Miltonia Bert Fields 'Leash'

[RJSquirrel]

my new found skill..correct botanical names

I got this plant and the photo showed it was deep red. Well its purple to me. Maybe after it is open all the way for a few more days it might turn dark red. I dont think so. I like it anyway. Below the blooms, are my baby Bert Fields. The Bert Fields farm. You can grow these indoors between 60 and 80 degrees. They dont like heat and they dont like to dry out. Lots of fresh air and high light even though they are typically said to be lower light plants I believe. You keep them in less light they wont bloom for you. They will grow just no bloom. This one has 4 spikes and 22 buds/blooms..by the time I'm back next week should have full compliment of wow flowers

[RosieC]

Gorgeous, love the colour. Perhaps looks more red in your photos too, I often find purples look more red in pics.

Just one correction (sorry) but it's Miltoniopsis rather than Miltonia. The ones with 'Pansy' shape flowers like this are all Miltoniopsis, while Miltonia has more stare shape flowers.

It's a confusion caused by the fact they all used to be Miltonia and then some of them were re-clasified but often the tags when they are sold still say Miltonia.

It's an important distinction to know though, as the culture requirements are different between the two (I think Miltoniopsis are cooler growing than Miltonia but I may have got that the wrong way around).

[silken]

Gorgeous and great growing! I agree with RosieC, that is a Miltoniopsis

[RJSquirrel]

The genus Miltoniopsis is presently used and accepted by most of the orchid community, the tags still read Miltonia. WE all know its a Miltoniopsis, bec it has the pansy orchid flower and also is has the leaves. Theres no controversy and no need to be sorry. Its a Miltonia if thats what the tag says. I am told either will work and would be accepted. Someone here goes and looks for a tagged Miltoniopsis they will never find one.

[greenbean]

Beautiful! I love ones like this with thin white borders around the masks or waterfalls. Makes them look like neon signs or glow like lightning.

As to the genus, we all know it is Miltoniopsis, but growers don't want to change their tags because of cost and except for orchid enthusiasts like us the public doesn't really care. I'm inventorying the Smithsonian's orchid collection this summer and we just decided to go through all the hybrids to separate the ones that truly have only Miltoniopsis in their breeding. These plants WILL be relabelled as Miltoniopsis hybrids, not Miltonia hybrids as they are now. The Royal Horticultural Society's International Orchid Register also lists them as Miltoniopsis hybrids. In the rare case that a hybrid has both Miltonia and Miltoniopsis species in it's breeding, they are now called Milmiltonias.

And Rosie, you're right. The distinction is important for cultural purposes, as Miltoniopsis species are from Colombia and prefer cooler conditions than Miltonia species, which are from Brazil.