Miltassia Shelob picked up at Lowes today

[Wynter010Beauty]

Hey everybody! I was wandering through Lowes today, specifically to buy some new blinds for the apartment I'm getting ready to move out of because my cats broke 2 of them... And of course I couldn't keep away from the orchid section. I've never seen them have so many different orchids there! They usually carry the typical NOID Phal's and Bag Baby Catt's.. But today, they had so many different varieties. And I kind-of, sort-of, fell in love with this Miltassia Shelob in bloom. I'm going to repot it in S/H tomorrow after it has had time to soak in KLN. (I know you're supposed to wait until it is done blooming, however, it's a proven fact that I kill any orchid that isn't grown in S/H.) So I ended up leaving with this beautiful orchid, and no blinds (it seems as though no one carries the size I need.) I need to re-make it's name tag however, because it says "Miltassia Sheilob" and that "i" is just bugging the crap out of me.. I'd also like to make name tags for my NOID Phal's just for the heck of it.. I'd like to say this is a Miltassia Shelob "Tolkein".. however I guess I'll never know for sure.

[WhiteRabbit]

Great find Amber Marie! I really love this one!
hehe - I know the feeling, anytime I am somewhere that sells orchids, I always just need to have a peek at them!

[neb]

I know how you feel I was at Lowes to get supplies for my greenhouse when I saw two bllra. that I ended up buying. I had to call my wife and convince her to come and pick them up because I had driven my motorcycle.

[SpeciesNut]

Im a sucker for ANY orchid too! lol I love when you go to lowes and find a cool one!Yours is very pretty.Good luck with your new find!

[Wynter010Beauty]

I must admit that this plant must not have been at the store very long.. The roots were spectacular! I was expecting to do a lot of hacking, but I only had to trim 2 roots.. Now, I've also learned that re-potting a plant that was potted in sphagnum, is definitely time consuming.. Not as time consuming as my Sharry Baby that was potted in the smallest bits of bark/perlite/moss.. that one took me a good 2 hours....
Unfortunately, during the re-potting process, I broke 1 petal and (forgive me for not knowing the complete anatomy of an orchid.. I am still new at this) the ball-like thing in the center of the flower where the pollen would be, which I think is called the anther cap? (I'm laughing at myself for this description.) Hopefully this won't damage it too much..

[Norton]

Nice! I am amazed at the quality I am seeing at some of these places. It can be very hit or miss but when you score a nice plant for under 20 bucks it really makes your day.

[Wynter010Beauty]

Well, the blooms are blasting... I guess I sort of asked for it by switching to S/H right away, or it could have been the change in environment, or even the fact that I broke 2 of the flowers, however, the 2 that I broke are still on the plant. I've only lost 2 out of 6 blooms so far... and I'm sure by the time I come home, this 3rd sad looking one will be off. My next question with this orchid, is that when the flowers all fall off, should I cut the spike back? or let it be?

[fotofashion]

Cut it off. I have one of these that is just finishing blooming. The spike will not bloom again.
Give it good light, plenty of water and fertilize it regularly. My orchids are put outside in the summer and they really benefit from it. I have a NOID intergeneric that right now is just beginning to bloom and has 15 spikes on it. It is hung close to the Miltassia.
Beverly A.

[Norton]

Bud blast is a bummer no doubt. Miltassia grow like weeds though so I am sure you will see some more blooms sooner than later. I would think that Miltassia would be a perfect fit with S/H. Mine is in a bark/charcoal/gravel mix and it is ALWAYS thirsty.