Miltonia/miltoniopsis

[Iray]

Hello I bought this plant a few days ago,the tag said 'miltonia' but the picture on it was that of the miltoniopsis...
I've never grown one and know little.
What do you think about its condition?
I repotted it and the mix was bark and white stones (didn't look like perilite) and had a ball of wet moss in the middle! It also had some snails :s
So I repotted it in small bark ands expanded clay. I hope I did a good job!
What are the things not to do? For example in phals not to water between leaves etc?
Thank you all in advance!

[snowflake311]

I have one. They are easy to grow hard to keep looking good. New growth get and acordian look if allowed to dry out. It's so annoying. Do not let these plants dry out. They need to be evenly moist. Since you repotted in fresh back expect to water more . new bark will not hold the moisture enough. It can take a month or 2 for bark to stay moist. I use a moss mix for mine and plastic pots.

They like good light. Mine is in a south window that has a bit of shade. Leaves should be a light green.

Good luck I am sure others will add to it.

[Vanda lover]

You did a nice job of repotting. Another important thing is that these orchids require a drop in temperature at night, so you want to put it right on a sill if possible. I agree that they don't like to dry out completely. I have mine in s/h in lava rock and it loves it.

[Iray]

Thank you that's good to know! I hope it will recover from the trauma f repotting but without its slimey guests I'm sure it will be happier! I bought it not blooming, whats the time it usually grow grow spikes?

[snowflake311]

You need. NEw growth to get spikes. Once new growth is mature you can watch for spikes. Mine think bloomed at end of summer. But happy plants can bloom more then once a year.

[Vanda lover]

Spring or fall seems to be when they bloom the most but it isn't unusual for them to bloom in late summer.

[euplusia]

I think you did a good job and wintertime is the best season for the plant to adapt. I also do not appreciate wet moss in the middle. The white stones might have been pumice. Now it is important that you added expanded clay to the bark. I think that pure expended clay might also work, and slugs are not fond of this material.
You are right, it is a Miltoniopsis (pansy flower). It prefers even cool to intermediate temperatures with fresh air and higher humidity. The climate in our living rooms often does not suit its demands. Eventually in Italy you can place the plant outdoors in wintertime, if temps are around 10-15°C.

[Iray]

Cool I'm glad I did something right! I live in northen Italy so now temperatures are a bit too low I think.....like 7 in the night! But my room is unexplainably cool always around 18 C so it might be fine there I hope! (So I can keep a close eye on it!!)

[Corsetière]

I killed my first miltoniopsis (Miltoniopsis Bert Field 'Eileen') and I was so confused as to why it died. I was so careful about not overwatering and making sure that it got the perfect diffused light.

Turns out the key factor was not light or water, it was HEAT! It was simply too warm for it in my growing space in the summer, even though the space was air conditioned. I bought a new one (same exact plant) in the fall and it is still doing well. I put it on my first floor (instead of the 2nd floor) and will monitor it closely when things get warm again. I might even end up moving it to the basement in the summer.

So if yours gets grumpy and you have ruled out water and light problems - change the temperature.

[Iray]

That's really good to know! Sometimes I'm puzzled as per how two of my phals are in a bad shape, and then realised I dried their roots with cinnamon (thinking I was doing it good!) So upsetting.

So knowing things in advance is crucial, better be safe than sorry hey!

Thank you all for your help and suport!