Aimee please share your secrets on what you did to cause this to happen.?? I've had it happen but making it happen is another story. I have Vandas pushing 7 feet and would sure be nice to have more plants rather than more height!!! So ungainly and prone to wind damage when they get too tall. I"ve tried clipping out the growing tip but usually results in a hunch back lol New growth just starting to the side of the clip and then resuming it's attempt to get even taller Would LOVE to be able to cause offsets.!! The worst IME are the strap leaf .Teretes or hybrids between being the easiest to prune to size so you get more plants Why in the world wouldn't you want it to offset??? They also flower and produce roots so result in a MUCH fuller, robust plant. gary

Hi Hazel, I think it all depends on the parentage of the Vanda in question. I've included a link to "that other orchid forum" because someone there asked the very same question. The response was 3 to 5 years. I don't think the number of leaves have anything to do with determining the age of a Vanda. Vandas can drop leaves in less than desirable growing conditions and they can sit dormant without putting out new leaves for long periods of time also - most likely for the same reason. Here's a quote from The University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Science' web site. "Vandas may grow to be very large plants, sometimes 10 to 12 feet high, but they grow very slowly. A plant two feet tall may be seven or eight years old." Everything I've read on Vandas say that mature Vandas get way too big for orchid hobbiests. Do you think that you may have Vanda Ascocenda hybrids? They are smaller plants at maturity. Here's another quote "Ascocenda, the intergeneric hybrid between Vanda and Ascocentrum, a fancier may find vanda-shaped flowers borne on plants about half the size of Vanda plants. Additionally, ascocendas are free-flowering in the warm months and possess flower colors ranging from lavender and purple to fiery yellow, orange and red." If your Vandas didn't arrive in bloom or with evidence of previous spikes than it may be hard to know if it's "near blooming size" or "blooming size". I hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: What age to Vanda's

I highly doubt its renanthera. Those are larger plants. That looks like Neofinetia falcata to me, or a hybrid thereof. It should grow just fine mounted since they are more tolerant of drying out than vandas. If you want to experiment with the vase, good luck to ya. Roots hitting the water shouldn't cause root rot. A trick people sometimes use is putting floral vials on root tips to help keep them hydrated, and I've personally heard stories of peoples vandas growing their roots down into their pool of all places! So yeah, shouldn't rot anything. As for the phal, unfortunately a spike coming from the center usually kills the phal because it originated from the apical meristem where leaves are supposed to come from. If you're lucky the plant will keiki off to the side, if you're willing to wait for it to grow. But it looks like your phal is a (eventual) gonner :(

Were you able to pull up the link? It answers most of your questions. I find it does well in sandy soil, though I always use black kow when planting to amend the soil. They are very drought tolerant. You may have overwatered? The plant I have is about 7feet I will guess. I haven't paid much attention to it's height. It is still in a pot. Kat