Miltonia potting.
David Farber
market about four years ago. It was spring and it had a few bright,
colorful, blooms. That winter, new shoots emerged. What I knew about orchids
then were that they were supposed to be temperamental and needed to be
watched carefully. I looked at the "soil" and wondered, "What the heck is
that? What could possibly grow in that? It looks like something you'd find
blown up against the curb on a windy day?" I figured, I must go out and buy
the good stuff. So I bought some potting soil and repotted it with that.
Yes, the exact opposite of what it needed. The plant soon stopped growing.
The leaves turned yellow. I waited until next spring for a bloom but
nothing. Later that year I returned the plant to the nice lady that sold it
to me. She looked over the situation and told me that the plant needed to
have bark, not soil and promptly did the changeover for me. She told me to
wait until the next spring for the next bloom. Sure enough, her prediction
was correct. Then the following winter, I repotted with some bark mix and
some *orchid* potting soil. And I'm wondering now if orchid potting soil is
an oxymoron. According to my research, a Miltonia is an epiphyte which never
even touches soil in the forest. Here are some pictures of the plant:
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/farberbear/Orchid/Miltonia/miltonia.html
The top two photos are how the plant looks today. The bottom two are how it
looked last year.
I was wondering does it look healthy now and should I get rid of the orchid
potting soil?
Thanks for your reply.
--
David Farber
L.A., CA
Diana Kulaga
*Soil* is a misnomer for epiphyte mixes. There are in fact terrestrial
orchids that grow in soil, but the majority of what most of us grow are
epiphytes that won't do well in dirt.
There are many potting media that are suitable for our orchids. They range
from the classic bark (usually lightened up with some sponge rock or
Perlite) that you show to fired clay pellets to plain old pebbles.
Regarding your plant, the bark on top looks okay, but what matters is how
the bark down in the pot is like. You may want to check it to see that it
hasn't broken down and turned to mush. Also, while the plant appears to have
a new growth and looks pretty healthy, there is at least one brown
pseudobulb right smack dab in the center of he photos. I can't tell if it is
soft or just dried up.
If it is soft, it's necessary to excise it using a clean razor blade or a
sterilized cutting tool Cut away any rotten tissue and then seal the cut
with a paste of Elmer's Glue and cinnamon. (Cinnamon has properties that
protect the plant from bacteria and fungus.)
If the p-bulb is hard, you might be able to just cut it off or leave it to
shrivel on its own.
One last thing. You picture the plant in a glazed, decorative planter. I see
indentations on the side that may or may not be holes. The plant needs air
circulation in order for the medium to dry out. Does the pot have holes
anywhere?
Diana
"David Farber" <farberbe...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:4b11840c$0$28802$bd46...@news.dslextreme.com...
David Farber
Hi Diana,
Those indentations in the planter are holes.
I don't have any more orchid soil. I have some leftover product called
Wonderbark and presently that's what's mixed in with the orchid soil. Is it
possible to inspect the roots and bark without repotting the plant?
K Barrett
These orchid "soils" - as Diana says - are mixes of peat moss, which I
find very hard to re-wet once dry. The peat moss mix will allow air to
the roots, which - as you've read - is what epiphytes need. But the
question is how much? Does it keep too much water at the roots,
smothering/rotting your plant?
The trick in using these "soils" (imho) is to find the proper balance
between air and water. As you know more orchids are killed by over
watering than under watering. These closed down media (that is to say
fine peat particles with concomittantly fine air pockets between the
particles) do not allow for much air in the pot, or not as much as the
plant would like to 'breathe' (No the plant doesn't breathe with its
roots, but one can think of it that way)
You've had poor success with soils in the past, better success with
bark, so I'd say the plant was asking for bark. A finer bark is usually
used for plants with fine roots. Closing down the air spaces between
the bark 'particles' just a bit to keep more humidity at the roots
As Diana says, there are two sorts of pots, too. Unglazed terracotta
with drainage holes, and glazed terracotta or plastic. The unglazed
terracotta will breathe - sometimes too much drying the plant out
prematurely before you have a chance to water again. The plastic
doesn't, air transport occurs when 1) watering pulls air through the pot
and 2) with the day/night change in temps causes air movement(convection).
Its been my experience that Miltonias do not like a stale mix. They
prefer potting annually. They prefer to be evenly moist to the drier
side of moist, but never to dry out completely like you would for a
Cattleya.
My advice would be to do what the nice lady who sold you the plant said:
repot in bark and see what happens. Then maybe go back to the lady and
buy another Miltonia so you can see how they change over time. That is
to say if your Miltonia doesn't make it you'd have another to experiment
& learn with.
