My second try at Miltoniopsis

[nenella]

Thanks for posting! These plants are just so eyecatchingly pretty... and all photographed as above simply a delight!

I have had 2 in my life for now.. the second one has shrivelled to 1/8 of the plant I was given it a year ago ... I repotted a couple weeks ago-- It had 3 new growths growing now down to 2 as one stayed too humid the other 2 growing but slight accordion leaves on them! I just would love to be able to grow these but I believe my conditions are too warm for these.

[NYCorchidman]

I am yet to see how these plants will fare for me after flowers are gone.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by NYCorchidman

That is really strange. You had them a few years, they did good, flowered and everything but all of sudden downhill and gone?
Did it have any spots on leaves or pbs? did you change anything in the growing practice? You mentioned lack of water. Did you reduce watering too much? was the roots all mushy when they died??

I struggled to keep up with watering over the winter and all my orchids didn't get as much as I intended. It had also been moved to lower light so it could be in my living room and I could enjoy the flowers. Basically all I saw was leaves drying up and falling off, then p-bulbs browning. The roots were the healthiest bit on it.

[silken]

Wow, those are just stunning! It must be nice to be able to go out and buy so many blooming ones!

RosieC, mine are not the lovely healthy plants they were a year ago either. They are a bit of a challenge and I lost several much like yours sounds and I am not really sure why. Especially when the others lived. I thought I was doing mine a favor keeping them in a little plastic greenhouse enclosure with a large humidity tray and a small fan. Sounds good to me, but I think they went downhill after I did that. So they are out if it and I am trying other things such as seaweed in their water and being in clay pots to keep their roots cool. I think you were doing that too tho. Many of mine have brown marks on their leaves and some are accordioned even tho I don't think they dried out. I am hoping the seaweed extract makes a difference and gives them more roots and vigor. I do have a number of them with buds. Hope its not their swan songs!

I hope yours stay happy after they finish blooming NYCorchidman.

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I struggled to keep up with watering over the winter and all my orchids didn't get as much as I intended. It had also been moved to lower light so it could be in my living room and I could enjoy the flowers. Basically all I saw was leaves drying up and falling off, then p-bulbs browning. The roots were the healthiest bit on it.

lowe light and less water...I see.
I noticed at least one of mine (they are all super crowded and not so easy to examine) has one pb browning, but that looks like a very old one in the center of the pot half buried in the media.

Or are miltoniopsis short lived plants??

[NYCorchidman]

Originally Posted by silken

Wow, those are just stunning! It must be nice to be able to go out and buy so many blooming ones!

RosieC, mine are not the lovely healthy plants they were a year ago either. They are a bit of a challenge and I lost several much like yours sounds and I am not really sure why. Especially when the others lived. I thought I was doing mine a favor keeping them in a little plastic greenhouse enclosure with a large humidity tray and a small fan. Sounds good to me, but I think they went downhill after I did that. So they are out if it and I am trying other things such as seaweed in their water and being in clay pots to keep their roots cool. I think you were doing that too tho. Many of mine have brown marks on their leaves and some are accordioned even tho I don't think they dried out. I am hoping the seaweed extract makes a difference and gives them more roots and vigor. I do have a number of them with buds. Hope its not their swan songs!

I hope yours stay happy after they finish blooming NYCorchidman.

sounds like they are diva of the all the common orchids!
I heard so many negative stuff about how fussy they are, which is why I never tried them before as lovely as they look and oh, the fragrance!!!

Bud said he finds these "very easy". He also lives here in Manhattan. He puts his outside at night for lower possible temperature and added humidity, bring them into his daily shower every morning and night for short but extra humidity for them to enjoy.
I have no idea how long he has had miltoniopsis though. hmmm I should ask him about it.

Camille85 said once she switched these to S/H, they grew new roots and new shoots.

So, Silken, which ones are tougher based on your experience? have you tried Maui Sunset?
I personally would love to keep my white and yellow one. All other ones are quite common every winter and spring here. yellow ones occasionally, and white one, I've never seen one before, and has the best scent ever! to die for!!!!

[NYCorchidman]

Yeah, I found one store that carries tons of these from California somewhere.
Very cheap and the biggest plants with lots and lots of spikes!!!
I would love to go buy hundreds of these but then I would probably get high on the fragrance! lol

[silken]

Yes, they may be the divas of the oncidium alliance! But of course some people may have better conditions to grow them. I know mine get too warm in the greenhouse in summer. I hope to have more buoyant and humid conditions when we are done or renos, or at least in one part of the greenhouse.

I have never had a yellow one and not really a white except for my William Hammel and a Robert Jackson 'White Moth' I was recently given. It was struggling and in S/H so a friend thought maybe I could grow it. I've left it in the S/H and we'll see.... I potted a fairly small Milt in mostly perlite with a bit of moss and leave it standing in a bit of water (1/2 inch). It seems to be doing OK and it's been about 4 months so that too is an experiment. I don't know if there is one colour type that are more robust. But I have read that the yellows are a bit harder to grow and not so common or easy to hybridize.

I can't buy any of them locally except the one NOID I found in the grocery store and I have never seen Milts in there before or since. It had many growths and was out of bloom so I got it cheap. I hope to see what its like soon! The rest I have to buy from places like Alberta and B.C. (different provinces). Just as well or I would go crazy with them too!

[NYCorchidman]

I love these enough that if I had enough money, I would totally buy a house in Washington state or British Columbia just to be able to grow these right.

Yeah, I heard the yellow one is harder to grow.
Dang, I love my yellow one!
also the yellow color tend to disappear when crossing with others. then again, I read somewhere that they found a specie that's yellow and that might be used in the hybridization. That was at least 5 years ago and I don't know what happened since then.

So far, the temperature in my apartment has been 75-85 during the day and 60-70 at night.
I leave my window open for that extra lower temperature and humidity. Move all my miltoniopsis close to the window or place them on the floor where it's hopefully a little bit cooler.
so far, all the buds have opened perfectly fine. Some of them came with new shoots here and there. they seem to grow slow or even stopped to grow.
now the days and nights are only going to get hotter as we get into summer.

Do yours grow new shoots after flowering or at the same time as flowers are on? I heard when they are grown right, they can be in flower much of the year, so I assume some of these can grow constantly if conditions are right. or maybe just certain hybrids and with the right condition.

I'm loving these and try not to think too much into the potentially dark future with these.

[silken]

Most of mine seem to bloom in spring or summer, then produce new growths that mature late in the winter and then the bloom cycle starts again. I do have one (my rouge) that I think has 5 new growths right now. I can't remember if it has a spike without going and looking!

Most of what I read says they bloom in spring or early summer and then have another flush of blooms in late summer/early fall. that's pretty much what mine do, but its one or the other, not both usually. Aso the spikes can come from surprisingly immature growths! But mine are a far cry from having good culture although I am trying