Why don't my Miltonopsis flowers open?

[Hedge]

Maybe it's a day length thing as well as the humidity - you and I are the farthest north by a long way compared to the other people who have taken the trouble to reply. do you use any artificial lighting, Rosie? Mine is in a room we don't use at night, so is only getting natural day length.

Also I think some of these supermarket plants are not bred to last - they want you to buy more, after all

[silken]

I find mine do well under more light than what I usually see written about them. I have two HO T5's about a foot above them for 13 hours a day. There is a clear plastic between them and the light as I keep them in a little plastic greenhouse for humidity. Last spring thru summer I managed to bloom quite a few of mine this way. But it seems since mid summer they just aren't as robust as they were last year and some not doing well. They are almost all named hybrids that I bought from vendors so I think they just don't get the best conditions from me even tho I don't know what is lacking.

[Rivka]

if nobody has mentioned it, its good to know that those accordion like wrinkles on the leaves are from lack of water reaching the plant when that leaf grew. if it is getting plenty of watering, it may be that the roots are not healthy and are not taking the water in well. i would take a good look and see in the handful of newest leaves have that rippling, if they do it needs to be addressed. if only last seasons leaves have it and the new ones are nice and flat, then whatever the issue was it has been resolved (maybe new roots grew or conditions improved)

[orchidsarefun]

your plant may be overpotted. Mine is in a tiny pot and I had 5 spikes flower this year. I also have a new growth.
Also
- mine is in a sphag mix. I water 1x per week by standing pot in a container with water level 1/3 of pot ( 20 mins )
- I also water from the top at same time
- usual fertilise weakly 1x per month
- mine only gets natural light, with sun for about 1hr per day
- temp down to 62 overnight
- I have a humidifier close by
As with everything YMMV ( your mileage may vary, meaning you gotta do what works for you ! )

[silken]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

your plant may be overpotted. Mine is in a tiny pot and I had 5 spikes flower this year. I also have a new growth.
Also
- mine is in a sphag mix. I water 1x per week by standing pot in a container with water level 1/3 of pot ( 20 mins )
- I also water from the top at same time
- usual fertilise weakly 1x per month
- mine only gets natural light, with sun for about 1hr per day
- temp down to 62 overnight
- I have a humidifier close by
As with everything YMMV ( your mileage may vary, meaning you gotta do what works for you ! )

When you say a sphag mix, is it sphag mixed with something else and approx. what proportions? I add sphag to some fine bark and usually some perlite, but these suckers dry out a lot in 2 or 3 days! They aren't bone dry, but the top half of the pot is for sure! I seem to be getting way more krinkled leaves than I used to

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by Hedge

Maybe it's a day length thing as well as the humidity - you and I are the farthest north by a long way compared to the other people who have taken the trouble to reply. do you use any artificial lighting, Rosie? Mine is in a room we don't use at night, so is only getting natural day length.

Also I think some of these supermarket plants are not bred to last - they want you to buy more, after all

Mine had already lasted a couple of years so I don't think it was anything to do with the supermarket.

I was starting to wonder myself about the day length thing or light levels. I don't use growing lights. When it flowered I moved it into my living room which does have lights on in the evening, but they are not grow lights just our standard low energy light bulbs. The mantle piece were it was can be quite low on natural light and I've had plants die there before in the winter, I usually only put them there for a week or so at a time while flowering but sometimes forgot and leave one longer. This had it's first leaf die while there and I immediately moved it to it's old spot which is a west window and much brighter. However the leaves kept dying and bulbs and new growths have followed the same way.

It actually reminds me of the Vanda which died there last winter, again one I forgot to move back to a brighter spot.

Other orchids don't seem to mind the spot and it's only in the winter that I ever have a problem with it. I don't really know why they don't recover once put in brighter light, especially as I seemed to catch this one early on.

[orchidsarefun]

but it looks like about 80% sphagnum and 20% fine bark. ( pot really gets heavy after watering )

[Hedge]

Rosie, do you have a fire of any sort under the mantel piece - it may be sensitive to fumes or getting a draft from the hot air rising. Or do you clean the mantel shelf with a spray polish - my mother-in -law killed many plants with Mr Sheen by accident!!

[RosieC]

The fire is rarely on and I ALWAYS move the plants on the rare occasions it's lit (which is only when our boiler has failed). It's a gas enclosed fire, but I still worry about fumes or heat whenever I use it.

As as for polish... when I'm not the most domestic of people and so it tends to just get wiped with a damp cloth when I spill water while watering and that's it

[Hedge]

Originally Posted by RosieC

As as for polish... when I'm not the most domestic of people and so it tends to just get wiped with a damp cloth when I spill water while watering and that's it