Miltonia spectabilis var. Morelliana x Seminole Blood 'Jaguar Dawn' in spike

[silken]

Very nice!

[lotis146]

Sorry it took me so long to get over here. I'm glad to hear you guys got one of these!

I think it's a...funky smell. Been a while since I smelled it obviously but I feel like the best I can do from memory is to say it smells like a bad funky soap, and it's fairly strong when you get close to it. I would be surprised if someone found it pleasant.

However it's not so bad that I want to get rid of it. In fact it has slowly been growing a new growth!! This guy likes a fair amount of light and water. I kept it outside this summer on the edge of my North porch where it got consistent light, even some bright and direct in the afternoon. I kept it with my Catts and Oncidium 'Heaven Scent' with regular watering. Now it sits in front of my south window. I think it could use more humidity and probably more watering since it still is actively growing this new growth.

Please do post when you get yours!!! I'm interested to see if your flowers look the same.

Happy New Year!

[wintergirl]

I received my plant. It looks healthy with lots of new growth. I see spag moss on top, not sure what it is potted with down deep. How is your potted? I will post pics when (if lol) it blooms.

[lotis146]

Originally Posted by wintergirl

I received my plant. It looks healthy with lots of new growth. I see spag moss on top, not sure what it is potted with down deep. How is your potted? I will post pics when (if lol) it blooms.

Ooo lots of new growth, that's great! Mine came with one new growth that started its spike a month after I got it. This girl likes bright light and is rather thirsty. It's in a fine bark and charcoal mix. But I just repotted it because its newest growth is kind of growing out of the pot (and has its own roots now). So I repotted it kind of funky because it is - I believe the term is... - on a rhizome. So mine has been growing along this firm root (rhizome) on a bit of an incline, which makes it long. This means, at least in my case, that in order to get the new growth in the media I have to bury the older pbulbs, the smallest completely. I'm not familiar with this lovely phenomenon so I put medium sized bark and clay pebbles in the bottom and tried to surround the buried, and partially buried pbulbs, with these larger, less water retentive pieces in hopes they won't rot. Then I used a fine bark/moss/perlite/charcoal mix to surround the bulk of the roots and the youngest growths.

Hopefully the addition of the bigger pieces doesn't upset my plant by drying it out faster. Meanwhile I do hope it helps the situation with the buried bulbs. I do believe that given the overall size of the plant some would say the new pot is too big but I had to in order to fit the new growth and leave room for its new growth when that day comes.

So, phew long-winded answer, if you're a chronic under-waterer like myself then you should be fine even if it's moss all the way down. Just keep an eye on how fast it dries out at first until you "get to know it". I do believe it's like a lot of Oncidiums but it likes a bit brighter light and a bit more moist conditions (just not drowning). If you're an over-waterer well you might want to check and see if it is moss all the way through.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing your blooms. YOU CAN DO IT! Mind you I was very much a newbie when I first got mine. Relative to the hobby I still am but not like I was then!

[wintergirl]

Thanks for your answer lotis 146. I plan to repot soon, just so I know what I am dealing with. I am anxious to see our blooms, keep us posted.

[No-Pro-mwa]

It's a very interesting bloom. I like it allot.

[wintergirl]

When I repotted I found my plant was split into 2 clumps, so I potted them each in their own pot. They have good roots and making are new growths. No flowers or spikes yet. I have mine in mostly spag with some bark in small clay pots. They dry out every morning so I spray them damp again. I think the biggest plant has at least another year before blooming. I am anxious to compare mine with yours.

[lotis146]

I'm anxious for the comparison as well! I still have the same new growth working its way to maturity. I'm not sure if they naturally grow this slow or if I need to improve my care though I'll bet on the latter. It seems to be of a mature height & has recently put out a cluster of new roots - following a two week KelpMax boost recommended in a thread by Ray - and has a newer leaf but I've yet to spot development of a pbulb or spike. However it does seem that this is right on time with last year's spike & blooming. It's interesting getting used to what plants just bloom when a new growth matures & who matures & blooms at a certain time of year. With that in mind maybe mine is happy enough...

Good luck with yours, your having multiple new growths makes me want to figure out the trick & induce the same on mine. Interestingly enough we can compare notes further b/c we're in the same region so our weather will be much the same. Perhaps now that it's outside I'll get to watering it even more but as of last night everyone is back inside b/c we had a frost advisory, hopefully tomorrow they'll go back out seeing as I brought them all in in a haphazard fashion.

[wintergirl]

Mine are inside, North window with some added light. We can still compare plants and see what turns up. I think they are about the same age.