Why are Miltoniopsis (Pansey Orchid) not popular

[aliceinwl]

I think it's a Miltonia. It's a NOID but looks identical to Miltonia Sunset. The cold damage looks to be mainly cosmetic and doesn't seem to be getting worse since I started putting it in the garage at night. We've had a sting of nights getting into the mid 30s so right now everyone outside but the Cymbidiums are going in the garage in case temps dip into freezing.

[Danie]

I used to have 2 Miltoniopsis, only this one survived. Not sure what I did wrong with the other.
It has been growing on my window sill, on the southern part of the house. I keep its soil damp.

I am not sure what kind of fertilizer I should use. Could you give me a hint?

Thank you.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

That’s good to hear! All of my long term intergeneric Oncidium types, and Zygopetalum types have been doing well outside. But, I made the mistake of putting a new winter acquisition Zygopetalum and Miltonia straight outside. The Miltonia got a lot of cold damage and I may have killed the Zygopetalum. So, I’ve been putting those two and the Miltoniopsis in the garage every night to take the brunt off the night time lows.

I have found that most new winter acquisitions need some pampering, even if they theoretically can tolerate cool temperatures - typically, commercial growers don't push the envelope on the low end, so the plant isn't acclimated. I wait until night temps are above 55 deg F or so before putting them outside. Then they have the full range of natural temperatures before the next winter, and have a chance to acclimate. (If a plant comes from a nursery along the coast that does outdoor growing like Andy's or Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, plants come already acclimated - love it!)

Miltoniopsis is just plain tricky - the people with a lot of heat call them "cool growers" and the people with outdoor growing, cool winter nights, call them "warm growing" Actually, they're just "narrow range" - not liking temperatures much below 50-55 deg F, or or above 80 deg F. I have actually found better cold-tolerance on Miltonia than Miltoniopsis. Still picky.

[estación seca]

Bump.

A very beautiful plant!

People here grow Miltoniopsis and should be able to help you. (It's too hot here.)

[bethmarie]

I was going to submit a thorough, thoughtful reply, but this is so much easier:

Originally Posted by MrHappyRotter

I think they're popular here in the USA, just many people can't grow them. Problem is, in much of the country the climate simply isn't conducive to growing and blooming Miltoniopis without a lot of effort and expense. Absent that, they just aren't very resilient. When you're already growing them at the extreme range of their preferences, one minor mistake and they tend to drop all their leaves and just fade away -- at the very least they look ratty for years and won't bloom. Challenge is fine, but Miltoniopsis are well into the difficult range of things to grow well and bloom consistently in many parts of the USA (and world). Few would want to spend lots of time, effort, and money on a plant when one little mistake can very easily spell its demise.

There are also financial implications here, too. A huge amount of orchid breeding and propagation at the international scale is done in tropical and subtropical regions and a large percentage of the intended market for those plants is countries, like the US, that don't have a great climate for Miltoniopsis. Nurseries want to maximize their profits, they're going to select things that people want. People want long lasting flowers, but without the right conditions, Miltoniopsis flowers won't provide that. Other people want plants they can grow and bloom again, and once more, without the right conditions Miltoniopsis won't provide that. So, when the choice is to produce good selling and inexpensive to raise Phalaenopsis versus tougher to sell and more expensive to raise Miltoniopsis, the market's going to go for Phals.

In addition, Miltoniopsis has a lot of competition from its own intergeneric hybrids. You can get a similar look, but a much more vigorous and warmth tolerant plant if you breed in some warmer and more tolerant genes from other genera like Oncidium. These sort of take the place of pure Miltoniopsis in people's collections.

And, let's not forget that like everything else, the orchid hobby is subject to trends and fashion. It may not be the most popular genus right now, but things change. Plants that are popular today fall out of favor, and others that are relatively unknown or which have fallen by the wayside will take their place. There may be some breakthroughs in warmth tolerance, for example, that opens up new markets and opportunities. Lucrative emerging markets in areas with better climates for Miltoniopsis might drive more production and more popularity to the genus.

[Pattywack]

Originally Posted by estación seca

It looks like a difficult-to-grow spider plant LOL

ES, that was hateful! I had a talk with ole Bert and this is your reply:

[AJW]

try low nitrogen fert during summer (weekly)and a high potassium phosphate fert during Autumn to spring (Monthly)

[chantrelle]

Originally Posted by Danie

I used to have 2 Miltoniopsis, only this one survived. Not sure what I did wrong with the other.
It has been growing on my window sill, on the southern part of the house. I keep its soil damp.

I am not sure what kind of fertilizer I should use. Could you give me a hint?

Thank you.

I’m just a beginner and got my second Miltoniopsis today, at the Montreal orchid expo, but I’ve been reading a lot about Miltoniopsis since I like them so much.

Would it be possible it had to much light ? From what I’ve read they like a little bit more light than Phal. for sure less than Cattleya. But as I said, this is from reading not experience, the one I bought last year is spiking right now, so no experience at all.

Do you know the name of the hybride on your picture ? It is very beautifull

---------- Post added at 06:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 AM ----------

Originally Posted by AJW

The attached photos are but of a few I have flowered and my set up I will enjoy any feedback.

Oh ! You sure do have very pretty Miltoniopsis

I don’t know about the availability of specific cultivars but they are not hard to find here in Canada. There sure was a few cultivars to chose from at the orchid show I was at today.

Most of the orchid people I know that would be interested in Miltoniopsis believes that they are difficult.

For sure being in East Canada the climate should be easier to grow them but with the heat system in the winter the houses can get quit dry here. But still I had no problem growing mine in semi-hydro.

I intend to grow my new one in a mix of small bark, perlite
and Sphaigne, I just I haven’t decided if it will be, 25% - 25%- 50% or 50% - 25% - 25% as I do with the Oncidium ?

[Danie]

I have been told how difficult it is to grow Miltoniopsis. But I decided to try. I had this plant for 3 years and it seems to like my south facing window sill. Last fall it blessed me with 2 flowering spikes. Now, 4 spikes showed up and I am waiting for the flowers to bloom. I am very excited. My house is cool (living in New Hampshire) and I keep track of the soil moisture. So, I must be doing something right! Now, I want more and more Miltoniopsis...

[stripyorchids]

Originally Posted by jcec1

Here in the UK they are one of the most frequently seen orchids for sale in the likes of Ikea, grocery stores and big box stores. I think they are bred and grown in the Netherlands - they are cheap about £5 ($7) and plentiful. It makes sense given that here they are not too difficult, plus they have huge colourful blooms that are popular with "non-orchid" people. They are probably made for that treat them like cut flowers market and are expected to be tossed once finished flowering.

Where do you live?? 😱 I'm from the UK but I have never seen miltoniopsis in the supermarket or garden centre or anywhere else for that matter, I would love to find some and especially for so cheap! I have honestly seen nothing but phalaenopsis in shops and garden centres where I live (Birmingham).