Is anyone in this group successfully growing especially Vanda's
outside in the tropics. If so, what is your fertilizer frequency, and
also are they exposed to full sun all day or are they shaded at times.
I am very new to growing orchids, and reading literature made for
cooler climates don't seem helpful. With no winter, do we change
fertilizers and water anytime during the year. Finally how do they
handle the rainy season, any special preperations. I many interested
in growing in baskets.
Regards
Curtis

I suggest you these all ideas:
Sunlight: shaded 30-40%
Water: 1 time/2thimes a day.(if you use wooden frame)
Fertilizers: use chemical fertilizerNPK=7-6-19 every 1 week.
Regards,
Dicky



"TheBoss"
...
Is anyone in this group successfully growing especially Vanda's
outside in the tropics. If so, what is your fertilizer frequency, and
also are they exposed to full sun all day or are they shaded at times.
I am very new to growing orchids, and reading literature made for
cooler climates don't seem helpful. With no winter, do we change
fertilizers and water anytime during the year. Finally how do they
handle the rainy season, any special preperations. I many interested
in growing in baskets.
Regards
Curtis

I'm in Pennsylvania - hardly the tropics - but do grow in a greenhouse. My
vandaceous orchids are in wooden baskets of charcoal, and are hung from the
roof trusses, getting no shade but providing it for the plants below. They
are fed with Dyna-Gro 5-9-7 plus Pro-Tekt totaling 200-250 ppm at every
watering, one a week in the winter, three times a week in the summer, and
misted heavily with pure water almost daily in the summer months, on those
days when they don't get fed.

--

Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids
http://www.firstrays.com
Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info!


"TheBoss" wrote in message
...
Is anyone in this group successfully growing especially Vanda's
outside in the tropics. If so, what is your fertilizer frequency, and
also are they exposed to full sun all day or are they shaded at times.
I am very new to growing orchids, and reading literature made for
cooler climates don't seem helpful. With no winter, do we change
fertilizers and water anytime during the year. Finally how do they
handle the rainy season, any special preperations. I many interested
in growing in baskets.
Regards
Curtis

You don't say where you are outside the tropics. I'm in South Carolina but I
agree with Ray's regimen except for the shade. I also grow in pumice rock in
wooden baskets rather than in charcoal. Here everything needs some shade
sometime. In the area of the greenhouse for vandas, we use no shade in
Dec-Jan; then roll out the 25% shade until May; then 50% on top of that
until Sept; and then reverse the order. The teretes don't get the additional
50% in summer. All get misted twice a day April to Oct; once a day other
months except twice a week in Dec-Jan.
Gary

"Ray @ First Rays Orchids" wrote in message
...
I'm in Pennsylvania - hardly the tropics - but do grow in a greenhouse.
My
vandaceous orchids are in wooden baskets of charcoal, and are hung from
the
roof trusses, getting no shade but providing it for the plants below.
They
are fed with Dyna-Gro 5-9-7 plus Pro-Tekt totaling 200-250 ppm at every
watering, one a week in the winter, three times a week in the summer, and
misted heavily with pure water almost daily in the summer months, on those
days when they don't get fed.

--

Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids
http://www.firstrays.com
Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info!


"TheBoss" wrote in message
...
Is anyone in this group successfully growing especially Vanda's
outside in the tropics. If so, what is your fertilizer frequency, and
also are they exposed to full sun all day or are they shaded at times.
I am very new to growing orchids, and reading literature made for
cooler climates don't seem helpful. With no winter, do we change
fertilizers and water anytime during the year. Finally how do they
handle the rainy season, any special preperations. I many interested
in growing in baskets.
Regards
Curtis

If you are looking for literature on growing orchids in the tropics, look
for the book by the same name, published by the Orchid Society of South East
Asia. You can get it from Amazon, as well as Timber Press

Generally, vandas need high humidity and they dislike having their roots
suffocated. The best vandas are grown in Thailand, over water. The roots
dangle 4 or 5 feet and just touch the surface of the water.

The amount of shade required depends on the type of vanda you intend to
grow. The terete vandas require almost full sun whereas the strap leaved
vandas are very happy with 50% shading. As mentioned, I don't think it is
the sun as much as the humidity that is the determining factor. Try growing
your vandas in baskets over trays of water.

Regards

Siew Hong




On 4/25/03 7:14 PM, in article , "Dicky"
wrote:

I suggest you these all ideas:
Sunlight: shaded 30-40%
Water: 1 time/2thimes a day.(if you use wooden frame)
Fertilizers: use chemical fertilizerNPK=7-6-19 every 1 week.
Regards,
Dicky



"TheBoss"
...
Is anyone in this group successfully growing especially Vanda's
outside in the tropics. If so, what is your fertilizer frequency, and
also are they exposed to full sun all day or are they shaded at times.
I am very new to growing orchids, and reading literature made for
cooler climates don't seem helpful. With no winter, do we change
fertilizers and water anytime during the year. Finally how do they
handle the rainy season, any special preperations. I many interested
in growing in baskets.
Regards
Curtis