I got a 8-10" cutting today and right now I'm soaking it in kelp extract and water. Should I soak it overnight and pot it up in the morning? I know this is probably the worst time start it from cuttings but it does have 3 aerial roots. I could place it near my grow light where the temperature gets to about 79 and the humidity is around 50-60% on average.

Also, should I dip it in root hormone?

Why are you soaking it? Is it really dry and wilted? Soaking in kelp extract and water? That's a new one on me. What is it supposed to do?

When I got a similar cutting a couple months ago, I was told by the grower to drop it into a pot with a little bit of Spanish moss and water it when the moss looked thirsty. But, in my greenhouse, it is watered daily. So far so good. Neither it, nor my Miss Joaquim, has roots on the bottom of the stem. All the roots are aerial, so I wouldn't use rooting hormone.

I was hoping the hormones in the kelp would help stimulate root growth. I also wanted to hydrate the cutting a little since it spent days in a box. I may put mine in a pot of sphagnum to see if it will root? I'll use a clay pot.

Cameron, Miss Joaquin is NOT an easy plant to grow due to the fact that it is essentially a terete leaved Vanda. Sun, sun, sun, sun, and then more sun.
What exactly do you mean by aerial roots? If you are talking about randomly placed roots that have sprouted along the main stem of the plant? That is normal. Once it is harvested as a cutting, it is not going to sprout roots at the site of the cutting. This type of plant does not do that.
If you want to grow it, I would not pot it nor would I soak it. I would just try mounting it on a tall piece of either cork or a tree fern totem. You could also try putting it in a clay pot with very coarse media. Keep it in somewhat reduced light until you see either new roots coming OR lengthening of the existing roots.
These are extremely high light plants which when established, you may be able to provide but it is my experience that they don't do well as small cuttings.
These are plants that grow best by growing on the sun!!! That is how much light they need. Although they are Vandas, they do not produce roots the way Gordon Dillon or a Dr. Anek does. An 8-12" cutting presents a difficult challenge.

Thanks Bill. The roots are randomly along the stem. I think I have some big pieces of charcoal I could use if I go the clay pot route. I'll be sure to keep it somewhat shaded location until I see new roots. I probably should have gotten an already rooted plant instead of a cutting. I hope I can keep it alive at least until I can put it outside in Spring. I dimmed my grow light because it was scorching the leaves of other orchids. I wonder if it's still dim enough to place the cutting under?

It will be fine.
It is a cutting. You are just trying to keep it alive through winter and that can happen in every situation except heavy shade. So I would not be concerned.
Instead buddy I think that you need a bright spot, good humidity in the room and do not let moisture stay in direct contact with the plant. If you have a spray bottle with just plain water, you can mist it several times a day if you want to. That should help.

Ok I'll place it near my grow light where it will get some light and humidity. I'll have my spray bottle ready too.

Way to go!!

I was trying to say less is more. This first photo is Miss Joaquim rooted into a pot of Epiphronitis veitchii. It started in a pot with just a weirdly wispy Tillandsia for company but, climbed into the Epiphronitis and decided to stay - the part in the pot eventually died.


This one is Papilionanthe teres. On advice from the grower, I dropped it into a pot with a bit of Spanish Moss (not sphagnum). After it grows a couple more aerial roots, I think I will attach it to a wire and hang it in more sun. I've only had it for a couple months but its grown about 4 inches.

Thanks Bill!
Daisy those look amazing! I wish I had some live Spanish moss but I had received some a few years ago and it died in transit. I probably need to order a tree fern totem or cork bark but until then I may just use some pieces of charcoal in a clay pot.

I potted it up. It's in very coarse charcoal with a very thin layer of sphagnum moss for a little humidity. Wish me luck