Help/info Miltonia Flavescens - Orchid Board

MarcoPa · #1 05-26-2013, 04:42 AM

Need Help/info for my Miltonia Flavescens. Few weeks ago I brought it home knowing I might get into more than I could chew. The plant had 7 formed spikes and it looked a bit dry. Once at home I started watering it by showering every two days and misting it every other day. The spikes have all bloomed but most of the blossoms could not separate from the sepal and started wilting immediatelly. Can anybody tell me if I did something wrong? plant looks ok, new growth is visible, leaf are a good green, not too dark not too light.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 05-26-2013, 11:36 AM

Let dry between waterings.

Intermediate - warm growing, favoring intermediate (55 F - 90 F).

Moderately bright indirect light.

Moderate humidity (60% - 70%) is adequate.

Let dry between waterings.

If the sepals and petals are sticking together, wet the buds a little, but don't do this everyday, do it until the sepals and petals no longer stick. Water a bit more as well.

It is a species, so the name is written - Miltonia flavescens.

WhiteRabbit · #3 05-26-2013, 12:24 PM

Hmmm... I grow this ... I DO NOT allow mine to dry out, if possible. Grown out doors (zone 9) year round protectected from frost/ freeze and winter weather. Grown slightly drier in winter (growing in quite cool temps) IOSPE and Botanica's Orchids indicate cool to warm temps. Daytime humidity in summer here is often very low - less than 30% - but does go up a fair amount at night ...
http://www.orchidspecies.com/miltoniaflavascens.htm

Very temperature tolerant...What I read before I purchased this plant is that it is known for some cold tolerance. I let mine go down to near freezing for short periods overnight. Takes short periods of extreme heat (shaded - foliage can burn).

Be warned - this grows like a weed! Each growth will get two new growths. Sprawling (long) rhizome with a vertical habit. I got mine as a small, 3 growth division (one mature growth with two new growths) 4 years ago ... I now have two smaller divisions in 6" pots (probably only hold them a year), and the big division in a 10" basket ...

I don't know what caused the premature wilting of your ... I do not mist mine, but water it well. They do have sheathing around the buds, and petals may get caught up in that.

Mine blooming last year before being divided http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ad.php?t=60555 No spikes on any divisions this year, so I guess dividing the plant has caused it to skip this year ...

MarcoPa · #4 05-26-2013, 01:46 PM

Thaks both of you. Looks like I did not do too wrong. Compared to Whiterabbit's, mine has longer spikes and smaller flowers. could it be that it suffered dryness where I bought it?

WhiteRabbit · #5 05-26-2013, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarcoPa

Thaks both of you. Looks like I did not do too wrong. Compared to Whiterabbit's, mine has longer spikes and smaller flowers. could it be that it suffered dryness where I bought it?

I don't know. It's possible that the difference could be cultural (light, water, fertilizer), or could be just be individual differences between the plants. I see you posted yours had seven spikes; mine only had four last year, despite having loads of new growth ...

james mickelso · #6 05-26-2013, 06:10 PM

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mil-TOH-nee-ah (mil-toh-nee-OP-siss)

These striking orchids, which are also known as pansy orchids, owing to their similarity to garden pansies, are enjoying increasing popularity. Miltoniopsis are cool-growing orchids that originate in the higher elevations of the Andes in Colombia, Panama and Ecuador. The warmer-growing species, properly miltonias, originate from the Minas Gerais area of Brazil and more closely resemble large-flowered oncidiums. Their flowers can be brilliantly patterned.

Light should be relatively shaded. Direct sunlight burns the thin leaves within a short period of time. However, the warmer growing types prefer more light than their cooler-growing relatives. The cool-growing species need approximately 1,200 foot-candles, while the warmer-growing species require closer to 2,000 foot-candles.

Temperature is critical for the cool-growing plants. Unless temperatures are kept under 80 F, they may not flower. The minimum temperature is 50 to 55 F. Thus, these are really better thought of as intermediate growers because they need intermediate temperatures throughout the year - not too hot, not too cold. The warmer growers will take temperatures over 90 F as long as humidity levels of 70 to 75 percent, or higher, are maintained. The minimum temperature is 60 F.

