Source: R.F. Orchids, June 2019.
(V. Crownfox Keylime 'Hercules' AM/AOS x V. tessellata 'Crownfox Green' AM/AOS)
This plant has bloomed again, in the same month as last year. It has put on a number of new leaves over the year and I count 9 segments between spikes. Seems to be an unsustainable rate of growth for this grow space. Thankfully, it has a small side growth at the base because I am entertaining the idea of cutting it in half... working up the courage. The problem is I don't have many (0) roots on the upper portion of the plant to work with.
My initial thought is to hit it with root growth hormones to see if I can jump start new roots. Next, I want to make a partial cut into the mid section at the point I want to divide. My thinking is a partial cut would be enough to interrupt the current growth pattern, which would send a chemical signal to the plant that it has lost its lead and needs to allocate resources to start a new lead. Hopefully, the top portion of the plant will get the memo, and push out some roots! In theory, the partial cut would still allow both sections to somewhat function while the plant segments adjust.
The second idea, is to just make a complete cut. I would take the top cutting and flip it upside-down to grow it. I have heard (AOS webinars) if you cut a vanda in half and flip it upside-down for a few weeks, it stimulates more root growth. But after talking to Bart Motes, he seems to think these top cuts with no few roots rarely survive. I'm open to ideas or others experiences with dividing vandas, Thanks!



(V. Crownfox Keylime 'Hercules' AM/AOS x V. tessellata 'Crownfox Green' AM/AOS)
This plant has bloomed again, in the same month as last year. It has put on a number of new leaves over the year and I count 9 segments between spikes. Seems to be an unsustainable rate of growth for this grow space. Thankfully, it has a small side growth at the base because I am entertaining the idea of cutting it in half... working up the courage. The problem is I don't have many (0) roots on the upper portion of the plant to work with.
My initial thought is to hit it with root growth hormones to see if I can jump start new roots. Next, I want to make a partial cut into the mid section at the point I want to divide. My thinking is a partial cut would be enough to interrupt the current growth pattern, which would send a chemical signal to the plant that it has lost its lead and needs to allocate resources to start a new lead. Hopefully, the top portion of the plant will get the memo, and push out some roots! In theory, the partial cut would still allow both sections to somewhat function while the plant segments adjust.
The second idea, is to just make a complete cut. I would take the top cutting and flip it upside-down to grow it. I have heard (AOS webinars) if you cut a vanda in half and flip it upside-down for a few weeks, it stimulates more root growth. But after talking to Bart Motes, he seems to think these top cuts with no few roots rarely survive. I'm open to ideas or others experiences with dividing vandas, Thanks!


