Vanda Orchid – Vanda spp.

Common Name: Vanda Orchid

Botanical Name: Vanda spp., VAN-da

Decorative Life: 7-14 days.

Flower Color: Blue, Orange, Pink, White, Yellow

Availability: Year Round

Has a very high respiration rate compared to most other flowers and plants used by florists.

• Member of the Orchidaceae (orchid family).
• Native to Asia and Malaysia.
• Common relatives include Cymbidium, Oncidium, Paphiopedilum and Cattleya.

• Flowers flat, 2-4 inches across, lip reduced, in groups of up to 15 flowers on a stem.
• Stems leafless, 24-32 inches long.
• Plant is an epiphyte, classed as a monocotyledon, leaves mostly parallel veined.
• Some flower fragrance.

They can be stored at 55F for 5 days with no loss in quality but flower life is reduced by about 1/3 if stored for 10 days.

• Vanda coerulea has blue flowers, hybrids of V. teres and V. tricolor are white or yellow-orange, variety called ‘Miss Joaquim’ is lavender with a blue center.
• Orchids have long been highly sought after, probably for the unusual beauty of their design. Orchid hunters in the nineteenth century collected them by the ton, and chopped down as many as four thousand trees at one time for the Orchids growing on them.
• As an epiphyte, it is a plant in its native habitat that grows upon other plants but is not parasitic. It obtains its moisture from air. Vanda is an Indian name for this genus.
• Chilling injury or ethylene damage appears as translucent or dried patches on petals and sepals.
• One famous vanda is V. coerules (Blue Orchid) that comes from Northern India. Also, many Vanda orchids have been reclassified into other genera such as V. teres to Papilionanthe teres, a flower used extensively in the floral trade.