Please help with new vanda
 

Hello,
I have received new Vascostylis seedling today by mail. It was nicely packed in paper and I think it was not damaged by frost, but it spent 11 days wrapped in paper without water and I am worried that it could dry out. There are some dry roots but also some that look fresh, the leaves are strong.
I have potted it into a basket filled with moist orchid media and misted it all over. Could you please look at the pictures and let me know if it has a chance and what else should I do to keep it alive.
Thanks a lot

Did you feel any rotted roots? They look only a little dry but if you keep up with a regimented water schedule and not too often because you will rot the roots, then they shoulp plump up to normal. This is only based on what I know, so I hoped I helped and someone with more experience will chime in!

Unless it was frozen, a few days in the dark and dry won't hurt it.

What you do now depends completely on your growing conditions - especially light and humidity, but also temperature.

Check the Vanda forum and the culture sheet for detailed info.

I do not use any medium at all with my Vanda alliance orchids, but grow in wooden slat baskets. They really don't like their roots damp at all. Mine like to get soaked by a mist and then dry thoroughly.

Other growers in drier climates grow them successfully in empty vases. It seems that the vase just acts a s a humidity chamber. Again check the Vanda section.

My impression of Washington State is that you have high humidity, but might have trouble with light.

Those roots look pretty good to me, it should do fine. Looks nice in your basket. Vandas don't need to be planted so just watch your watering that it gets moisture but doesn't stay wet. Slowly introduce it to stronger light. Mine get a couple of hours of sun per day.

Thank you guys. So, no orchid mix for vanda. Should i take out the potting medium and leave the plant in the same basket but empty?
Thnaks again

I would take out all for a few pieces of bark.

Vandas are usually grown in a hardwood basket like these from Parkside Orchids: http://www.parksideorchids.com/image...n%20Square.jpg

Vanda roots can grow quite long and these hanging baskets let them hang out, and vanda roots need to dry completely and fairly quickly from what I understand between waterings. These baskets keep them from being too wet.

I have been growing my vanda for several years in a basket with large chunks of charcol and a little spagnum. This way, it still drys our quickly but doesn't need watering every day. The moss holds a little humidity for it. In the summer it is watered every 3rd day, with misting on sunny or dry days. Winter watering once a week. I would let its roots sit in water for 1/2 an hour, then let it dry out. That way it can re hydrate. Your plant looks fine.

That is a nice little plant you have there. How are you going to keep it depends of your conditions and watering habits. I grow mine in a regular orchid pot (with slits on sides) with medium size lava stones because as a window sill grower I cant supply enough moisture to keep them happy. Also I dont have space large enough to let roots grow out and keeping in a pot contains roots. This works for me.
The one I should note that the kind of basket you have will rot soon. Then you will have to repot it or just put the whole thing into larger basket.
Good luck!

I think it's fine the way it is.

Just watch how much you water.

I have Vandas potted in bark in clear plastic pots.

vanda roots
 

I would imagine that clear plastic pots would help to see weather the roots are dry or not, but vandas really do like to have a lot of air around the roots. I'm tempted to try vase culture sometime. Perhaps with my little Gastrochilus to start with.

That is exactly how it is! But when growing inside and with a wood stove my house is very dry right now.

dry
 

I used to have that problem, I had humidity trays everywhere! Then we got a large humidifier and that helped a lot. We got one that holds a lot of water because it was needing to be re filled too often when we had a small one. We now live on Vancouver Island, and it rains so much in the winter that it is seldom too dry. My Vanda survived the dryness in a basket with misting, but if it gets too dry it can kill a new flower spike.

Vancouver Island right across the straight of juan de fuca??

Yes it is. It is a rain forest area and stays mostly above freezing during the winter, usually going only a few degrees below freezing now and then. The summers are warm and dry, though. I have to mist a lot then.

I live in Port angeles right across the water from Victoria!

Oh yes! I just realised that you are in Washington! Your weather isn't all that different from ours, but a wood stove does dry things out. We don't have one any more.

I hate growing with it in the winter...I have to water and spray so much more! And then everything dries out so much faster. And I have a hard time with orchids in the winter since it is so dry.

Even a cheap vaporizer would help. Some of them can go for several hours without filling. I have bought them at yard sales before.

Kinda like a vicks machine that gives off steam?

moisure
 

Yes, thats it. There are a lot of kinds on the market, some of them aren't very expensive. I once bought one that was meant for babies, so that I could take it along when we stayed in hotels with our parrot, who needed humidity.

