My second try at Miltoniopsis

[Lagoon]

My gods those miltie photos are just fabulous

Milts take the heat ok, sure they look abit tired and cranky after the hot summer has passed.
Yes they prefer coolness but will do well during the heats too aslong as they are healthy to begin with.

Keep them well watered. I have found spider mites to be more of a problem then anything. July seems to be the worst time.

I've got a couple of milts in bud now. I grow them in sphag, perlite and smallish bark. I like this combo because it dries out very evenly. I water 2x per week with distilled water, with added 25% tap water.

I keep them in a air conditoned space with a fan blowing on the during the day time.
Milties love good quality water, they also do really well in a peatmoss mixture. Many ways of growing -- just keep them always lightly moist. Think between a paph and a phrag.

[NYCorchidman]

I don't have phrags, but I understand they stay pretty much wet, right? I keep my paphs very moist.

I can't get enough of this white miltoniopsis and I would love to keep it alive. also, I am thinking of getting yellow one. I've always wanted yellow one but never got one because I was concerned about the care they require.
I heard the yellow one emits scent all day. even better!

By the way, my white miltoniopsis is rather beat up in appearance from the damage while carrying it home, but still they look stunning to me and smells wonderful!

I came in nearlly full bloom with 6 spikes. Two of those spikes were in buds, but one of those two had browning buds that are falling off. I am posting pictures. Is this a kind of disease? It reminds me of tulip bulbs rotting. you know those brown spots on the white bulbs?

The other of the two has three buds that are getting bigger and bigger though! It had 6 originally, but three fell off when it got hit hard by this woman in the subway the day I bought this one. oh, well...

Oh, also, I noticed that most of the leaves have these irregular ring or circular pattern that are lighter in color.
Anyone growing these have leaves looking like this???

One of the two new shoots (the skinnier one in the picture) might actually be a spike. I'll have to wait and see. hmmm

Thanks in advance!

[NYCorchidman]

so I couldn't resist the urge of getting a yellow one and got out shopping.
Well, I came home with 4 more miltoniopsis.
One yellow, one deep red, two are mix of white and pink.

Two are in bloom and the other two are in bud. many many spikes and buds. I am soooo excited to take some pictures and post here soon.



I already miss the wonderful scent of the white miltoniopsis. I will have to wait till morning comes. wish I could keep it in a bottle so I can sniff on it whenever I'd like.

[Lagoon]

LOL, Who could blame you for wanting more milties.Thats what I like about you dude, when you try something new .... you really throw yourself into it

Its true about the phrags, they do love to stay super moist. Some people do sit their phrags in trays of water, it simply works for them.
I don't bother with that to much anymore. I grow them in peatmoss or spahgnum moss, they do great this way for me.

About the spots on you're milt, have you checked for mites?
It look like just a simple bud blast to me, I don't see anything that would set any alarms off. You're miltie is working hard with all the blossoms and now its appears that you have new fan growths aswell.

Don't forget about the transition from the growers to you're home. The change of environment is enough to cause the bud blast.

Awaiting pictures of all those lush new milties ......

[NYCorchidman]

So I did go shopping in the evening yesterday. Well, when I got to the store, they just had a new shipment come in. How lucky I was!!!

They had TONS of milties, but in four different colors, and one of those four was yellow! yay!!!

Well, I fell in love with them all, so I ended up bringing home all four different colors!

Two are nearly fully open and the other two are about to open. All NOID, well, but they are all soooo pretty and tons and tons of buds.
The dark red ones with velvety sheen has gigantic size flowers but less flower counts. I guess the size make up for less number. The picture here came out too dark. It looks stunning!

All the other have slightly smaller flowers it seems, but they all have 9-10 spikes with 5-7 buds on each spike.
It's going to be quite the flower show when they are all in full bloom. so excited!!!

The only down side is that they are not scented.

Regarding spots, these new ones I bought yesterday overall have healthy leaves except there are some large dark patches here and there which I plan to trim off.

There are no spider mites on leaves and these irregular ring spots are larger then tiny silvery rust like damage done by spider mites.
I think 1. it's normal, 2. some kind of chemical damage, 3. virus symptoms.

The dark red one has color break on the flowers which also worries me, but I will try and enjoy the bloom.

Oh, my, the entire house smells great with the scent from my white miltoniopsis! woooo yeah!!!!

In the second from the last picture, the one in the middle is supposed to be a yellow one. The store owner told me that the yellow ones are very fragrant, so I'm looking forward to it.

I will post more pictures when everyone is in bloom.
In the meantime, everyone, please share your miltoniopsis success and love stories!

[camille1585]

They are enormous!! Over here I'm very lucky to find some with more than 2-3 bulbs and 2 spikes. For the fragrance don't despair, if those are freshly opened blooms then the scent has not developed yet. It takes at least a couple of days for it to start. I'm happy you got a yellow one, the fragrance is amazing! I used to have one, and it was the first thing I could smell when coming home, even though the plant was down the hall and in the living room!

[fishmommy]

Congrats - you got some real beauties!
If I had more room I would buy tons of milts!

[NYCorchidman]

I went to a bookstore and found some orchid books that had information on miltoniopsis. It sort of left me confused when it said these hybrids have 5 leaves and grow under one foot tall, which make ideal houseplant.

Mine are at least 15 in tall and each pb has somewhere between 6 to 10 leaves. Maybe mine are all rather older hybrids that have been around for a long time?

Also one particular book had three pictures of miltoniopsis hybrid that had amazing flowers. I'm not sure where I can find those. not sure if I am allowed to post those pictures here.

Camille- mine have 4-7 pbs per pot. each pb has 2 to 3 spikes. I love these!!!! They do add color to the house!
really hope that they make it trough the summer here and I am thinking of trying S/H for these guys after flowers vanish.

[Bud]

Those are just beautiful...I have two of those(see my past postings=a white one just like your first post and a lavender one) they have bloomed twice in my care and will be due to spike any moment...I put it on the fire escape at night to get humidity in the summers...and stays east facing window in the bathroom to avail of the morning shower steam and the shower before I sleep...

[NYCorchidman]

Bud- wow~ that is an amazing idea! well, I wish I had fire escape to put them on at night. well at least so far it's been rainy and cool in NYC, so mine are all doing alright with all the buds opening up nicely.

Do you have a name for your white one??