Dying Miltoniopsis Help

[alexharisiadis]

As I alluded to in my introductory post, I am need of advice for a dying milt.

I have never had any luck with this milt ever since I acquired it two years ago. When I bought it, it was already in spike. After the bloom cycle finished, the plant seemingly went dormant and, for a while, was doing okay putting up new leaves, etc.

All these new leaves were pleated, however. After a while, when I moved it to a side table a few feet away from a southern exposure, any new leaves the plant was putting up were looking good and relatively devoid of pleats. I think it helped that I was trying to keep it as hydrated as possible.

Then, all of a sudden, all of the plant's leaves started to die off and the guy essentially went bald. I decided to repot the plant in some fresh medium and also trimmed off a lot of dead roots during that process.

Well, that was a bad idea because as I've noted, any remaining leaves and bulbs have started dying. The bulbs have started to wither and turn a copper brown, and there is now only one sad looking leave that is rapidly dying. You can see the current state of things in the attached photos.

Here are the main facts:

Exposure: Western
Potting Medium: RepotMe's potting mix for oncidium (lots of coconut husk, pebbles, etc.) and some sphagnum mixed in for moisture retention
Pot: A cool pot acquired from the Orchid Gallery on Etsy
Humidity: Not high enough, admittedly
Fertilizer: RepotMe's MSU fertilizer, well-diluted, 3 weeks on, 1 week off
Water: Tap water (methinks this could be the problem)

A friend suggested that I try reverse osmosis or distilled water daily in the hopes of reviving the plant. Given my luck, however, I think it may be too late. Nevertheless, I'll leave it to the hivemind to help!

[jcec1]

I wonder if the growing conditions are too warm? I grow mine cool and moist (15-20C). I read that a lot of people struggle with this genus because they cannot handle heat, that coupled with low humidity is the opposite of how these plants grow. I doubt changing the type of water will be as good a remedy as trying to emulate it's growing conditions. A cool bathroom would probably be a good bet. Also, the medium looks quite dry on the surface, so increasing the frequency of watering would help.

[alexharisiadis]

Originally Posted by jcec1

I wonder if the growing conditions are too warm? I grow mine cool and moist (15-20C). I read that a lot of people struggle with this genus because they cannot handle heat, that coupled with low humidity is the opposite of how these plants grow. I doubt changing the type of water will be as good a remedy as trying to emulate it's growing conditions. A cool bathroom would probably be a good bet. Also, the medium looks quite dry on the surface, so increasing the frequency of watering would help.

That seems to be the wisdom when it comes to milts. Unfortunately, neither of the bathrooms in my apartment have windows, so I'm concerned about light for them. Any thoughts on that front?

[vlhart]

I don't have any experience with Miltoniopsis, but I'm wondering if the cool pot is anything like the one that I bought a few years ago. From what I can see in the picture it looks similar. In the one I had, the drainage holes weren't cut in the right place, which meant that a significant amount of water pooled in the bottom of the pot. I'm wondering if that might be part of what's going on?

[alexharisiadis]

Originally Posted by vlhart

I don't have any experience with Miltoniopsis, but I'm wondering if the cool pot is anything like the one that I bought a few years ago. From what I can see in the picture it looks similar. In the one I had, the drainage holes weren't cut in the right place, which meant that a significant amount of water pooled in the bottom of the pot. I'm wondering if that might be part of what's going on?

Thankfully, the drainage of these holes has been acceptable. I'll usually just tilt the pot after watering to pour off any excess water. I will note that the milt was successfully growing new leaves and bulbs even while in the pot. I just can't figure out what caused the sudden die off in leaves, etc., and then especially when I repotted the damn thing.

[estación seca]

It has a fungus I can't recall now, and is probably beyond hope. This is how Oncidiums die if kept too wet or too warm.

It enters through the roots and kills the rhizome and base of the pseudobulbs before it's noticed. Unpot the plant and cut off everything with a mushy brown rhizome or soft pseudobulb base. If any pseudobulbs have firm healthy bases, they might live.

[alexharisiadis]

Originally Posted by estación seca

It has a fungus I can't recall now, and is probably beyond hope. This is how Oncidiums die if kept too wet or too warm.

It enters through the roots and kills the rhizome and base of the pseudobulbs before it's noticed. Unpot the plant and cut off everything with a mushy brown rhizome or soft pseudobulb base. If any pseudobulbs have firm healthy bases, they might live.

Sigh - I think you're right. I've had a similar die off with leaves on my oncidium, but thankfully that stopped and then it has since started growing new leaves. I attributed that to some high sun exposure, but that has changed now in the winter months.

Oh well, I just don't think I have the growing environment for milts, so I'll chalk this one up to experience and move on.

[Leafmite]

If you like the way Milts look and their fragrance, try a Burr. Nelly Isler 'Swiss Beauty.'