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Vandas in Ohio.....

Ohhhh Vandas....... I love the different colors, I love how they look, I love their foliage, but I do not love taking care of them. These orchids are the ones you usually see hanging up with their roots hanging out. These unique and alien like flowers are stunning, but their care is a little particular. They enjoy lots of air. These are epiphytes, so they are commonly up in trees or hanging off rocks in the wild. The fragrance these orchids can have is captivating. These orchids love high light, high humidity, and lots of fresh air. They can grow to be very large. I have seen 6 feet vandas with lots of keikis. These orchids love to have offshoots, called keikis. These will grow and bush out to become a very large and flower filled plant. The most common practice with these orchids is to have them basketed with their roots hanging out, but I have had to pot them in Ohio. The dry air and the 2 times a day of water is a bit much. I have always wanted to have Vanda orchids. Ever since I have seen them hanging in the botanical conservatories, I knew I had to have one. I found a few vendors that specialize in the Vandas. I ordered about 20 of them. This was a HUGE mistake. I found myself waking up at 4 in the morning and then watering them again, after I got home from school. This was starting to wear me down. I had all my rhynchostylis potted up, and that was working out for me, so I decided to by some very large terracotta pots, and I potted them up in large chunky bark. Honestly, I feel like the bark is still a little too small and may hold a little too much water. Since potting my vandas, my life has been much more relaxed. I water them once a week, maybe two times versus the usually 14 times a week. I wish you all luck on your Vanda orchid endeavors. Here are a few tips to help you remember their care..... 1. They love lots of air, so make sure that you don't let them sit in water. Root rot will occur. 2. They are high light orchids (rhynchostylis types are lower light vandas) I have mine in a south and west facing window, so they receive a lot of bright direct light in the afternoon. 3. They are havy feeders. I weakly feed often and use plain water once a week to really allow the salts on the orchid to rinse away 4. If you live in a climate that has very low humidity, try potting them in terracotta with very large bark chunks 5. Air movement is important to prevent fungal root infections and phyllosticta fungi 6. They love fresh water. I have had better luck since I have kept my water PH at around 5.8-6
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