Help! Miltonia with drooping leaves and yellow brown leaf.

[vg5138]

Firstly, hello (first post) and thank you for this informative website.

290117 I bought a Miltonia for my mother's 90th birthday from M+S. It arrived in bud on two stems and all the green leaves were upright. Within 4 days 2 leaves started to droop, now about 4 or 5 drooping. The buds opened (and still are opening) and the flowers are very nice. But after a further 7 days or so one small leaf suddenly went yellow overnight and now is half brown.

It looks like it is dying to me.

The potting mixture looks fairly dense (moss like) with a thin layer of fine bark on top. It looks too dense to me when compared to our Dendrobium which is situated on the same table in a west facing window and is potted in a chunky bark pieces and nothing else. The Dendrobium is thriving (and has been for a few years).

When I got the Miltonia , I watered it lightly with tap water (a la Dendrobium style) after a week I watered with a bit more incase it was too dry. However I have no experience with Miltonia and do not know if it should be treated the same as our Dendrobium. If it should, I would be inclined to repot it in a bark mixture like the Dendrobium.

The temperature range is 17 - 24 degrees Celsius in a centrally heated house, warm air heating.
Any help would be appreciated, as it was not a cheap plant and was a special present for my mother.

Thank you.
(I believe I cannot post photos until I have 5 posts).

[estación seca]

Welcome, and Happy Birthday to your mother!

Miltonias tend to like more water than many orchids. Once a week might not be enough. In the Beginners Forum here is a sticky thread near the top about using wooden cooking skewers to check the moisture inside a pot. You can use one too see whether your plant is drying out between waterings.

They also like cool humid air.

[MrHappyRotter]

Originally Posted by vg5138

It looks like it is dying to me.

Start commenting on others' threads, a simple "that's pretty" in a thread with photos of some pretty flowers will suffice. Then post some photos for us to look at.

What you're describing sounds more like a Miltoniopsis, and not a Miltonia. Photos will help clear up that part of the identification. Miltonias and Miltoniopsis have different needs. I'm guessing it's a Miltoniopsis because they are far more finicky and difficult than Miltonias, and much more prone to quick decline in home care, the fact that you said it looks like it is dying says it all for me.

If it's a Miltoniopsis, they don't like to go completely dry between watering. They should be allowed to get to the slightly moist stage, and then watered with very good quality water (rain, reverse osmosis, deionized) with perhaps just a small amount of tap or fertilizer mixed in. Actually, the same is true for Miltonia.

Miltoniopsis also do not like heat. They can tolerate temperatures in the mid to upper 20s (c), but they're probably going to resent it. They also prefer to cool off at night, so temperatures should be several degrees cooler. You also want to be sure to keep this thing away from warm drafts (heating vents, fireplaces, stoves, etc).

Some leaf drooping and leaf drop is expected because these are often delicate, sensitive plants, in bloom, and the added stress of changing conditions (greenhouse to store/shipping to home). If it's receiving optimal care otherwise, the transition period will hopefully be short, but you may want to prepare yourself for the possibility that it's going to need some intensive care if the die-off continues to progress.

If this is a true Miltonia, then I'm surprised the leaf drop happened so quickly, but it may have been subjected to cool/cold temps in the process of going from the greenhouse to your home or else your humidity may be extremely low. The good news is, these are usually way easier to grow and bloom than Miltoniopsis. Similar to Miltoniopsis, they shouldn't be allowed to dry out completely between watering, and you should use good quality water. The biggest difference is that Miltonias should be kept in a warm and humid spot.

[vg5138]

Thanks for the replies.

I put a stick in and checked it after 5hrs - it was damp all down the submerged part and still is today.

I found a members gallery photo of the same plant - milt phalaenopsis (in the members gallery>Phantasm
- Milt phalaenopsis x Grant Kelley).

I will post photos as soon as I am able - no further deterioration as yet apart from some more leaf drooping, but members photos seem to show some drooping. When it arrived the leaves were vertical.

Thanks for the the help.

---------- Post added at 10:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 PM ----------

Oh dear, I am misleading you already! On second glance it is NOT that plant but similar, it has white flower with 2 purple "eyes" and a yellow butterfly(?) pattern below them delineated with purple lines. I have seen it described as a pansy orchid. Sorry for the misinformation - I appear to have lost the descriptive card that came with the plant.

---------- Post added at 10:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 PM ----------

OK got it - it is a Miltonia Herr Alexander.
A google search brings up images of the same plant.

[estación seca]

At one time plants now called Miltoniopsis were called Miltonia. Botanists have since split the pansy orchids off into a different genus, Miltoniopsis. You will often see them still called Miltonia. This is unfortunate because Miltoniopsis are very different from Miltonia in care requirements. People see the name Miltonia and go read information on those, which doesn't apply to Miltoniopsis. All the pansy orchids, including Herr Alexander, are Miltoniopsis.

They are related to genus Oncidium, so here on Orchid Board threads relating to Miltoniopsis are in the Oncidium forum. You can read about growing them here. Many Orchid Board members are from the UK so you can find help specific to your locale:
http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ssum-alliance/

They are difficult to grow in much of the US because they tolerate neither warmth nor aridity, conditions common throughout the year in homes here. It is my impression people in northern Europe and the UK have an easier time with them.

So long as the skewer is moist you do not need to water. Watering intervals will vary depending on ambient temperature, humidity and the plants' uptake, but may be 2-7 days - probably closer to 2-3 days I would guess.

[vg5138]

Thanks again.

The skewer has been moist for days now and shows no signs of drying out - so i will wait until it does.

My little humidity meter shows 43% humidity. I guess I will read some of the threads you have pointed me to, when I get the time. (Alas mother is not well at the moment and hasn't had a chance to enjoy this spectacular plant).

[jcec1]

I would add that if M&S sent it to you, it may have gotten a little chilled at this time of year, a change in environments can cause leaves sometimes to brown or yellow too. Mine need watered twice a week under similar conditions. I know that M&S charge a small fortune for Miltoniopsis, you can get ones without the decorative pot in Ikea most times, so if it is not in good condition a later stage you can replace them quite easily and cheaply (about £8).

[dangerouseddy]

I got one for a fiver from b&q but they don't have many in, mainly have noid phals and dendrobiums

[vg5138]

My wallet just vomited.

Although, I do have to say it is a very nice plant with approx 8 - 10 flowers in bloom.
One more post and I will be posting photos.

I may have panicked a little when the leaves drooped and one died - but then I didn't know what to expect.

[c123anderson]

I know this is an old thread, but my issue is very similar/same. Can I maybe get some advice?

I have a Miltoniopsis seedling. It was okay when I received it, then became droopy and has been unhappy/declining for a little while. I lost a leaf, then another.

I've included some images that I've marked with dates to show decline.

Today's image, you can see the leaf looks rough like it's been sandpapered. You can see the roots look terrible. The pseudobulb looks sad.

Since this was somewhat addressed in this thread, I thought I'd ask and see if any experts could weigh in. I have a lot of "I killed my plant" guilt, but I'm in a "kinda confused/don't want to repeat my mistakes" mode, too.

As far as watering, I let this one dry out. Then I misted it. To be fair, I had mixed up care sheets and, by the time I saw issues, I realized my mistake. Temps were steady between 68-72F (indoors). Humidity around 40-60%. West-facing filtered window for light.

Is "Milty", my Miltoniopsis seedling, beyond help or hope?