Water must be plentiful and the medium must drain perfectly. In their native habitat, the plants are drenched almost daily and, because of this, they are intolerant of salt buildup, so leaching every fourth or fifth watering is important when growing in pots. When they are not getting enough water or humidity, the leaves have a tendency to grow with accordion-like pleats. The warmer-growing miltonias should be grown like cattleyas; allow them to approach dryness between waterings. They also tend to be slightly more tolerant of salt buildup than their Colombian cousins so they can dry more between waterings.

Humidity must be at least 70 percent because of the plants' need for abundant water. Less humidity will stress the plants and can lead to susceptibility to disease, though too much humidity is worse than too little.

Fertilize at the same level as other orchids: half-strength, balanced fertilizer every two weeks. This can be reduced by half during overcast weather or in winter. A 10-30-20 blossom-booster formulation is beneficial in early spring when plants approach their flowering period.

Potting should be done after flowering when the new growth is starting. Miltoniopsis should be repotted every year as they are intolerant of stale conditions. The cool growers (miltoniopsis) do well in small pots. The warmer growers (miltonias) tend to have a relatively elongated creeping habit and, therefore, do better mounted. Any potting mix suitable for fine roots such as 70 percent seedling bark with charcoal and perlite or a mix of 70 percent tree fern and 30 percent chopped sphagnum is adequate. Mounts may be cork, tree fern or other hard wood. They should be longer than wide. For some reason, shallow pans work better than deep pots.
Thought this might help. I stole it from another site. Best I could do.

WhiteRabbit · #7 05-26-2013, 06:19 PM

James, this is a Miltonia, not Miltoniopsis ...

james mickelso · #8 05-26-2013, 06:47 PM

Ok. AOS site said this was for both. Now I'm interested. I grew both and both were in the same environment. Intermediate. I know that they both craved good water. And due to their thin dense root systems they didn't like to be wet. I put them in shallow pots in a fast draining medium mix. At the time I was using a lot of charcoal in my mixes too. My Robert Rodale training.

WhiteRabbit · #9 05-26-2013, 06:58 PM

Jo

Quote:

Originally Posted by james mickelso

Ok. AOS site said this was for both. Now I'm interested. I grew both and both were in the same environment. Intermediate. I know that they both craved good water. And due to their thin dense root systems they didn't like to be wet. I put them in shallow pots in a fast draining medium mix. At the time I was using a lot of charcoal in my mixes too. My Robert Rodale training.

My Milt flavescens will take a fair amount of water, at least during warm weather - tho I am sure it can over-watered. Potted in plastic pots, chc mix. I now have the big one in a basket, but not liking that in the warm weather; dries too quickly

Ohmygosh the thin dense roots! I potted the two small divisions in sphag last year ... had a heck of a time separating the roots from the sphag when I repotted recently ...

Lesson learned!

I can't say for other Miltonias, but for me, flavescens has been an easy grower, not especially fussy about anything, other than getting some minor foliage pleats when it's been too dry... gets tap water, hot temps, cold temps ... etc...

Sorry, I saw your post starting with "Miltoniopsis", only mentioned Miltonia near the end. I guess they can grow fairly similar.
I do believe, generally, Miltonias can take the warmer temps, tolerate lower humidity, take more light than Miltoniopsis ...

james mickelso · #10 05-26-2013, 07:30 PM

I think your water there is very low in salts. The water there gets Hetch Hetchy water right off the sierra and some Sacramento Rv water. Are you up on the hill or down by Bay? Are you using the chunky CHC? There's lots of air flow with that although here it seems to deteriorate quickly. I planted in medium bark/charcoal so I didn't have to repot very often. I sold most all of my SD collection when I moved. I've had quite a few different collections through the years. I loved my milts and miltoniopsis. And miltassias. And miltonidiums. And.....oh....where am I?....Ok I'm back. They are easy to grow with good water and air flow. It used to get down to 35*f in SD and they didn't skip a beat. Trying not to get too many orchids again. But then again.......