I use a vicks vapor humidifier-- but I live in Colorado, so I only use it during the Winter. During the summer it is just as dry but impossible to keep the solarium cool enough without windows open.

Oh and I also use the vase method-- check out of the Neo forum, too. I have several photos documenting "some" successes I've had using this method. My neostylis is currently exploding in slow-motion with root growth.

I saw that thread and was gonna do once I got a vanda and a neo! thanks for telling me it works so well!

That makes sense! I think I will move all my orchids to my room and set up the vicks thing....And then search for a cheap humidifier! Thanks!

humidity
 

Another thing that can be done, is to put pots or kettles of water on top of the woodstove. They actually sell kettles that are meant for humidity. You'll find that you get sick less often if your mucus membranes don't dry out so much.

...Really? And that keeps the house more humid?

Yes. I even used to dry all of our laundry by the wood stove, and there would be moisure on the windows. A fish tank in the room helps too.

Having lived in Minneapolis where the winter temperatures and humidities were much lower, I can assure you it is not necessarily a loosing battle. You just have to adjust your growing practice to the conditions.
It would have been nearly impossible to bring the entire house up to ideal growing humidity, but a single closed off room is easier (if you can heat it). An enclosure (wooden frame with plastic stapled to it) within the room is easier yet to humidify. 3M used to make a plastic window insulation that was clear as glass after you shrunk it with a hair dryer.

I didn't grow Vandas at the time, but had good luck with phals this way. In some ways the rapid drying is what Vandas like, so it might not be as bad as you think. Just try it and watch the roots.

Most everyone has talked about moisture and humidity, but make sure you provide enough light. That would have been a bigger problem for me in Minnesota, and you are as far north and probably more cloudy. You will probably need supplemental light.

That does work well, if you have the space. A fan can be pretty important for air circulation, though.

Thank you all for the information. I have read through the vanda forum and was intrigued by the glass vase method. As a result I pulled my seedling out from the basket, established it into a glass container with narrow top and wide bottom and put it on the desk against south-east window.
Will see if it works out.
On the side note, after browsing through all the pictures of vandas beautifully flowering in a vase I went and ordered more seedlings, this time ascocendas...

vase culture
 

I'm dying to try that method! It makes so much sense, with nothing to rot. From what I understand, you soak the roots of the plant for a while, in water with fertilizer, then drain off the water, except for a dibble in the bottom. Does that sound right?

Yes, it is about right, except that you probably can leave some water at the bottom if roots can't reach it, otherwise some of them will be touching the water constantly and from what I understood - it is not good.
I found a pitcher in the house with neck narrow enough for my seedling to sit without slipping down with no extra support. For now (from today's morning) I am filling vase up with water for 15 minutes early morning, then drain it out completely every day. I will see how it goes, I guess plant will let me know if the change of routine is needed.

I would imagine that the roots would eventually fill the vase right up, and that you would have to rinse the roots daily, which could be a problem.

It sounds like you are well on the road, with a good understanding of the technique. Just make sure it gets enough bright light. In Canada during winter I'm imagining you will probably need either direct sun or supplemental lighting.
You refer to them as seedlings - if that's true you've got a bit of growth to go, and will need to watch the humidity closely until they get established.
Good luck and post a picture if you can.

Enough winter light can be a problem in some parts of Canada. When we lived in Ontario, we got fairly good winter light. Here on Vancouver Island, the winters are dull and I move my Vanda from window to window to follow the sun. It's worth it though! It blooms a good part of the winter, again in June, then late August.

We have the fish tanks...A 55 gallon freshwater and a 225 saltwater with metal halides. I have been growing soome orchids in there on a ledge as it gets high temps, humudity, and light and my NOID Den. has been loving it there. And the tanks are both within 10 feet of the wood stove...I might have to do the kettle thing.

Do you remember what this stuff was called? I would love to try it!

this stuff
 

Hi Mike,
I'm not sure what you are refering to. Is it the plastic to seal off an area? You can buy that at a hardware store.
Nancy [Vancouver Island]

my vanda in a vase
 

Here she is during "drinking time". The light shouldn't be a problem, I put her facing south -east window beside my adenium seedlings - they love sun too.

vase culture
 

That's a nice pitcher, and because it widens at the top, that should add humidity. I think that for baby plants, this way of growing should work well. I can't picture a large Vanda grown this way.