Hi Cups, I'm not sure if you are specifically interested in your vases, but a really fun thing (and of course, cheap) is sweet potatoes. I had some that I intended to cook for Thanksgiving but didn't get to it, so i put them in a jar (Barilla pasta sauce, i think). Now it is rooting & sprouting, and will grow a really nice vine for a few months before it is completely spent. If you use the vases as you described, the sweet potato idea would still work, you would just need to put toothpicks in the sides to keep the potato from falling in the water. Just an idea... Janice

Currently I have only one picture to share with you. Vanda's in a vase work great. The link to the photo shows a Vanda in a vase. I prefer to fixate the plants in the vase using some wire that I wrap around the vase. I don't take them out with every watering. Just fill the vase and pour the water out after they soaked long enough. In this picture the plant is resting on some skewers. This way the plant still wiggles in the vase and roots get damaged every time you pour the water out of the vase. Each vase contains almost 3 gallons of water and I had to fill the vases every morning! All of them... and empty them off coarse. Not sure if I put mine back in vases this winter. During the summer mine play outdoors, bare root. One thing to keep in mind is that when the sun gets strong during spring, you might cook the roots that are in the vase, because of the magnifying effect of the vase. Also, you want the vase hight enough to keep the roots from the bottom of the vase and that the vase is wide enough to allow air circulation. Currently, the Vanda in the picture is flowering from 2 spikes with 15 blooms in total, each almost 5 inch across. Nicole Here is a link that might be useful:

I really appreciate all the input. Thank you. I just want to clarify that its actually quite dry at the top, i even been having to spray including the aerial roots which turned green from the silver. The 2/3 of the stem of that vase is water with the rocks. the last 1/3 of the stem is spagnum moss that is wet. so the roots are nowhere near the water, so the lack of drainage seems to be insignificant is it not? As long as the water level does not keep going up. Otherwise would have to find a way to siphon some out. Im also still not clear on the the orchids all together. 3 or 4. Is it not usually done because the roots would then become extremely entwined?

Hi, Julie, Yeah, the archives can be maddening. Who'd guess that the vase thing came up in the Ang spike thread? Also, there are other vase comments in the "Ghost Orchid idea" thread that's on the first page right now. Moi to moi gift giving - yep, did a bit of that today w/ 6 new orchid plants. Whooppee! I added to the Ang spike thread just now - there were questions and comments I missed, and those may be helpful to you. Because in the Ghost Orchid idea thread, Howard observed that my Ghost mount is growing algae, and because the opening to its vase is only 3.5," and because Clara said she's been growing her Ghosts and Chilos in regular light and air movement for several years, I moved the Ghost to the outside of the 7"x 8" vase. Hopefully, the algae will dry up. The Ghost gets sprayed down daily. For plants in the 7x8 vase, I still check them every day, but they don't need watering every day the way they would if they were out w/ other plants. That's why everything but the Ghost and Chilo are getting potted this spring. Keeping the bowl clean - algae starts in the wet stones in the bottom, and I take out the plants and rinse the vase out w/ plain water. Last winter and this winter, it's seemed to work. Water spots on the insides of the vases don't bother me much, but every once in awhile, I've soaked them in water, bleach, and dish detergent overnight, just for aesthetics. When plants are dry, I spray them till they're soaked, as if they were in a pot. One spraying is regular water, one is fertilizer water - same proportions as for potted plants - and one is soaking in regular water. Then the cycle starts over, just as for plants in sphag. Because of the algae on the Ghost mount, I won't use a narrow-mouth vase again - the 7x8 vase has an opening wide enough to allow some air circulation. The original, 3.5"x 9" vase idea started as an alternative to the opaque, plastic gallon milk jug for the Ghost w/ a hole cut in the side. Then it morphed into the 7x8 vase for other mounties. Julie, this may not be a good idea, and I hope you'll check it out w/ experienced growers. Some commercial growers have thought the vases would work well, but they haven't tried them, and there could be consequences that I don't notice or that haven't shown up yet. Hope this is helpful. Whitecat8