I can't help myself!

[flowerpower]

I went out to post a letter and came home with my first Miltoniopsis! I have been taking advantage of the Mother's Day flower availability (in the UK we celebrate this earlier than the US). I went back today and they seem to have sold out already!

It came in a very old fashioned looking pot and has some strange leafy stuff growing on the soil. I think it's meant to be there. After flowering I will re-pot and remove it. I don't find it that decorative ?

As for repotting: A while ago I bought this "Orchid compost" which said it is a mixture of bark and graded peat. I thought I was buying something good for my Phals but when I opened the bag it was rather like soil! With (sparse) chunky bits in it. It has just sat in the bag unused. I was thinking perhaps this mix could be useful for my miltonia with plenty of medium grade fir bark mixed in too? What do you think?

[rcb]

It's gorgeous - most of the Milts I've seen are pale with darker middles, this one is opposite - really like it.

[psyc1210]

Stunning!! I love Milts

[syndywindy]

Thats a really pretty milt, I can see why you grabbed it.

[-k-]

Very nice pickup! Is it fragrant too?
Erm... another one for the list... yeesh this list is getting too big

[AprilsOrchids]

wow, it's beautiful and the plant looks so healthy. congratulations!

[flowerpower]

Originally Posted by -K-

Very nice pickup! Is it fragrant too?
Erm... another one for the list... yeesh this list is getting too big

Unfortunately, no fragrance I have heard they can have amazing fragrances too. I love the size of the flowers, I can see why it's called "the pansy orchid"

[sunshine]

What a gorgeous milt Milts are my favorites. I have a white one w/yellow center that smells like lemons. I have found that the fragrance doesn't show up to about a week after it's been blooming. Mine is most noticeable in the morning. Do not repot until it has finished blooming. The flowers last 4-6 weeks I use the regular orchid mix which has bark, charcoal and perlite.

They are also good candidates for s/h and are water hogs. Here is the culture sheet on how to care for your milt.

AOS | Miltonia

[dounoharm]

its a gorgeous milt! i love the RED!! i think you could mix some of that peat orchid mix with a heavy dose of coarse bark....milt love to stay damp so it might work for one of those....dont let it quite dry out....gl!

[orchidlover55]

WOW that is gorgeous it is making me

[maiseymoo]

Wow! I love it, I got my first milt a while ago and it had the 'stuff' on top, I just picked it away and it seems fine, it is a right water hog though. The flowers have lasted about eight weeks so far I haven't repotted yet as I am unsure what mixture and quite how to do it! P.S I did the same thing last week, went out for a mothers day pressie and came back with a phal , did get mum a pressie in the end, have got her necklace and a glass pot for her orchid and some choclate from Thortons.

[flowerpower]

I have bought myself two "mothers day" presents now - the last was a dendrobium, I love how there are so many more orchids available at this time of the year

If you want to re-pot, I know fine fir bark is okay, but I just don't have any so I wanted to make use of the materials that I have at hand. I hope I do not end up over-watering the milt because the dense media went from soaking to only moist quite rapidly! I was surprised.

Thank you all for complimenting my milt. The red flowers remind me of velvet.

[lmartiny]

A very nice, rich color. If you have Cyms, or jewels, that mix would probably be OK for them. I'm pretty sure my tetrete(sp?) type vanda is in soil too.

[flowerpower]

Originally Posted by sunshine

What a gorgeous milt Milts are my favorites. I have a white one w/yellow center that smells like lemons. I have found that the fragrance doesn't show up to about a week after it's been blooming. Mine is most noticeable in the morning. Do not repot until it has finished blooming. The flowers last 4-6 weeks I use the regular orchid mix which has bark, charcoal and perlite.

They are also good candidates for s/h and are water hogs. Here is the culture sheet on how to care for your milt.

AOS | Miltonia

Thanks for this info - the Milt has opened a few more of its blooms and suddenly started producing a beautiful fragrance. I am sure it was not there before but this is the first time I smelled it in the AM. My Dendrobium seems to be emitting a fragrance as well.

I am not ready for S/H No really, I keep reading that Milts die a lot and cause people grief... I will make sure I keep reading up on their care to give it the best possible chance but I only have previous experience of Phals and a Dendrobium that doesn't ask for much.

[flowerpower]

Originally Posted by lmartiny

A very nice, rich color. If you have Cyms, or jewels, that mix would probably be OK for them. I'm pretty sure my tetrete(sp?) type vanda is in soil too.

Thanks. Do you mean the orchid compost/bark idea would work for a Cymbidium but not for a Milt...?