|
| Here's the story
Few years back I picked up a Miltoniopsis in a 4" pot with about 5 growths, in spike. Over the next 6 months or so it slowly declines, which I kind of expected since I've never been able to grow these before. I thought my problem was temperature related but was advised by someone that is was most likely because I was letting it dry out to much. So with the plant almost dead I decided to put it in a semi hydroponic pot to see what would happen. It died back to the point where all that was left was 2 small shriveled p-bulbs. I was about to throw it away but got caught up with other things for a few weeks. When I finally got around to dumping it I notice new growth so I put it back where it was. It continued to grow and 2 years later it flowered , 4 spikes with nice large flowers. This year the new growth started out normally but when it was about half way to maturity it stopped growing. Then it turned brown, starting from the tips of the newest leaves spreading down to the p- bulbs. I also notice the leaves take on a chalky, silver appearance. While removing the dead leaves I find spikes in the folds of the leaves brown at the tips and green at the base. The die back continues until again, I'm left with 2 shriveled p -bulbs. Again I was about to throw it away and what do I see, new growth. The semi - hydroponic pot it's in is basically a clear plastic pot that sits inside another pot with a reservoir at the bottom. The clear pot has a wick that pulls water into the media. Thru the clear pot I can see the roots, they look fine. The only thing I did different this year was I sprayed with Physan in the fall, other than that everything else was the same. So what hapened? Could the Physan have killed the top growth and not the roots? Another odd thing I noticed is that the potting mix seems to have a sweet scent to it, do Miltoniopsis roots have a scent? Thanks
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| It might be temperature related, they like it not too hot and not too cold. I tried to grow them and they always died. Scarce as hens teeth around these parts. approx 1000 orchids benched each year at the local orchid society and you would be lucky to see one most years. |
|
| I would agree with temperature if it had died the first year. The thing that doesn't make sense is that it did well for a few years then just stopped growing. |
|
- Posted by orchidnick z9Ca (orchidnick@yahoo.com) on Sun, Jul 29, 12 at 9:05
| I have been unsuccessful with them for years and finally hit on a simple formula which led to 3 of them blooming this year. In the summer I put them in the cold greenhouse, in the winter they switch to the warm GH. They don't like to get too warm nor too cool This may not apply to the original post but does address years of frustration I have had with these beauties. Now that it finally found a successful formula, I plan to lay on a few more, they are very showy. I know most people don't have a cool and a warm GH but the principle applies. Keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Nick |
|
| We all have orchids in our collection that fit the heading. They might survive for a few years in marginal conditions but in the end they die. Just to add to what Nick said one OS member many years back had some success with them but he had a very large airy glasshouse that because of its size did not get as hot in summer as my two small glasshouses. In the unlikely event that i try another one i would keep it in my home all year. As i said before not easy at latitude 33S. Maybe not easy in NJ either, I remember arriving in New York many many moons ago and it was hot and sticky, hardly cloud forest conditions. |
|
| I have tried every which way. They seem to like cool. I kept them in the house in AC all summer, put them out in fall, back inside for winter. Kept them cool. They still died. One did bloom for a few years but would appear to die. After bringing it to Florida, I kept it inside and saw two new growths and was really optimistic it would grow here. They entire plant suddenly died. I can't grow them in NY or Florida! Jane |
|
- Posted by orchidnick z9Ca (orchidnick@yahoo.com) on Mon, Jul 30, 12 at 9:42
| I routinely give talks to beginners at our orchid shows. I single out 2 plants for negative recommendations. I tell people that the Miltoniopsis and the Dendrobium nobile are striking and irresistible. 'Buy them, love them and photograph them a lot because you'll never see them bloom again.' Nick |
|
| I understand and agree with the points made about temperature to an extent. The die back happened between January and March which for my area are some of the coldest months of the year. The last few months have had record breaking heat waves and in the last 2 months is when it started growing back. I guess if it was easy to grow it would be much less interesting. |
|
| They are very desirable.... but maybe easier if you lived in San Francisco? Must ask the owner of this orchid if it is still alive.  |
|
| I love these orchids and failed miserably for thirty years. I knew people who were successful with growing and blooming them in New Orleans, La. I was told what their secret is and I've had success growing them for the last five years here in central Alabama. I put them in cool pots which act as a cool evaporizer at their roots. Repot every year. Grow under grow lights. Go to Wal Mart and buy a couple of those small seven dollar fans and place them directly in front of the plants. Also while at Wal Mart buy the cheapest warm mist evaporizer and place it directly behind the fans. The biggest thing to prevent the rot on the new growth is never fertilize these plants ever. If you feel that you must fertilize. then crush up some dead leaves and put on top of your orchid bark. In five years, I've never fertilized any plant and have been rewarded with multiple growths and blooms twice a year on all my plants. I water every three days. Like I said,I failed for thirty years trying to grow these plants. I followed the instructions from down in New Orleans and I haven't lost a plant in five years. I grow them inside of the house and they never go outside. I hope that this helps some of ya'll to give them another try. BTW, I just noticed a new flower spike forming on one of my plants. The orchid mix that I use is Schultz Orchid Mix. It has no fertilizer in it. It took me many years to learn that chemical fertilizers kill the new growths on these plants. Oh, and my house temps are set at 75 degrees all year. |
|
| Oh, and I keep the door closed to the room the orchids are in. Besides the grow lights they also get some late afternoon sun from a window. The time that the room gets sunlight is not hot enough to damage my plants. It's very humid when I go into that room and the plants seem to love it. This setup is real cheap. The only expense that I have to endure is only when I have to buy two grow lights every six months, and two of those are less than 20 bucks at Home Depot. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Orchids Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.