The Blue Vanda is native to Northeast India, Myanmar, Thailand and south-west China. For the first time, plants were discovered on the Khasi hills in north-east India, and then found in the mountainous areas of Burma and northern Thailand. They usually grow high on the rough bark of little-leafed trees, therefore they are exposed to full sun, rain and wind. Their roots grow on a dry, rough bark deprived of mosses and lichens and therefore they dry out very quickly. The most common are at heights of 910-1520 m, but in Thailand grown plants grow well in natural conditions in Chiang Mai at an altitude of 340 m.
Vanda coerulea orchid, also called as The Blue Vanda, Vanda caerulescens, Vanda coerulea delicata, Vanda coerulea f. delicata, Vanda coerulea f. luwangalba, Vanda coerulea f. rogersii, Vanda coerulea var. rogersii, is a species of the genus Vanda. This species was described by William Griffit and Lindley in 1847.
IDENTIFY VANDA COERULEA ORCHID
The Blue Vanda is native to Northeast India, Myanmar, Thailand and south-west China. For the first time, plants were discovered on the Khasi hills in north-east India, and then found in the mountainous areas of Burma and northern Thailand. They usually grow high on the rough bark of little-leafed trees, therefore they are exposed to full sun, rain and wind. Their roots grow on a dry, rough bark deprived of mosses and lichens and therefore they dry out very quickly. The most common are at heights of 910-1520 m, but in Thailand grown plants grow well in natural conditions in Chiang Mai at an altitude of 340 m.
Vanda coerulea orchid is a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing, monopodial epiphyte, which can reach 75-150 cm long and 50 cm wide, with very stout stems carrying coriaceous, ligulate, distichous, conduplicate, obliquely tridentate apically leaves. The leaves are 8-25 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. They are usually yellow-green, with deep grooves on the upper surface, have a bulge on the underside, and their tips are unevenly distributed. Leaves growing at the bottom fall after a few years.
This Vanda species blooms in the fall on an axillary, erect or suberect, 2' (60 cm) long, laxly few to several flowered inflorescence with long-lasting flowers. The flowers are extremely variable in size, shape and color. Typical petals of both whorls are pale blue with darker veins forming the mesh. However, they can also be dark blue, white or even pink. Darker lines are not always present. The small lip usually has a very dark purple-blue central plot with whitish side plots. The inner whorl flakes are often twisted and consequently the bottom surface is facing forward.
GROW AND CARE VANDA COERULEA ORCHID
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Vanda coerulea orchid needs a light level of 30000-40000 lux. That plants grow well in almost full sun. However, in a natural habitat, a large cloud cover causes a significant reduction in the amount of light reaching. This suggests that cultivated plants should be slightly shaded in the afternoon hours in the summer. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time. Long, dark green leaves indicate too little light. Too much light causes the leaves to be short, pale, yellow-green and not fully unfold.
Temperature:
The Blue Vanda is a plant with moderate thermal requirements. In summer, the average daytime temperatures are 24-25 ° C and the night 18 ° C, with an amplitude of 6-7 ° C. In spring, the average day temperature is 27-29 ° C, night 16-17 ° C, with a daily amplitude of 13-18 ° C. In winter the average day temperature is 22-24 ° C, the night 7-8 ° C, which gives a daily difference of 13-16 ° C. In crops in Chiang Mai (Thailand) plants adapt to winter temperatures around 6 ° C higher than it is due to climatic data.
Humidity:
This species needs a humidity of 80-85% from summer to autumn, decreases to 50-55% in winter and spring.
Substrate and growing media:
Plants are usually grown in hanging pots or slatted baskets, filled with loose, coarse-grained, quickly drying ground. Sometimes plants are grown with only a small amount of airy substrate, such as charcoal, wine corks or large pieces of bark of cork oak, so that only keep the plants in the right position. Roots should be allowed to grow and not be cut to give the plant an orderly appearance.
To avoid the accumulation of mineral deposits during the period of strong fertilization, it is recommended to rinse the substrate every few weeks. Flushing is especially important there, where the water is strongly mineralized. Rinsing containers is a simple operation. First, you should normally water the plant to dissolve the accumulated salts, and after about an hour, rinse the substrate with water equal to twice the volume of the container. The second watering rinses the salts dissolved during the first watering.
Watering:
During the period of growth, during the hottest, sunny days, the roots of cultivated plants should be constantly moist, which requires several sprays during the day. In the autumn, watering should be gradually reduced.
Fertilizer:
During active growth, the plants should be fertilized every week or every two weeks with 1/4-1 / 2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. You can use fertilizers with equal proportions of NPK during almost the entire growth period or a fertilizer with a higher nitrogen content, e.g. 30-10-10, for fertilizing young plants or planting in bark. There are some growers who recommend the use of nitrogen-poor fertilizers during the late summer and autumn, and those rich in phosphorus. Low level of nitrogen in relation to phosphorus slows down the growth of new increments, but the plants strengthen before winter and have a chance for better flowering in the next season.
Rest period and repotting:
Vanda coerulea orchid needs a necessary cool period of rest in winter. In cultivation you can not refrain from watering plants in winter, but they should be very limited. Plants need occasional sprinkling in the early morning and gentle watering once every two weeks. Watering is most beneficial during bright, sunny weather. During 1-2 months in late winter or early spring, the plants should be kept in slightly drier conditions and only occasionally sprinkled.
Whenever the amount of water decreases, the fertilization must also be reduced or eliminated. The light should be kept as high as possible, so as not to burn the leaves. In winter, it is sometimes difficult to provide the necessary large amount of light, especially in regions where the cloudy weather prevails. In this case, natural light should be replenished with artificial.
Repotting is done after flowering, when the plant is at rest, that is to say in spring, every two years.
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