Vanda - Orchids - Cultivation techniques and main species of the Vanda Orchid
OUR ORCHIDS FRIENDS
Pages 1 -2
Species: see page 2
To the genre Vanda about eighty species originating from the Malay Archipelago, China, India, Australia, Indonesia, including some species originating in the Himalayan areas, belong.
Their name derives from the Indian language which means "pleasing to people for their fragrance, shape and color".
They are the most orchids EPIPHITE that exist and in some cases even LITHOPHITE to development MONOPODIAL and are devoid of pseudobulbs.
The leaves can have different shapes; in fact, according to their conformation, they are classified into three large groups which also correspond to different cultural needs:
- Vanda with flat leaves, ribbon-shaped: with a V section where we find theVanda sanderiana, the Vanda coerulea, Vanda luzonica,Vanda merrillii, Vanda tricolor, Vanda dearei etc. They are orchids that are better suited than others to be reared at home even if they need sun in the morning to be shaded during the rest of the day in the summer months;
- Vanda with cylindrical leaves: In this group we findVanda teres, Vanda hookeriana etc. These species of Vanda to grow they need a large amount of light and in fact grow very well in Hawaii and Florida. They are plants that must be grown outside. At home they have little chance of surviving;
- Vanda with intermediate leaves: between ribbon-like and cylindrical.
The roots of Vanda they are large and fleshy and develop from the stem and are rarely branched. They grow free in the air and this allows them, in their natural environment, to be able to access all the atmospheric humidity possible. Therefore they do not like vases.
They are the ideal orchids for hanging baskets.
The inflorescences of the Vanda they are spiked and produce from 10 to 12 flowers and appear along the flower axis in sequence and last several weeks.
Flowering can occur throughout the year with greater peaks during spring and early summer.
The flowers of Vanda their sepals are the same and very open, attenuated at the base. The petals are of the same shape as the sepals, the labellum is a spur, trilobed and of variable shape from species to species.
They are plants that grow continuously throughout the year and love the light. In fact, they need a large amount of light and if the conditions are optimal, they can flower up to three times a year with blooms that last several weeks.
The Vanda they prefer to be raised on suspended wooden baskets and with not too much soil between the roots and the basket and with constant humidity and fertilizations throughout the year.
Most of the Vanda loves direct sunlight and some can tolerate it all day long. In particular, the tubular-leaved Vandas prefer direct sunlight more and for a longer time than the ribbon-like Vandas.
There Vanda it can produce, usually from the main stem, lateral shoots that develop into new seedlings that will emit roots and develop independently from the mother plant (commonly called keiki) which, once grown, can be detached from the mother plant and raised independently.
The orchids Vanda they lend themselves very well to the crossings not only between the different species of the same genus but also with similar genera and this has allowed to create a great quantity of hybrids with the most varied shapes and colors.
Hybrids obtained from crosses between Vanda x Ascocentrum (fami (diorchid family that groups about a dozen epiphytic orchids originating from India, Nepal and Taiwan, similar in appearance to the Vanda, but with much smaller dimensions and less extreme cultivation requirements). The hybrids obtained are calledAscocenda, and have flowers similar to the Vanda but retain the size and cultivation needs of theAscocentrum which are very limited.
TEMPERATURE AND VENTILATION
As a general principle, almost all species of Vanda they are warm greenhouses ie high temperatures and a lot of humidity.
The thermal limits are therefore temperatures between 28-30 ° C in summer and 20-25 ° C at night; in winter 15-18 ° C dur