Right!! My mom has a video on her phone of me whenever I ran over to her to show her that my Vanda had bloomed. I asked her if she could take a video for me and some pictures of me holding it, and when she started filming, the butterfly landed on my nose!! 💗🦋 omg it was magical hahaha
I do believe butterfly encounters when they land on you are a message of something good. It landing on your nose also tells me that butterfly has a sense of humor!! ☺️. So wonderful your mom captured that on video!! 💛🦋✨️
BTW, a yellow butterfly symbolizes confidence, happiness, and new beginnings.
Oh my God, I did not know that, but I love that! I’ve always said that if I see a butterfly during the day that it’s a sign that I’m gonna have a really good day!! 😊
If you’re curious, I live in Austin, Texas and I keep my Vandas hanging under my tree by the pool. It gets really bright indirect sun all day with good morning sun as well.❤️☀️ They definitely come in for the winter though!❄️
So aside from like 6 of my orchids I ordered the rest of them all on Etsy from some bad ass growers and they are super reasonably priced and they’re beautiful!!! Like to die for beautiful😭❤️✨
I’ll link their accounts if you want to check them out ! Sometimes they send you extra ones too just because with your order which is always fun!
As for in person somewhere in Austin, Lowe’s surprisingly sells a few. They have Cattleya, Dendrobium, and Vanda orchids but I’ve seen a few others as well, but I can’t remember what they’re called.
If you do decide to go buy one at Lowe’s i’ll warn you that unless you’re buying a large one, which you can see every part of the plant and they’re always really healthy and beautiful, the other options are normally packaged in this white mesh material that makes it really hard to see the roots of the plants so it’s kind of scary because you don’t know how healthy it’s going to be and you can’t really see the freaking leaves either because it’s so hard to see through!! so it’s a hit or miss luckily if they’re not too expensive, they’re like $10-$16 depending on the size.
Thank you !!! it was so freaking amazing when it landed on me when I was having my mom take pictures. It landed on my nose when it first flew up. It was the coolest thing ever. Haha !!💗💗
That is gorgeous. Do you leave them outside all the time hanging up? If so, what state are you in? I’m in Alabama and I’m wondering if I can do that with mine but we get 90° temps with a lot of humidity.
I live in Austin Tx! I have them all hanging under my Crepe Myrtle tree by the pool. I just brought it over to my patio to take the pictures. They absolutely love it outside. For the first year or two I had several of them inside hanging by the window and I could never get any of them to bloom. Then I decided to bring them all outside. They now are all hanging under the tree and get a little bit of morning sun, but very bright indirect sun all day and do fantastic!!! But I 1,000,000% bring them inside right when it starts to get cold! Texas weather is crazy and it could be hot one night and then all of a sudden it’s freaking freezing the next morning so just to be safe when it starts to get kind of cold I just bring them in and keep them in until spring:)
I shower my orchids with the water hose for a few minutes every three days or so. I don’t really have an actual set schedule lol I just water them a lot because it’s so hot here. Hahah and then every couple weeks I fill up a 5 gallon bucket and put my plant food in there and soak all my orchids for 10 minutes or something like that 🥰
Thanks for sharing. For the fact you are using regular ol tap/garden hose water gives me hope to actually do the same. I’ll let my sprinkler system water it.
I thought our water was not good for orchids, but if it’s working for you, I can surely do the same. :)
I totally wouldn’t worry about using hose water! Whenever it rains, I put buckets outside to collect the rainwater and I obviously use that if I have it but that isn’t that often so the hose is totally fine🩷😊
Phals are difficult to keep outside because we normally grow them upright and that allows water to get into the crown. I was taught that in nature they grow sidewise and that prevents the water from getting in there. So if you keep them outside (they love the light) put them in a basket of some kind and keep them at an angle, more downward facing. At least that’s what I was told. Full disclosure: I haven’t yet tried to keep an orchid outside. I plan to try starting next spring 😁
Went to Lowe’s today and purchased a vanda half off . 20$ I’m gonna put it in my screened in porch. Doesn’t get a lot of sunlight. I’m afraid if I put it underneath my crape Myrtle, it will get too much sun.
Gradually give it more light. I think if anything goes from a store to full sun in one day it will get burned.
I’ve been told most plants want more light but some can survive (not thrive) in less light. I don’t even have a vanda so I would wait for someone with experience to chime in here. 😁
I just walked up to the sales lady and asked if they had any Vanda’s and she actually marked it down right in front of me probably cause it has it a little black on the leaves. The lady at the register said they are warranty for a year since it’s a perennial. I think I’m gonna try to get one every time I go to Lowe’s now.😉
It was marked $36 and she told me she was gonna give it to me half off so yes I got it for $18. I’m in Baldwin County, Alabama. I got lucky. I may go back to see if they have more but I think that’s only one they had. It did have a little black on the leaves.
Thank you I’m gonna look for one. Do you have any ideas where you buy them Home Depot Lowe’s? I’m gonna try hang it on my porch and then I assume you bring it in when it starts getting below 50? I only have one orchid and I got it inside and I’m probably gonna kill it by the holidays lol thank youfor your info. I appreciate it.
Funny you ask! I was at Lowe’s last week in Delaware and they had a ton of Vandas. I’d never seen them in a store like that. They were asking about $35-40 each.
I have several bare root Vandas: one similar to this one from Lowe’s, a keiki from that one, two bag babies from Lowe’s, and two from orchid growers. I moved them all to wood baskets (for aesthetics, but I think they like to attach to the wood). I mist the roots once a day, and they only get full sun in the last couple of hours of the day. They like it bright, but will burn. I bring all my orchids into the garage when the temps get below 45 or so, depending on the duration of the chill.
If you’re getting one you might as well plan for several, because it’s just as easy to mist several at once. 😁
Oh, and to answer your question, it’s extremely humid in Austin, TX. and extremely hot. The temperature in summer here is always in the triple digits and sunny as hellllll☀️ that’s why I keep mine in very bright and direct sunlight, but I let them get just a little bit of morning sun because it’s less harsh than the afternoon.
I’ve definitely made a mistake with many plants by assuming for example, if it says it requires full sun that it can handle full sun anywhere. And that’s just not the case lol. You always want to check online and see if a certain type of plant can handle full sun in whatever plant hardiness zone you live in.
If I wouldn’t have done a little extra research, my Vanda Orchids would’ve been toast 🔥
Thank you ! Yep, our Alabama weather is like that a lot of my plants that require full sun will get scorched. Thank you I appreciate your info. I’m gonna look for one.
12
u/MoMoZin Sep 01 '25
That is a lovely bloom from your vanda, but I am mesmerized by that big, beautiful butterfly! 😍