Christmas Orchids - What are they?

[scy]

Happy Holidays Everyone! I received 2 orchids from my sister! They did not come with tags, but I think the orange one is a Phalaenopsis and the magenta one is a Miltontia. I do not know anything about Miltonias but did read the culture sheet on AOS; however, I am a bit confused about which type I have (warm, intermediate, or cool growing) and whether it requires that I need to keep it a little moist or allow it to dry out between waterings. It is currently potted in a clay pot with sphag & bark mix. Can anyone confirm if my id guesses are correct? Which type of Miltonia do I have and if it needs to be evenly moist or be allowed to dry out between waterings? Thanks in advance for the help!

Susan

[ronaldhanko]

You are correct in your identifications - the first is a Phalaenopsis and the second a Miltonia or Miltoniopsis. There's a culture sheet for the second plant here: Miltonia - Orchid Board

[ronaldhanko]

Should add that this is the cooler growing type, with a need for good humidity.

[Call_Me_Bob]

they are both beautiful, and ronald is correct, as always

[scy]

Thank you both for your help! I'm very excited to have flowering orchids!

[Connie Star]

What a nice sister

[scy]

I know! I keep walking over to the window to look at them! I started growing orchids for 2 months and somehow have a dendrobium, cymbidium, 3 phals and a miltoniopsis!

I'm very nervous about the phal. It's potted in sphagnum moss in a plastic liner pot (pic3). My dendrobium almost died because it was overly wet and overpacked. I repotted my other phals into a clear plastic pot with partial sphag and bark, but then the bark dried but the sphag remained wet. How can I water my new phal properly to make sure this doesn't happen again?

[Orchidreamer]

Lovely orchids! The phal looks healthy with nice green roots that don't seem to show any symptoms of "overwatering." Just be careful not to water--keep the sphag on the dry side and enjoy the flowers. In the picture, the sphag looks very wet, so you do not need to water for several days at least. The flowers would last until early spring, which is the best time for repotting, since the plant is about to start a new growth cycle. I personally plant all my phals in fir bark, which dries out faster and is much more manageable, since I've lost too many orchids potted in sphag.

[rangiku]

scy, most of my Phals are potted in sphagnum and doing just fine. You can use thin bamboo skewers, the kind you use to barbeque, stick it in the moss towards the middle. Pull it out every now and again to check. If it is barely damp, time to water. When in doubt, wait a day and check again. Depending on the size of the pot, sometimes I don't water for almost 2 weeks.

And, you have a very lovely sister.

[Tommyr]

LOVE that Milt! Congrats!