Miltonia Spotting and Browning

[Rootsnleaves]

Hi,
This miltonia was purchased in February, and had healthy green leaves. Since then, brown spots started to appear from the tip and then travel down the leaf. In some cases the leaf has turned completely brown and dried out.

The plant is flowering and new leaves are appearing at the base, but the older leaves look terrible.

I grow under T5s and water every 4-6 days.

This is the second time this has happened to a Mintonia. I have looked through this discussion and at the Fungus and Bacteria link, but am not sure exactly what i am dealing with.

Help from some more experienced growers, please?

[Ray]

First, it is a miltoniopsis, not a miltonia. The former is a cooler-growing genus than is the latter, and can show such leaf defects if grown too warm.

Additionally, my experience is that their roots are quite sensitive to any kind of abuse - excess fertilizer, decomposing/suffocating media, etc. - and show it through the leaves.

[fishmom]

It looks like your plant is in a plastic pot. If you are going to be repotting, you might consider a clay pot, which will provide a bit of extra cooling, through evaporation, for the sensitive roots.

[rbarata]

I believe that when the tip of the leaves start to die it's a sign of over-fertilization.

[estación seca]

At one time this kind of cold- to cool-growing plant was lumped with warm-growing plants and they were all called Miltonia. Then botanists decided the pansy-faced, cold- to cool-growers should be separated into their own genus, Miltoniopsis, as Ray mentioned above. Many people still call them all Miltonias.

Not many people have houses cool enough to grow Miltoniopsis indoors in summer. I think that is your problem.

[Rootsnleaves]

Thanks to all of you. I will keep it cooler and report back