Newly acquired Miltassia Shelob Tolkien need serious help

[soundtweakers]

Originally Posted by Shirley

Hi Soundtweakers, Seems as though you've already identified your plant but thought I'd post this photo of my Mtssa. Shelob 'Red Spider' which also looks very much like yours!

thanks Shirley, that's a lovely picture you have

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by soundtweakers

are the one with the spike and the blossoms the newer bulb? Because the two wrinkled bulbs do not look like they had spiked before.

yes - the pbulb with the blooms is the newer one. There can be various reasons the older bulbs haven't bloomed - the most likely being that this is the plants first bloom. Most orchids in stores are on their first bloom. As the plant matures it will very likely get more than one new growth per year, giving the possibility of more spikes per year My 'oldest' mtssa (got it last summer) too has slight 'shriveling' of the older pbulbs - they aren't as smooth and fat as the new ones but far from sunken - much like yours. The roots look great and the plant is growing like a weed and growing a spike now. With all the new growth I hope more spikes will follow as the newest growths mature

keep plant lightly moist, not drying out completely in between watering.

Yours is a lovely mtssa - on my wishlist

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by soundtweakers

btw, since this is my first orchid with thinner roots, what does rotting roots look like for this plant?

well even tho the roots are fine - rotting ones look much the same as heavier roots when they rot - soft and mushy. The roots visible in your pot look good
Water plant before media is completely dry - but not keeping it sopping wet.

When the plant finishes blooming repot with fresh media.
Small bark or coconut husk chips, some perlite. Or fine orchid bark mix. Soak media overnight before potting

[soundtweakers]

thank you very much, WhiteRabbit.

I will post picture of the roots next Tuesday when I receive my potting media.

[soundtweakers]

A little update:

The potting mix arrived on 8/25/09, I repotted the plant while it was still in bloom. The flowers remained for three more weeks until they started to fall off this week (9/15/09), not sure if it's due to our sudden drop in temperature(autumn is here in NYC) or anything else.

There's no visible new growth on this orchid, I cut off the spike last night and treat it with cinnamon powder. Are new growth to be expected now that I cut the spike off? I have an Onc. Sweet ear that I cut off the spike on day one, and it put out new growth in less than 3 weeks. Here is the photo of that Onc.



Also, I'm a bit confused about the general care of this Orchid, not sure if I should go for Onc. care or Brassia care stardards?