How to care for your Vanda

The Vanda is a tropical orchid that needs warmth, enough water and plenty of natural light. Our Vandas are supplied without potting soil, with free aerial roots. Depending on the version, you hang the plant up or place it on the table stand supplied. The roots must be able to breathe freely.

Location and temperature

  • Choose a spot with plenty of natural light. Enough light supports growth and flowering.
  • A room temperature between 18 and 27 °C matches ANSU's care guidelines.
  • In summer, avoid strong direct sun: it can scorch the leaves.
  • Make sure there is air circulation, but do not place the plant above a radiator or directly in front of a warm or cold airflow.

Watering: a bath for the roots

  • Submerge the roots in a clean bucket or tub of water at about 20–24 °C. Keep the leaves and the heart of the plant above the water.
  • Let the roots take up water for about 30 minutes. Then let the plant drain well before you hang it back up or put it back on the stand. Do not leave the roots standing in water permanently.
  • The roots take up water and store it temporarily. How quickly they dry out again depends on light, temperature, humidity and air circulation.
  • As a guideline, ANSU mentions watering twice a week in sunny, warm weather and once a week in cloudy, cool weather. For a Vanda with freely hanging roots this is not a fixed schedule: check daily whether the roots have already dried out. In a warm, dry environment more frequent watering may be needed.
  • Many healthy roots turn greener when wet and greyer or silvery as they dry. Use this as a clue, together with how moist the roots actually are, not as the only measure.

Indoors with the heating on

In a heated home, freely hanging roots can dry out quickly. So adapt the care to the conditions instead of only following a fixed weekly schedule.

  • Check the roots every morning. If they are already dry, consider whether an extra watering is needed.
  • If needed, you can mist the roots in the morning with water at room temperature. See this as a supplement, not as an automatic replacement for a proper watering.
  • Do not leave water in the heart of the plant or between the leaves. Give the plant enough time and air circulation to dry before evening.
  • Keep it away from radiators and other sources of hot, dry air.

Feeding

  • Following ANSU's care guideline, add a balanced liquid orchid fertiliser to the water once a month.
  • For the dosage, follow the instructions on the fertiliser packaging.

After flowering

  • When all the flowers have dropped, you can cut off the spent flower stem.
  • Enough light is important for new flowering. Depending on the conditions, the plant can flower again after a few months; a fixed timeframe is not guaranteed.
  • To encourage this, ANSU advises placing the plant for a few weeks in a slightly cooler, bright spot, never below 15 °C. Avoid sudden temperature changes and keep adjusting water and feeding to the conditions.

The Vanda as a cut flower

The tips below apply to cut flowers and flower stems, not to the care of the living plant.

  • A single flower can be used in a small water tube for a corsage, bouquet or flower arrangement. Check the water regularly.
  • With suitable cut-flower food, Vanda flowers can stay beautiful for a long time. How long they last depends on freshness and conditions.
  • ANSU advises laying a cut flower stem whose flowers are drooping in water overnight to refresh it. Recovery is not guaranteed.
  • For storing Vanda cut flowers, ANSU mentions a temperature of 16–25 °C.

Do you have questions about your Vanda? Get in touch with us: we will help you personally.