Bloom Event - Big Giant Vanda

Its taken me ages to get around to writing about this Vanda. It was given to me a few years ago, along with a few other bits and pieces. Unbelievably, it doesn't have a name. It is quite different from the other big blue Vanda I grow, with flatter flowers, and the V. coerulea trait of lateral petals twisting to the horizontal being almost entirely absent from this plant. It was quite a big plant when it was given to me at a couple of feet tall, but it has almost doubled in size since then. I know exactly how much it has grown since I got it because not long after it entered my care I had a bit of a scare that it had got crown rot. It hadn't, but the leaves that were emerging from the crown at that time were damaged, and they are still present.

The blue colour and the tessellations are both outstanding. This one is much bluer than V. blue magic, although the flowers are marginally smaller. They are more than made up for in quantity, though, with this spike bearing 14 flowers. There would have been more, but the tip blasted, probably because it is quite windy at the top of the room it grows in. Still, its an impressive show, and I think there would have only been one extra flower if it hadn't.

Yes, I know it would have made a better photo against a black background as I do for more normal sized orchids, but this one was just too awkward. Still, you get the general idea. I've thought before that a decent photo of this in full bloom would make a nice base for a tattoo design. It is quite rare to see Vanda this sort of size, so I'm quite proud of this plant although I have to say that some of my other Vanda are growing quite quickly, too.  Vanda do have a (not entirely unfounded) reputation of being difficult to grow, and I have had rather mixed experiences with them in the past. I think I have it fairly sussed now, though. The first point to bear in mind is that Vanda like warm temperatures (yes, even hybrids of the cooler growing V. coerulea), and bright light all year round. This is obviously a problem for UK growers in winter, and the plants respond to this by going into semi-dormancy. They stop producing new leaves and the root tips cover over with velamen. This needn't cause too many problems provided watering is reduced accordingly but it is hard to balance plants being kept dry enough to prevent root rot and damp enough to stop them drying out (which they also don't like).

You can see the plant clearly doesn't mind being grown in a pot (which is starting to look decidedly small for the size of the plant). You can also just about see the couple of shorter leaves about halfway up the plant that show how big it was when I got it. Vanda grow quicker than you might imagine. I definitely think the key to getting them performing properly is keeping them growing through the winter, which means growing under lights in the UK. They certainly bloom much more often that way. I have far less Vanda than I used to, but there is nearly always a couple in bloom, summer or winter.

The other thing to not about Vanda is that once they are upset, it takes them ages to settle down again, and many plants are lost during this time. The key is definitely even conditions. Remember they come from areas that don't have seasons as we do, so they don't respond well to variations in temperature and light. I find that they will take quite a lot of water while they are growing, but are very intolerant of wet conditions. Pond pots seem to work well, but I struggle to find them the right shape to grow anything bigger than a modest sized plant.