Vandas For The Amateur 
Introduction 
S ance Vandas are one of the last large orchid 
families to attain popular favor, the requirements 
for their successful cultivation are not as widely 
known as the needs of other orchid tribes. Vandas 
are found from the Indian subcontinent on the west 
to New Guinea and the Philippines in the east. They 
range as far north as the Himalayan mountain chain 
and its extensions into Burma, Siam and Indo-China. 
The Islands of Indonesia along the equator form 
their southern boundary. 
A plant family covering such a large area could 
hardly be expected to accept the same treatment for 
all its many species, particularly if we take into 
consideration the differences in elevation, tempera- 
ture and rainfall distribution. 
To point out just two extremes, Vanda coerulea, 
the progenitor of all our blue hybrids, reaches ele- 
vations close to the frost line. In fact, plants have 
been collected in areas where a mild frost is not un- 
usual. The precipitation ranges from excesses dur- 
ing the monsoon season to no rain at all during 
parts of the year. 
Almost the exact opposite is Vanda Sanderiana, 
probably the most important parent in the breed- 
ing of Vandas. It was first found on trees over- 
hanging the beach near Davao on Mindanao, the 
southernmost island in the Philippine chain, close to 
the equator, in an area of very heavy rainfall dur- 
ing most of the year. Its long trailing roots were 
easily within reach of salt spray from the ocean. 
To provide ideal conditions for plants of such 
different backgrounds would go beyond-the facili- 
ties of most growers. Hybrids, the result of cross 
breeding, do not make such exacting demands, and 
do not have the rigidly fixed blooming season of the 
species. They also produce an abundance of colors 
and shapes far beyond the range of the parent ma- 
terial. Production of 8 to 10 flower spikes a year 
by some hybrids is not at all uncommon. 
sas 
