How to Secure Vanda in a Basket

Vanda is a shortened name for the vandaceous family of orchids. Because the vanda, like most other orchids, gets nutrients from air and water, it does not require soil to thrive. It is most often potted in moss or bark chips, which serves only to keep the plant moist. This makes vandas ideal plants to grow in hanging wooden baskets that resemble small crates. However, you must secure the vanda orchid firmly to the basket before hanging it.

Wooden basket
Pencil
Drill
1/4-inch drill bit
Bamboo stake
Vanda orchid
Twine
Lineman's pliers
Bark or lava rock (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a wooden basket that is the same diameter as the top leaves of the vanda orchid. For plants less than two years old, opt for a 3-inch-diameter basket. For those between two and four years old, use a 6-inch basket, and an 8-inch basket for plants older than four.
- 2
  Turn the basket upside down and draw a pencil mark on the center of it. If there is no wood in the exact center, choose a location as near the center as possible.
- 3
  Insert a 1/4-inch drill bit into a drill and place the tip directly on top of the pencil mark. Squeeze the trigger until you drill a hole all the way through the wooden slat.
- 4
  Push a bamboo stake though the hole until it pushes through the inside of the basket. If the hole is too small, insert the next largest bit size into the drill and widen it. The bamboo must be snug in the hole and pushing it through should require some force.
- 5
  Turn the basket over and the bamboo stake should now rise up through the middle. Insert the vanda orchid into the bottom of the basket, directly next to the bamboo stake. Tie the stem of the vanda to the stake using two or three pieces of twine.
- 6
  Cut off the top of the bamboo stake at the top of the vanda orchid using lineman's pliers to make the cut.

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