Do not worry about repotting at this time. Orchid roots aren't like
other roots. They do not have fine hairs that get damaged when
repotting. The plant would probably thank you for it. In general
however, repotting is done 1) when the new roots start to sprout or 2)
the plant is in danger of death and you have nothing to lose.
K Barrett
David Farber
Hi K,
You've given me a lot to digest. Just a quick question or two, how do I tell
when it's sprouting new roots without taking it out of the pot? I'm still a
little confused about my earlier question. Can I take the plant out of the
pot to inspect it, and if it's in good condition, replace it with the same
bark and soil? In other words, can I reuse the old mixture until I get a
chance to buy some new mix?
Ray B
We're talking about new root growth that will be evident above the
potting medium, not those roots already in it.
Root cells grow in a manner that is tailored to the environment they are
in, and once grown, do not change.
When switching from one medium to another - or new from old - that
environment will be different, so it is important that new roots be
growing so they will be "designed" for that new environment. If the
difference between old and new is great enough, we expect the old roots
to die, so there had better be new ones to take over support of the
plant.
As a stop-gap measure, yes you can unpot and repot in the same medium
(opening it up to make it more airy will be a help all by itself), but
you really should keep supplies on hand so you can make these
"emergency" moves promptly.
Ray Barkalow - First Rays LLC - www.firstrays.com
Orchid Plants, Supplies, Equipment, Books
Artwork, Free Services & Lots of Info!
K Barrett
>
> Hi K,
>
> You've given me a lot to digest. Just a quick question or two, how do I tell
> when it's sprouting new roots without taking it out of the pot? I'm still a
> little confused about my earlier question. Can I take the plant out of the
> pot to inspect it, and if it's in good condition, replace it with the same
> bark and soil? In other words, can I reuse the old mixture until I get a
> chance to buy some new mix?
>
> Thanks for your reply.
While I am loathe to tell you what to do because I firmly believe that
no one can tell you how to grow your orchids because they can't guess
what your unique conditions may be. That said:
IMHO take the Miltonia out of the "soi/bark" you have it in and put it
in fine bark, probably in a plastic pot then slip that pot in the pretty
blue pot you have it in in order to improve the air/moisture ratio. And
that air moisture ratio is different for everyone, its something you
have to learn for yourself at the cost of several dead plants.
New roots arise from any new growth, the new growth appears first, the
roots second (usually). In oncidiums (Oncidium Alliance which Miltonia
belongs to) I believe the new growth starts then the roots appear
sometime afterwards. The new growth appears slightly above or to the
side of the old growth so you should be able to see the new growth and
new roots unless you've potted your plant too deep in the potting
medium. Do not bury the rhizome, it should be at or slightly above the
surface of the potting medium.
Again, IMHO you don't risk much in repotting orchids at any time because
there are no fine hairs to damage like with all other plant roots. All
other plants have root hairs that you try not to ruin because then the
plant can't uptake nutrient. Orchid roots are different. If one is
careful one can repot an orchid at almost any time. Optimal repotting
time is when new roots are appearing. But your orchid isn't like that.
IMHO your orchid is stressed, in an improper medium and should be
repotted in fine bark. But what do I know? You are in LA. I'm up here
in the SF Bay Area. You may want to continue experimenting with your
medium. Fine! Good! Mahzeltov! All I'm saying is you have to read
your plants with your eyes. They are trying to talk to you. This one
did better when you followed a vendor's advice and put it in bark.
If you have access to any bookstore or Home Depot try and find a copy of
the Ortho book 'All About Growing Orchids' (this may not be the exact
title but it will be something similar) This will be a cheap, accurate,
handy resource for basic skills.
K Barrett
David Farber
>
> You've given me a lot to digest. Just a quick question or two, how do
> I tell
> when it's sprouting new roots without taking it out of the pot? I'm
> still a
> little confused about my earlier question. Can I take the plant out of
> the
> pot to inspect it, and if it's in good condition, replace it with the
> same
> bark and soil? In other words, can I reuse the old mixture until I
> get a
>
> chance to buy some new mix?
>
> Thanks for your reply.
> David,
>
> We're talking about new root growth that will be evident above the
> potting medium, not those roots already in it.
>
> Root cells grow in a manner that is tailored to the environment they
> are in, and once grown, do not change.
