Newly acquired Miltassia Shelob Tolkien need serious help

[soundtweakers]

first of all, please excuse me if the name is wrong since I got it off the internet, the only name that came with the plant is Oncidium. I purchased this plant today because it was the only one of it's kind in the store shelve and I love how the blossom looks, and I overlooked a few things.

shriveled pseudobulbs, crooked growth, damaged blossoms, split leaves. The plant sits in a 3 1/2 inch plastic pot w/slits inside a 4 inches ceramic pot. The media was extremely dry and the first thing I did when I got it home was watering it. Here are a few photos, do you think this plant is too far gone?



I'm not sure when I should repot, nor the kind of media it requires. This is by far the coolest looking orchid in my collection, please help me bring it back to health.
Lastly I added a picture of the blossoms close up to confirm it's identity.


thank you very much for your time.

[cabnc]

I too recently purchased a Mtssa. Shelob 'Tolkein'. I would say yours looks in great shape. The roots look ok but the potting medium looks old and wet. So reduce the watering a little and enjoy the flowers. Get some medium-grade orchid mix and one pot size larger to repot after it flowers.

Charlie

[quiltergal]

Hi there. Lovely plant. It does indeed look like Mtssa. Shelob, but impossible to tell if it's the 'Tolkien' cultivar or not. The different cultivars all look very similar.

Wrinkled pbulbs are never a good sign. I would repot ASAP, and that will give you a chance to check out the roots. These fine rooted plants are pretty thirsty so mine usually go into a fine coco husk mix or semi hydro.

I bought a Hwr. Lava Burst that was not in the best of shape. It was a "had to have it" purchase. It had pretty advanced root rot, and the pbulbs were almost flat and deeply wrinkled. I cut the spikes to save the plant and repotted. It put up some new growths after about a month and then started shooting out new roots like mad. It's now blooming again with 4 spikes six months later. I have found that once you correct whatever problem these plants are having they are very forgiving and seem to bounce right back.

[soundtweakers]

It is indeed a "had to have it" purchase. The medium looks wet because I had just watered it before taking the picture. It might have sit on the store shelve for a while because the medium was very dry.

I have to wait until next Tuesday to repot because that's when my order arrives. The only medium I have is deemed useless, it's the Shultz Orchid mix purchased from HomeDepot, and it's an entire bag of "grounded coffee" with bit and pieces of sticks. There's no clear pots, nor decent potting medium anywhere in NYC (at least in my neck of the concrete woods).

do you think this mix will be good?
* Small Coconut Husk Chips
* Medium Hydroton
* Small Sponge Rock
* Coir
* Chopped Sphagnum
* Small Charcoal
* White Marble Chips
it's the mix I ordered for my Paphs.

thanks

[quiltergal]

That mix should work. Just be careful not to over water. These like to be "evenly moist" whatever the heck that means, but not sopping wet either. The Coir and the sphag are going to retain a lot of water, so just be careful.

[soundtweakers]

Originally Posted by cabnc

I too recently purchased a Mtssa. Shelob 'Tolkein'. I would say yours looks in great shape. The roots look ok but the potting medium looks old and wet. So reduce the watering a little and enjoy the flowers. Get some medium-grade orchid mix and one pot size larger to repot after it flowers.

Charlie

thanks Charlie, I was able to identify this plant thanks to your previous post.

[soundtweakers]

btw, since this is my first orchid with thinner roots, what does rotting roots look like for this plant?

[WhiteRabbit]

Lovely!
it looks like its the older pbulbs which are a bit wrinkled - that happens - the new pbulb looks nice
the older ones likely wont smooth out so don't go over-board with the watering trying to get them smoother.
From what i can see the roots look good
I have my mtssas potted in small coconut husk chips with perlite, tho small grade bark is good too.
I think your plant will be fine

[Shirley]

Hi Soundtweakers, Seems as though you've already identified your plant but thought I'd post this photo of my Mtssa. Shelob 'Red Spider' which also looks very much like yours!

[soundtweakers]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Lovely!
it looks like its the older pbulbs which are a bit wrinkled - that happens - the new pbulb looks nice
the older ones likely wont smooth out so don't go over-board with the watering trying to get them smoother.
From what i can see the roots look good
I have my mtssas potted in small coconut husk chips with perlite, tho small grade bark is good too.
I think your plant will be fine

are the one with the spike and the blossoms the newer bulb? Because the two wrinkled bulbs do not look like they had spiked before.