Growing Vandas and Ascocendas

Vandas and ascocendas grow with style among other plants at the American Orchid Society headquarters in Delray Beach, FL.

The greenhouse of a south Florida orchid grower provides a colorful example of vandas at their best.

Our Thai-style shadehouse proves that vandas can be grown beautifully with relatively little expense.  From National Orchid Society, to commercial grower, to enthusiastic hobbyist, the vanda growing recommendations remain the same:  High Light, Lots of Water, Lots of Food.

Jeremolly Vanda Homepage

Basic Culture

Aside from their beauty, vandaceous orchids are appealing plants to grow because they require no potting medium.  They thrive at warm temperatures, between 60 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  They benefit from daily watering in the spring, summer, and fall, and watering three-four times a week in the winter months.  We have found that most vandas thrive under higher light conditions than you would expect.  We provide higher rates of light, water, fertilizer, and hormones for our show quality collection.

• High Light – 40% shade cloth w/ high air movement
• High Water – 5-7 days a week total soaking of roots
• 20-20-20 fertilizer 4 x month, bloom booster 1 x month
• Rooting and growing hormones with micro-nutrients
• Do not disturb the plant roots! 

Advanced Tips

For the grower who has found the right light, the right fertilizer, and waters at least five times a week, it may be useful to explore some advanced growing ideas.

• Use KLN by DynaGrow – it is an outstanding rooting hormone that we use every two months.  KLN is pricey, but doubles our root productions and leads to better water and fertilizer uptake.  This leads to strong, free flowering plants with the best possible blooms.  More roots = Better plants
• Use a sugar solution for stress – when plants are heat stressed give them what they try to make already, Glucose!  Add about 1 cup of sugar per gallon of warm water directly to the roots.  Do not pour into medium, and pair this with a good fungicide drench.  We have saved some dying plants this way.
• Almost all of the great growers use Superthrive hormone supplement.  We have seen plants produce more new growth when applied during a regular growing regimen.

Troubleshooting

Most problems can be thwarted by providing high light, adequate water, air movement, and by keeping a sanitary growing area.  However, the occasional fungus creeps among us, and we must take immediate measures.

• Use Phizan 20 – This is a green house disinfectant used to drench your plants and growing area.  An ammonia form is a great gardening cleaner.  Also use clean cutting tools that have been fire disinfected.
• Fungacides protect your investment – We use Diathane M45, Captan, and Cleary.  These are no joke, so read the warnings, but they will help combat black rot, the Thai virus, and many other problems.  Since beginning the use of these products, we have never lost a vanda!  Use as needed and as prevention about every 2-3 months.