Miltonia/miltoniopsis
 

Hello I bought this plant a few days ago,the tag said 'miltonia' but the picture on it was that of the miltoniopsis...
I've never grown one and know little.
What do you think about its condition?
I repotted it and the mix was bark and white stones (didn't look like perilite) and had a ball of wet moss in the middle! It also had some snails :s
So I repotted it in small bark ands expanded clay. I hope I did a good job!
What are the things not to do? For example in phals not to water between leaves etc?
Thank you all in advance!

I have one. They are easy to grow hard to keep looking good. New growth get and acordian look if allowed to dry out. It's so annoying. Do not let these plants dry out. They need to be evenly moist. Since you repotted in fresh back expect to water more . new bark will not hold the moisture enough. It can take a month or 2 for bark to stay moist. I use a moss mix for mine and plastic pots.

They like good light. Mine is in a south window that has a bit of shade. Leaves should be a light green.

Good luck I am sure others will add to it.

You did a nice job of repotting. Another important thing is that these orchids require a drop in temperature at night, so you want to put it right on a sill if possible. I agree that they don't like to dry out completely. I have mine in s/h in lava rock and it loves it.

Thank you that's good to know! I hope it will recover from the trauma f repotting but without its slimey guests I'm sure it will be happier! I bought it not blooming, whats the time it usually grow grow spikes?

You need. NEw growth to get spikes. Once new growth is mature you can watch for spikes. Mine think bloomed at end of summer. But happy plants can bloom more then once a year.

Spring or fall seems to be when they bloom the most but it isn't unusual for them to bloom in late summer.

I think you did a good job and wintertime is the best season for the plant to adapt. I also do not appreciate wet moss in the middle. The white stones might have been pumice. Now it is important that you added expanded clay to the bark. I think that pure expended clay might also work, and slugs are not fond of this material.
You are right, it is a Miltoniopsis (pansy flower). It prefers even cool to intermediate temperatures with fresh air and higher humidity. The climate in our living rooms often does not suit its demands. Eventually in Italy you can place the plant outdoors in wintertime, if temps are around 10-15°C.

Cool I'm glad I did something right! I live in northen Italy so now temperatures are a bit too low I think.....like 7 in the night! But my room is unexplainably cool always around 18 C so it might be fine there I hope! (So I can keep a close eye on it!!)

I killed my first miltoniopsis (Miltoniopsis Bert Field 'Eileen') and I was so confused as to why it died. I was so careful about not overwatering and making sure that it got the perfect diffused light.

Turns out the key factor was not light or water, it was HEAT! It was simply too warm for it in my growing space in the summer, even though the space was air conditioned. I bought a new one (same exact plant) in the fall and it is still doing well. I put it on my first floor (instead of the 2nd floor) and will monitor it closely when things get warm again. I might even end up moving it to the basement in the summer.

So if yours gets grumpy and you have ruled out water and light problems - change the temperature. :)

That's really good to know! Sometimes I'm puzzled as per how two of my phals are in a bad shape, and then realised I dried their roots with cinnamon (thinking I was doing it good!) So upsetting.

So knowing things in advance is crucial, better be safe than sorry hey!

Thank you all for your help and suport!

the leaf that in th pic is slightly yellow now is really yellow! and another from the same bulb is following its path.. is it normal? i've read it's ok as they die naturally (hope so).
what do i do with it? just leave it there?

They always loose a few leaves from bulbs that have finished. I leave them until they are quite yellow, then remove them. A grower once told me that the plants continue to get nutrients from dying leaves.

ah good, great to have it confirmed. im new to miltoniopsis (and all other orchids lol) so i kind of panik when i see changes other than growth!!
i really hope to get it to bloom or at least to grow nicely, it's such a nice plant with delightful blooms!:love:

While we are on the subject of Miltionopsis, I bought a Miltionopsis in flower this summer. It is all done now, but the spikes have not died. Will it rebloom on these spikes or should I cut them off.

Cut them off. It will bloom again on new completed growth.

I found a little slug in the media, I manually removed it...I'm putting potato's slices as bait but nothing seems interested! Today I watered it and I found a weird looking thing, like a worm or something! It looked like a bare rot, super thin...any idea of what that was?? (I took it out Btw)

I don't know what that would be. Your pest are likely different than ours. I recently found 2 camouflaged caterpillars in the moss of my masd, which had been quickly disappearing.
If you think you still have slugs, try orange or grapefruit skins for bait.

Set a small dish of beer next to the plant, if there are any more slugs they will find it,drown, and you can toss 'em.

Beer is always a good idea.

Thank you!

These used to be called Miltonia and many tags still just say Miltonia instead of Miltoniopsis.

Your plant looks good in the pictures you shared.
If the yellowing is happening in the oldest pb, then it is normal. Pb that are over two years old will often shed their leaves and go bare.

I think it looks OK top, bit since i took it home And repotted, it did nthing other than losing those two leaves...same with the zygo..

In just worried that it has slugs,snails and who knows what else in its thin roots! When I repotted it I tried to clean t from tiny snails but clearly some survived...
Just worried that I'm gonna be left with no roots if they keep feeding on them!:(

Oldest leaf or a couple of them turning yellow is fine.
It has nothing to do with the snails eating the roots unless there are millions of them eating all the roots. lol

Since you said you cleaned the roots and the old mix is gone, I believe you got rid of majority of them.
Try to use rather open mix and aim for more frequent watering or soaking for a long time to discourage these snails.
I find that helpful.

When the orchid gods, whoever they may be, change nomenclature from Miltonia to Miltionopsis or vice versa, how are we poor beginners to keep up.
I love the really pansy-faced ones, some are more than others, but I am never sure which ones to buy.

Nychidman, thanks that's reassuring!! A third leaf is turning yellow but not from among the new growth, so let's hope for the best!!
Jungeoma, yes it is confusing for beginners like us...I bought it 'taking a chance'! But apparently most orchids in stores named 'miltonia' are miltoniopsis I've heard...! Not sure if there are any clear characteristics that can tell us what they are when not in bloom ,maybe someone can shed some light ;)

Iray, there is a you-tube video by Orchid Girl, she tries to clarify the difference. I believe she lives in Germany. I happened upon it when I googeld Miltonia vs Miltoniopsis. But when I googeld the two individually, one looked very much like the other. Go figure!

Thank you will have a look!

Iray, I checked afterwards with my orchid Vendor Welcome to Orchids By Hausermann On-Line Orchid catalog.
and the plants there looked like the ones Dany was explaining.
(Disclaimer: I merely used that Co.for comparison purpose and in no way endorse them.)

The orchid has rotting pseudobulbs :s one has a new growth attached not sure what to do Attachment 112769

Why does it always show 2 pictures every time I attach one? Weird