is still plenty airy. I recommend against semi-hydro culture, although I know several who grow vandas quite successfully that way.

[cb977]

I spray all my 'chids with rainwater everyday (more often in the Florida summer heat) and also have a separate sprayer with fertilized water to do the vandas.
I have had a problem with the first vanda I ever got from the very beginning. I've tried everything I could think of to get it growing and nothing seemed to work. I recently put it into a large clear pot with aliflor and the roots seem to be doing better. Keeping my fingers crossed! Good luck with yours

[Gin]

I drown mine in the morning until the roots are green , I don't mist them at all, they are in the greenhouse , when they were in a grow area in the house I did the same .They are in baskets with course bark .

[Linnie]

I had a problem in the beginning with not watering my vanda in a basket enough. It ended up dying which made me gun shy. I only hosed it quickly every day.

I'm by no means an expert, but having better luck now with a vanda and an ascocendra and a trgl. I soak them every day in their own bucket and set the timer for 8 minutes. I can do this because I only have three of them. The roots are much healthier now though I just bought several cuttings of Miss joaquim and can't seem to get those hydrated. They are wrinkled so I just started soaking them for longer. Hope they come back. Also a little unclear about soaking them through the winter.

I am now just starting to see teeny tiny buds? on the acocendra and I sure hope it will bloom.

[justatypn]

I have 2 and an expert I am not, but mine are in plastic pots with a mixture of bark, charcoal. I water mine every other day, and just recently have seen them take off. I am new to vanda's/acocendra's and at the experiment stages. I do appreciate the info others have shared here and will be kickin' back on what I can do to make adjustments...

[Peter NL]

Important is to give your Vandas lots of water, soak them, and then, let them dry up completely. Try to give them a humid environment, and warm temperatures during the day. At night the temperatures are allowed to go down a degree of 8 to 10.
If you keep your Vandas this way, they will grow and flower for you as never before!
Regards!
Peter

[Linnie]

Peter,

you certainly have beautiful vandas, so I think that qualifies you as an "expert" in my book.

Do you water vandas the same way all year or do you change the routine in the winter? By soaking them and then letting them dry, do you mean letting them go a day or so if they are not dry?

Also, what is your fertilizing routine for the vanda orchids?

Thanks