Repotting Miltonia?

[orchidlauren]

Hello, I recently purchased a Miltonia ‘Sunset’ from TJ’s and I’m concerned about the potting that looks quite broken down & needs a repotting- or thats just my preference. What medium do I use for repotting? It’s also in bloom which looks great, but its leaves are turning yellow which im assuming is due to the medium? I’m not sure if its similar to repotting miltoniopsis because I know they thrive in different enviroments. Thank you

[Roberta]

Bump!

[aliceinwl]

I potted mine in a mix of 5 parts small orchiata bark, 1 part charcoal, and 1 part perlite. This is the standard mix I have on hand and my Miltonia has done well in it. It’s actually quadrupled in size in the years I’ve had it so I’ll probably have to repot it this year. I potted it into a clear plastic slotted pot but I don’t know how necessary the additional ventilation is for it.

---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:30 PM ----------

I’ve always had some root death associated with the peat mix it’s currently potted in. I’ve probably repotted around 20 orchids from this mix at this point. I’ve found they bounce back more quickly if you don’t cut any roots and disturb/manipulate the roots as little as possible when cleaning out the old substrate. I just soak the plant and spray out as much as I can with the hose. I think that even if the outer layer of the root is squishy the inner part may still be at least somewhat functional. Once they’re repotted, I soak them for an hour or so to make sure the new media is well hydrated and then water as needed.

[orchidlauren]

Thank you!

[orchidlauren]

How does her root system look? I’m not good with identifying miltonia growth. I know theres still some dirt left in there but I don’t want to bother the roots either

[aliceinwl]

It looks like it’s had some root death, but most of those that I’ve repotted from this peat mix look similar. I’d pot it up without doing more to it. If it seems to wobble a bit, I put in a wood stake and use a twist tie to secure it to a pseudobulb to keep the plant stable.

I’ve found this particular plant to be super resilient. Mine got quite a bit of cold damage at a couple points, and was pulled out of the pot and partially devoured by the cats, but it keeps growing and pushing out flowers. I think yours will be fine in the long run, but it may take a bit of tome to recover and regrow its roots.

The only way I’ve managed to save healthy roots in this media is buying a plant that has just arrived at the store and repotting as soon as I get it home.