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 :(

Thanks - I could mount it on a small half of a coconut husk - but I am tempted by the vase. I saw on orchidboard a long thread about someone in the UK that grows and blooms Vandas in vases on a windowsill in north England... i think the vase with a bit of water at the bottom could provide more humidity and air exchange. The plant was in bad shape the guy that sold it to me said. It had 2 leaves only. I cut some bad roots and anyway seems to have new root growth.

Re the phal... well I bought if for a dollar at Lowes - no big deal. strange that costa farms would sell a Phal with a terminal spike - anyway I think 99 % of people that buy orchids at Lowes treat them as annuals - if not actually as cut flowers with some roots left over!

I wouldn't give up on the phal. It looks to be a healthy plant and perhaps it will throw a basal kiekie.

Hello stephfix, You can certainly grow your vanda using the vase method. I bought mine over a year ago and have no other method suitable. I made the mistake of watering into the vase and then draining but found the vases were getting an awful green slime inside. Now I remove the plants and dunk them for half an hour or so twice a week into tepid water if the weather is hot and also add a little orchid fertilizer every week into the water.
This has worked for me as after a full years cycle three of the vandas are coming back into flower and I had never grown this type of orchid before.
Hope this helps.
Hazel.
{{gwi:142055}}

that looks great. do you use supplemental lighting for the Vanda to bloom?
nice window.
where are you in the UK? winter days must be quite short!

anyway I was reading about water culture - have you ever tried it?

stefano

Here is a link that might be useful: water culture

Hello Stefano, firstly let me apologise for mis-spelling your user name!
No I have no supplementary lighting at all. The window is south facing and receives full sun (when there is any). I live in the West Midlands which is a little north of Birmingham right in the heart of England.
The winter days are dark and quite cold,certainly below freezing at night time so I can't put the vandas into my greenhouses. The house is centrally heated and so my plumerias have to come indoors too when the weather closes in. I suppose you could say I do use water culture already in a small way as I too add the nutrients to the water in the sink I soak the vandas in.
Hazel.

i do not think vanda will do well sitting in water....