HELP: Miltoniopsis wrinkled leaves, root rot with flower spike
 

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum. I am not a good orchid mama, but I am learning. Hopefully, in time I will improve my green thumb.

I received this Miltoniopsis ( I believe that is what it is called, self identified today) as a Mother's Day gift, two years ago. The plant gave off two spikes with beautiful flowers last year, and currently has a baby spike now. However, the leaves are wrinkled (as you can see in the pictures). I read that this is due to low humidity. If I buy a mister, will that help?

I have noticed that the roots are brown on the top. I would not be surprised if they are like that all throughout the system. I didn't repot it last year and now I am thinking I should have.

As for now, I am going to let the plant flower and then, try to repot it. I am no pro here, but I am giving it my best. I feel like a guilty mama.

What do you guys think I should do? Any and all advice would be appreciated. THANK YOU!!!

the wrinkled leaves are form too much light. so that parts easy. the rest I can't say.

Pleated leaves are usually a sign of too little moisture. If the roots have rotted, the plant will not be able to take up water even if you are watering regularly/enough. Does the pot seem to stay moist too long? That can indicate deteriorated medium, which can lead to root rot.

I would slip the whole plant out of the pot and see if you can see any healthy, firm roots (the color is not the most important thing here). If not, repot immediately if you want to keep the plant healthy.

If you think the roots look good, you need to water more.

I second Fishmom. More water and check those roots!

Thank you for the responses!! I checked out the roots and they feel firm (WHAT A RELIEF!!!). I am glad you mentioned not to worry about the color of the roots, because I was focusing on the color. The plant is definitely root bound, though.

Should I still lower the amount of light it is receiving ?? For the watering, should I just increase the amount of times I am watering it in a week or should I include a misting?

Is there ever a point where these types of orchids should be divided? I haven't found much information on the internet about dividing them, so I am assuming that it is a no-no with these plants.

Thanks again :)

Misting doesn't do much good. Water more often, you can judge by the weight of the pot. The OB often says that division is a choice: do you want to share the plant and are you ok with a postponed bloom. In other words, why divide? If the plant us blooming, I'm not sure I would change the light. Is it bleached or sunburned?

There are some spots where it looks bleached and sunburned. However, I think it was from an early placement in my home. The new place doesn't get as much sun.

With the dividing, the plant just looks squished together! To me, it looks like there are baby plants sprouting out of the older ones. I just want to separate them :rofl: ! However, if that is normal, I will fight the urge to do so!

With the misting, I was thinking it would help with humidity. I live in New Mexico and it is pretty dry up here. If it doesn't really help, then no need to do it :)

Thanks again for all your help!

A humidifier would be of more help.Think how long it takes misting to evaporate. After it blooms you could bump it up a pot size or divide it.

If this plant is in this kind of shape, I wouldn't be dividing it any time soon. It is risky, and you could end up losing some of the smaller divisions.

I usually don't l like to advise people to divide their plants, but if you feel you must divide this plant, wait for 2 full growing seasons before doing it.

It needs to establish itself. If it doesn't, and it is divided, it could be an uphill battle for the plant.

The accordion leaves are the result of insufficient water. It could be the result of heavy root loss. Miltoniopsis is rather notorious for being sold with heavy root damage.

If you haven't seen any new growing roots by now, (it's in the middle of summer, it should've been growing new roots at the base of the new shoots at this point), then this is not an established plant. An unestablished plant should be treated like a weak plant no matter how nice the foliage looks.

Flowers are also a terrible indicator of plant health. An orchid can still bloom when it is about to die.