i bid on an orchid and won. vanda gorden dillon x vanda liz letter. i'm not sure what to do with it. how often should i water? how do i feed it? thanks. susan

Congratulations. You bid on a wonderful hybrid with the capability to produce 7-9, 5 1/2" round flat flowers.
The keys to Vanda growing:
Give them as much direct sun as you can. Move it gradually into full as the temperatures warm. They like temperatures between 60 and 85 degrees. They can take extremes for short periods of time.
When watering in warm, sunny conditions, they like to be watered almost every day.
They like fertilizer. Perhaps once a week in warm weather. You make the most of good weather by summering them outdoors and give them as much sun as you can over the winter. Not bright light but some sun.

In short they like warm, wet and fertilized. When they are happy they bloom more then once a year. They get 6-9 flowers. But when they do not receive optimum care, they sulk, they bloom only once in a while.

Join us here in the Orchid Forums. There is so much to learn.
Visit aos.org and go to the membership section above where you can download a printable pdf file on Vanda care.

These are a couple different vandaceous orchids if mine....they are really a fun species to grow. I water mine with a hose (in a greenhouse) but you can easily water yours with the little hose sprayer on your kitchen sink. They need to hang, not sit on the table, so that the roots can hang down

thanks, guys. so HOW do i feed them? just put the feed in the mister? susan

Yeah. Water soluble is best. I myself use Miracle Grow LOL I know some people buy special orchid food but I never have in over 30 years

You can not foliar feed orchids!

You can use a water soluble fertilizer say 18-18-18 or 20-20-20. Half teaspoon per gallon. Plus you can't mist a Vanda. You need to go to a sink and really water until the roots turn green!

I don't foliar feed. I spray the roots directly. I load up a pump up sprayer and go round and hit ALL the epiphytes!

BigBill said:You can not foliar feed orchids!

Plus you can't mist a Vanda.

Learned this the hard way The 3 Vandas I just lost ALL developed Crown Rot while overwintering indoors..... most likely from me misting them once a day (to try to keep Humidity up)

_ONLY mist the roots !!

Yeah I don't get water in the leaf axils if I can avoid it, I water the roots directly

I think it has to do with their stomata. Either it is because they are mostly found on the undersides of the leaves or when the stomata open they don't easily allow water to enter.

Anyway, with their roots going from light gray to green, it is a bit easier to determine that you have watered the roots.

how's this?



all of the roots have turned green. and i guess when it's time to feed, i'll just add fertiler to water. (and hope it doesn't kill me when i don't clean my sink well.)

i'll wipe leaves with cotton swab to be sure they are good and dry.

anything else? susan

Enjoy!

more questions.

i hung this vanda in a south facing window. it should get several hours (3-4) of morning sun. not sure about afternoon sun yet. assuming not too much afternoon sun, is this ok? too much sun?

That looks great, Susan. You really can't give a Vanda too much sun, once it is acclimated. Mine are outside, in Florida year round in as much sun as I can find for them. (Trees are my problem)

Humidity is another issue, though. They really like a lot of humidity as well as having their roots doused every day. When I have to bring my orchids indoors for a cold spell here, I hang damp towels near the orchids to boost the humidity (it's good for the people, too, when we run the heat in the house).

thanks so much. i seem to be worrying alot about this little guy. good to know about the sun.

Yes I try to hang all of mine in places that are as unobstructed by shadow as possible. The terete ones (ones that have leaves that are more cylindrical like a pencil) grow way up in the upper reaches of the greenhouse and get the best light. The strap leaves grow farther down

You can not give a Vanda too much sun! No such thing.