How to Bloom Vandas

Choose a substrate particularly suited to vandas. Vandas are epiphytes, meaning that they naturally rely on other plants as support without being parasitic. The ideal growing medium for them is a combination of moss, tree bark and nutrients. Ask at your garden store for an epiphyte blend.

Plant vandas under a tree with a thin canopy or under a lanai. The main reason for failure to bloom is insufficient sunshine, but sunlight must be filtered to prevent burning.

Water vandas daily. Because they have no bulb, they have no means of retaining water. Look for bright green roots with some shiny tips as an indication that the vandas are getting enough water. Mottled green roots indicate thirst.

Keep vandas in temperatures of not less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This is particularly important even in some warmer regions in which nighttime temperatures may drop dramatically. Monitor the weather forecast and bring vandas indoors to protect them from cold.

Fertilize weekly throughout the year as vandas are fast growers. This can be increased to twice weekly during the main growing season, which runs from late spring through summer.

Spray twice per month with a fungicide and spray new buds with insecticide. Fungus and insects can ruin an otherwise well-maintained vanda and prevent blooming.