Everytime my princess blooms it costs me money. Not to say it is really her fault or really that bad of a thing, but every time she blooms I fall in love with Vandas all over again and I go shopping for more. This time she cost me a Vanda tricolor var. suavis… Granted, a species I have been dreaming about for a very long time, but simply have been able to resist the urge due to the rather large size of the plant. Until now that is… Â Oh well, no use trying to resist, just go with it and when it blooms for the first time all will be forgotten.
Back to the princess… She really put on a stunning display this year with two spikes blooming simultaneously. The purple/blue color is just as intense in real life as in these photos so she really brightens up a room. The Ascocenda genus is the result of a cross between Ascocentrum and Vanda, and Ascocenda Princess Mikasa is a cross between Ascocenda Royal Sapphire x Vanda coerulea. It comes in three colors, blue, pink and a fairly new white variety. One day when I have a greenhouse I think I will need one of each, it is such a nice cross. Easy to grow and bloom, and not too terribly large. Mine has a leaf span of just under 50 cm. A lovely plant to start with if you are dreaming of growing Vandas. I grow mine bare root, intermediate temperatures, quite bright and watered every to every other day.
Ascocenda Princess Mikasa (Ascocenda Royal Sapphire x Vanda coerulea)
Suavis is really great, we had one over two metres high with about twenty flowers, flowered two times. fantastic! But in my house they don’t like it that much so no Vanda’s for me anymore..
Thans RJ, I am looking forward to blooming it, it should be near blooming size so perhaps next season.
Looks superb! I recently got Vanda Tokyo Blue only a young plant, don’t expect blooming it any time soon, but I have it in a small basket pot as I worry leaving it too dry with no greenhouse. Your room as it is all dedicated to chids must be more humid than mine if you manage to re flower it so easy. Amazing shade of blue though.
Thank you! 🙂 All my Vandas spent about 6 weeks outdoors this summer, that produced a lot of spikes! Otherwise my room is not that humid, mostly above 60-70% at night much drier during the day. Vandas really do best bare root. I just water mine every day most of the year, every other day during the winter.
What a stunning beauty! One of our vendors has Ascocenda Princess Mikasa ‘Mood Indigo’ listed and claims that it can bloom 2-3 times a year.
I am thinking about getting one at October show in Montreal.
Thank you very much!! Go for it, you will not regret getting your own Princess. 🙂 She is one of the easier Vandas to bloom, even though you will be hard pressed to bloom her 3 times on the windowsill (in perfect conditions in a greenhouse it is much easier), but 1-2 times per year is not too difficult.
I got my Princess Mikasa Blue from the show… And it is a large plant… And it has a spike!!!
I can’t wait for blooms to see if they will have as deep blue color as yours. Hope the buds will not blast from the stress of changing environment.
Great news! How nice that it came in bud too. Mine is still blooming, and I am actually picking up both the pink and white variety off this lovely cross this weekend. 🙂 Good luck with yours!!
I love flowers period. Vanda orchids are so beautiful I hope mine continues to bloom. Don’t know specific name but I love it.
🙂