MrHappyRotter |
02-11-2018 10:32 AM |
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.
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