Vanda/Ascocenda with Paphs

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Roy

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Halls Gap,Western Victoria, Australia
Renewing my interest in Vandas & Ascocendas plus the fact I have no space left, here is a pic of my big plant collection plus the spike coming up on one of them which happens to be V.Roberts Delight "Black" which received an AM in the states this year I believe. There are spikes on 2 or 3 others that I can see also.
VandasAerides020-1.jpg

VandasAerides021-1.jpg
 
Looks good! Are you expecting a dark purple platter? How many of the vanda alliance do you have?
 
GReat! Could you please tell me your growing conditions? Thank you in advance...
Regards, Thanasis
 
Looks good! Are you expecting a dark purple platter? How many of the vanda alliance do you have?

Rose, I have 8 F/S Aerides, 8 F/S Ascocenda, 5 F/S Vandas, 2 Vascostylis and 20 seedling size Ascocenda seedlings inc 2 M/C's.
Plus 4 Angraecums, one eburneum which is over 3 foot tall. ( for sale )

The V. Roberts delight "Black" is supposed to be a very deep blue/black about 4 inch dia', it is by the pics anyway, time will tell. I will post pics.
 
GReat! Could you please tell me your growing conditions? Thank you in advance...
Regards, Thanasis

Thanasis, I grow them in a green house. It is heated but the temps can range from 10c to 30c ( coolers come on to stop it getting too hot )
I can't hold the humidity like being in the tropics so I grow them in pots with a very coarse pine bark mix only. I water them every one or two days in summer, once or twice a week in winter. They are fed 2 or 3 times a week in summer, once a week in winter. Growing them in pots, for me, keeps a little more moisture around the roots without keeping them wet. The light is a problem because of the Paphs, trying to get the happy medium so the vandas etc will flower and the Paphs not being too light. So far so good.
 
Well the time has come for the flowers on the spike in original post to open. I lost a couple of buds as I think the plants are still getting used to my conditions. I have found with the Vandas particularly that it could take 24 months. Theses are not quite there yet. The second plant in spike is looking much better. Here is the open flower from the spike in the second pic.
Vanda Robert's Delight 'Black'
DSCN0511.jpg

I'm begining to hate digital cameras, this color is totally wrong. The flower is actually "Blue/Black"
 
Gorgeous! I love vandas/ascdas....and the few that I have bloom more reliably than paphs....unfortunately I don't have room for more than the 4 that I have.....Eric
 
pretty colors, the Roberts Delight flower. I love the picture of your Vanda alliance collection part, still really small plants! The drama with Vandas is of course, that after a couple of years many of them become monster-sized! good luck!
Jean
 
Roy

That is a beautiful bloom. I love vandas and especially the deep colored blue ones. I love them but they don't seem to like me.

I have difficulty getting vandas to re-bloom for me. I have said mine think they are green foliage plants. I do have one Fuch's Gold 'Hildos' forming a bud now. It bloomed 3 years ago when I bought it and nothing since. Wish me luck on that one so it doesn't blast. It isn't blue but I still want to see it bloom under my growing conditions.

You said yours take a long time to adjust to your growing conditions, up to 24 months. That gives me some hope. The only one ever to re-bloom for me is Princess Mikasa 'Indigo'. I have Robert's Delight 'Garnet Beauty' which has never bloomed. I have had it since 4/19/05. I will give it another year, after that it will go to Orchid Heaven if it doesn't bloom by then.

I grow them under a HPS light, with a light mover, in my basement.
 
Grandma M, from my experience I think you may be better off with Ascocendas like the Princess Mikasa. Ascda seem to work better in a abnormal environment. Do you give them a big enough temperature drop to initiate the spikes or are they in a constant temp?? In my culture in another location, my plants used to get less water in winter and much cooler condtions than there culture suggests they should have but I had great success and one award. As I said, Ascocendas responded better all round.
 
The more you hear, the more your chances is of flowering Vandas.Our main cultivation revolves around paphs and Vandas. The African heat in summer allows us to grow Vandas outside, but low humidity cause a lot of spots on the leaves. Our winters are just to cold.We have space, and put up a tunnel,double plastic,40 meters long,24 m wide and highest point 6m. Over it is 40% shadecloth. The amount of light is a lot, but temp inside vary, on a 40c(outside) day like today it is 22c 1m from the wetwall, and 28c at the fan end.

Why this long description? Easy, we grow anything in there, from a few Masdavallia to slippers, up to half way down, and then Vandas.The Vandas are open root in basket, and watered twice a day in summer, everyday in winter.(Winter min inside this year in the middle of the structure was 2.9c, and we do no heating at this stage.) Fertilizer 2 1 2 via dosatron every 2 day, normal strengh.

Flowers? 4 to 5 spikes over the year, verry little in June,July, the coldest months.

My point? Dont pamper Vandas, they need all the light possible, very good air movement and a lot to eat.
Good luck!!!!!
 

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