Miltoniopsis is similar in care and closely related to Oncidium. Mine is in a plastic pot c orchid bark mix and is thriving. You can also use a clay pot.
I water profusely when dry. (about weekly) until water runs thru the bottom of the pot. I let dry for 5 min or so before placing it back in the saucer.
I have been rewarded by fragrance throughout the house for the last 6 weeks and going strong.
I give it morning sun from 7:30 AM to around 9:00 am, c bright indirect light all day.
Miltoniopsis is amazingly fragrant, but only during the day.

Thank you Leafhead! So glad to hear miltoniopsis are fragrant and flowers last....and that care is similar to oncidium.

I find my miltassia (same family, I assume) needs watering twice a week or the leaves start to get pleated. My odontioda (sp?) would probably love to be watered 3 X weekly.

Miltassia = Easy. Miltoniopsis = Difficult

There is the little problem of growing conditions. All new growers go through this phase of trying to grow everything.

To lump Miltoniopsis with other Oncidiums is dangerous.

Over a 1000 orchids benched at a local orchid society in 2012 of which 2 were Miltoniopsis says something....I tried and failed to grow them in the past , they always pined away and died.

They are a bit like those other casper milk toasts of the orchid world Phalaenopsis in that they are narrow temperature range orchids...

If you look at the thumb nails in the link there are lots of Miltonia which are much more cold and warmth tolerant than Miltoniopsis (pansy orchids).

Ideal temperature range????

Of course Zone 6 is an entirely different world to Sydney, Australia where Laeliinae Sub Tribe orchids (Cattleyas) are easy. Maybe they will be difficult under lights.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oncidiinae sub-tribe pictures

Miltoniopsis is difficult, many have tried and many have failed. They like fairly even temperature all year long, not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winter. I am finally successful with them putting them in the warm greenhouse in the winter and the cold greenhouse in the summer.

I give beginner's talks at our society orchid shows and often show people a Miltoniopsis and a Dendrobium nobile in full bloom. I advise them to look at them often, photograph them frequently and love them a lot as they'll probably never see them in bloom again.

Not to be confused with Miltonia, a horse of different color, much tougher. Same for Oncidiums and all their alliances which are much easier.

Nick

I've slowly killed every Miltoniopsis (5 or 6) I've ever tried :-( They usually last @1 to 2 years/a couple of bloom cycles and then decline quickly. Very tough maintaining proper temp, humidity and watering for me as an indoor grower in winter.

Good luck,

Bob

I would suggest growing your Miltoniopsis close to an air conditioning vent in the summer and in front of a cold window during the winter. They dislike warm temps.

They also need lots of moisture or the leaves will wrinkle. They dislike sun except for "maybe" a couple of hours in the early a.m.

Yes it is very fragrant.

Your Catt is almost the opposite - lots of light, wants to dry out before it is water again and should enjoy your house temps during the winter.

Brooke

Thank you hijack, finally some input on the Blc c(:
Of course thank you everyone else, for all the info on miltoniopsis. Pretty discouraging though, lol. Hopefully i can keep it alive, temps seem stable throughout the house at about 70F and i take a look at my plants daily....at least the experience ought to count for something, right?

Sorry about ignoring the BLC but that one is a no-brainer. Difficult to kill unless you drown it by over watering.

Nick

So, how big is Blc. Hawaiian Lightning 'Fiesta' ? How many pseudobulbs does it have and how tall are they?
Lots of pics on that unreliable place (google) and the breeding (and name) suggests that it is has a large splash petal type flower. Probably will grow a new pseudobulb over summer and flower in Autumn.
Do you intend to summer it outside or are you going to keep it inside all year?
Of course, i have no idea how to grow cats in zone 6 but Brooke has given you a good starting point. But maybe with a bit of info i can guess how long till you see a flower.

This post was edited by arthurm on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 2:36

Sorry for late response, computer had to be fixed. So far i know nothing other than the flower colors and that it is fragrant. Neither have arrived yet. I would like to put them outside in the summer. I have a large shaded patio, fairly bright shade.