Hello from new member, John, in Los Angeles
 

Hello, I am brand new to the Orchid Board. I found you while looking for some high light requirement info for my trial Vanda that is quickly losing all of its leaves. I discovered how far off I was in what its requirements are, so I'll see if I can arrest the problem.

That is a good illustration of where I am as an orchid hobbyist, if I qualify for that term, yet. I started four years ago with an $8.00 phalaenopsis from Trader Joe's I bought as a cut flower substitute. I kept it after the blooms dropped and followed the short culture instructions on the label. Well, the plant bloomed again. Most of my friends said that I was just bringing my long-term garden success into my new apartment.

I tried a few more; got a few a gifts, mostly phalaenopsis and a couple of Intergenetics (a real mystery term at the time). I kept them all alive and got fair blooming success. Now, if you look at my profile you'll see I have bought one of nearly every basic kind that has a chance in an apartment.

I have nice, medium light in my dining room window all afternoon, and very bright light diffused through the pebbled glass of my bathroom window.

So, I'm off. I had told myself I didn't miss my very large garden my partner and I created and then sold with the house after 18 years. But now that I'm falling into orchid culture rather precipitously, I'm feeling much of the aesthetic acquisitiveness I once had for every good rose I encountered. It's great fun, and nobody is shaking his or her head.

So, this seems like a good place to get my feet even wetter, and still be able to find some help in the real deep water.

John

PS: any further help on that poor Vanda?

:waving Welcome. You have a nice assortment of orchids there. Marilyn

Thanks for the welcome Grandma M
 

I hope to learn much here to keep my little sample collection thriving. They all seem pretty happy right now, except for the Vanda, but I have dormancy and repotting to learn over the next few months. Looking at my plant list, does anyone have near term suggestions?

I'm reading William Cullina's book carefully.

John

Welcome welcome, John! You will not only meet a lot of helpful people and learn a lot here at the OB, you'll have a lot of fun too. I REALLY like the Cullina book. While it was pricey, I've found the balance of info and his writing style really great.

Anywho...I'm afraid I can't offer you much help with the Vanda (seeing as I grow in my bedroom in Brooklyn, NY) but they do like an AMAZING amount of both light and water. I'm sure some of the Vandacious Floridians will pop up to say hello.

Cheers.

:hello John :waving :waving

Thanks for the welcome
 

I'm just going to pour on the water and the light, and hope that's what the Vanda needs. I read that they're high feeders, too.

John

:waving Welcome John!
If you need any help navigating around the OB, don't hesitate to ask :)
And please check out our Vanda forum - it is filled with tons of information from past threads - http://www.orchidboard.com/community...liance-others/

Hi John and welcome...I love vandas and although I have heard people grow them indoors successfully I wouldn't know how. I grow all my vandas outside and give them all the morning sun and afternoon sun I can possibly give them. I even had a very talented local grower come to my house and tell me it still wasn't enough but he was surprised how well they were growing. I also water them twice a day and fertilize once a week.
If I was in your shoes I would move them twice a day to the windows with the most light. I would try to water them but probably not as much since they probably will take longer to dry. It would be all trial and error. They will show you they are happy ( or not ) rather quickly.Keep an eye on the color of the roots.
It's been done before so Im sure you can do it too.

Response to Swamper's Vanda advice.
 

Well, I can put the darling in the living room window to get the earliest sun coming up. There is some fair light time there until about 11:00AM. Then I'll move it to the bathroom window on the west side of the apartment.

How close to the equater did Vandas evolve? It seems they would be truly happy only dead on the line.

I'll give this a go and check for related issues in the Vanda discussion.

Thanks,
John

Welcome John, not sure where in LA you're located but here are some local orchid societies that have quite a few knowledgeable members...

Orchid Society of Southern California
San Gabriel Valley Orchid Hobbyists, Inc.
Southern California Orchid Species Society