vanda care

Question

Is 75° enough heat in the winter for a vanda? I just bought a strap leaf vanda recently and it has lost all of it’s blooms. I cut the stem back as per instructed and am keeping the roots watered twice a week. I bought it in a huge glass vase, fill it half full with warm water and leave it for about 30 minutes before pouring out the water. I also mist the leaves early each morning and keep two saucers of rocks in water next to it. I have it sitting in a southeast window and it only gets a few minutes of direct sunlight per day. We live in Charlotte, NC and it gets very hot in the summer and can get very cold in the winter.

Our thermostat stays on 74° during the day and 68 to 70° at night. Is this warm enough or should I hang the vanda higher in our cathedral ceiling to get more light and heat? Also, I have read several opinions of fertilizing a vanda and don’t know whether to feed once every two weeks, once a month or every two months in the winter and if 10-10-10 or 20-20-20 or even 11-35-15 is the proper balance. Would you please answer these questions for me? Thank you so much for all of your good info. I do really well with phals but this is my first vanda. I want to keep her happy and blooming.

Answer 1

Vanda Orchids are heavy feeders. You can feed a high Nitrogen fertilizer in the spring. This should be a 30:10:10
A general all purpose fertilizer during the summer, and use a bloom booster formula in the fall.
No need to feed during the winter.

I do think you need to repot the orchid into a new growing situation.
They normally grow in a wooden basket that is suspended, this is called Basket Culture.
The orchids are air loving plants and do not require growing medium.
You can gently attach the roots to the wood slated basket with plant wire and the orchid will began to attach itself to the basket.

Here is a link with care information.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/orchids/vanda-orchid-care.htm