Saturday, January 2, 2010

Vanda Mimi Palmer



I have three of these and one is flowering at the moment. The other two should follow soon. Easy flowering and highly fragrant (chocolatey smell to my nose), medium-sized vanda. IMO, the fragrance is its best asset.



My first encounter with this hybrid was at a nursery in Sungai Buloh. The lady wanted to sell it to me for RM75! I loved the fragrance but not the price tag so moved on. A year or so later, I got my three elsewhere for less than RM30 each.:-D Bought them when I went nursery hopping with a couple of friends in KL last year. Though I have stopped buying orchids completely, I'd love to go nursery hopping again with friends. I'll only spend cash if there's something really exceptional.



Like most other vandas, especially hybrids, this one is quite easy to care for. I give them the same amount of light (50% grade shade cloth) as my other large-flowered vandas and they bloom a few times a year. This one as one can see from the old spikes, has bloomed at least 3 or 4 times since I got it last year. This hybrid is very popular among my orchid friends and I think almost all of them have at least one!

Because I'm lazy to tend to so many plants, I don't fertilize my orchids often. Instead, I place goat pellets (natural ones are best) around the base of the plants every couple of months or so. This works well for me and your mileage will vary. Almost all of my vandas are fairly maintenance free and I just have to give them sufficient water, lots of light, then sit back and enjoy the beautiful blooms.

Vanda Mimi Palmer is a cross between Vanda Tan Chay Yan and Vanda tessellata.

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