>
> When switching from one medium to another - or new from old - that
> environment will be different, so it is important that new roots be
> growing so they will be "designed" for that new environment. If the
> difference between old and new is great enough, we expect the old
> roots to die, so there had better be new ones to take over support of
> the plant.
>
> As a stop-gap measure, yes you can unpot and repot in the same medium
> (opening it up to make it more airy will be a help all by itself), but
> you really should keep supplies on hand so you can make these
> "emergency" moves promptly.
>
> Ray Barkalow - First Rays LLC - www.firstrays.com
> Orchid Plants, Supplies, Equipment, Books
> Artwork, Free Services & Lots of Info!
I have never seen above ground roots in my miltonia. If you see them in the
picture, or in any other picture, please point them out to me.
I did buy some new supplies this afternoon and repotted the plant. (See my
message to K)
David Farber
Hi K,
So you're saying I need to become an Orchid Whisperer? (-;
After some clean up, this is what it looked like before putting it back in
the pot.
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/farberbear/Orchid/Miltonia/miltonia.html#Roots
I went to Home Depot and bought some bark and Miracle-Gro orchid soil mix.
I used about 80% bark and 20% soil mix. I guess time will tell. The old
mixture didn't seem that bad. Oddly enough, Home depot was selling orchids
in clear plastic pots but when I asked where I could purchase the clear
pots, I was told they did not sell them. They only had the fancy ceramic
pots. So I put my plant back in the fancy pot.
I did find a copy of the Ortho book. I checked it out of the library
yesterday along with about a half dozen other Orchid books. I'll need to
start making flash cards with vocabulary words and I'll start with "rhizome,
a rootlike subterranean stem, commonly horizontal in position, that usually
produces roots below and sends up shoots progressively from the upper
surface." I didn't see any of those, did I bury them?
Ray B
The rhizome on sympodial orchids can be the elongated structure you are
expecting, or as is the case in your miltonia, so short that it is
merely the connection between pseudobulbs.
Looking at the photos, it appears that you really have no appreciable
viable roots left on that thing, due to suffocation of them in the old
potting medium. Quite frankly, I think it's a goner.
If you do want to attempt to recover it, I would echo Kathy's
recommendation on the fine bark, and add that you're going to need to
keep the plant shady, warm, and VERY humid in an attempt to get it to
recover.
Miltonias (I really think it is likely a miltoniopsis), having those
very thin leaves, can become desiccated very quickly, and with no roots
to absorb moisture, cannot replenish the moisture loss. By keeping it
in maximum relative humidity, you slow that drying process, possibly
giving it time to form a new growth and have that get established with
new roots before the entire plant gives up the ghost.
Ray Barkalow - First Rays LLC - www.firstrays.com
Orchid Plants, Supplies, Equipment, Books
Artwork, Free Services & Lots of Info!
K Barrett
>
> Hi K,
>
> So you're saying I need to become an Orchid Whisperer? (-;
>
> After some clean up, this is what it looked like before putting it back in
> the pot.
> http://members.dslextreme.com/users/farberbear/Orchid/Miltonia/miltonia.html#Roots
>
> I went to Home Depot and bought some bark and Miracle-Gro orchid soil mix.
> I used about 80% bark and 20% soil mix. I guess time will tell. The old
> mixture didn't seem that bad. Oddly enough, Home depot was selling orchids
> in clear plastic pots but when I asked where I could purchase the clear
> pots, I was told they did not sell them. They only had the fancy ceramic
> pots. So I put my plant back in the fancy pot.
>
> I did find a copy of the Ortho book. I checked it out of the library
> yesterday along with about a half dozen other Orchid books. I'll need to
> start making flash cards with vocabulary words and I'll start with "rhizome,
> a rootlike subterranean stem, commonly horizontal in position, that usually
> produces roots below and sends up shoots progressively from the upper
> surface." I didn't see any of those, did I bury them?
>
> Thanks for your reply.
> --
> David Farber
> L.A., CA
Orchid Whisperer is very close to the truth, *G*! I'm glad yo got the
Ortho book. It should help you to learn the basic stuff it takes us
time to type, such as the structure of orchid roots how they differ from
regular plants and things like rhizomes. As well as a guide to the
common varieties of orchids Like oncidiums, phalaenopsis, cattleyas,
masdevallias etc.
Put it in a fine bark mix. Don't use too large a pot and tighten the
plant in the medium so the plant doesn't wobble. Then, like Ray says,
keep it evenly moist, warm and shady and hopefully you'll see new roots
start.
The Ortho Book will talk about repotting too, and firming the plant in
the pot and the hazards of using too large a pot (called overpotting)
K Barrett