Miltonia is not happy :(

[DDS2007]

hi all
my Milt is not feeling well , one of the spikes is turning yellow. the other has flowers that are dying without even opening ! please tell me what can i do to make the flowering better? do u think i have damaged my flowers with misting?? i only did so three times two weeks ago then stopped.
i'm attaching photos of the flowers, of the potting mix i have (please tell me what's its name is cuz i have no clue, and if watering every 5 days is sufficient), and a photo of the pebbles tray. as u can see i have it near a west window.
thanks a million
Farah

[tom499]

I dont like the look of the potting mix, it seems very compacted damp moss.
i would remove it from this to check the roots, and pot it in a lighter medium like bark chips.

i would see what others think though, as im not sure why just the flowers would die off like that, but rooting could be a problem.

[fred]

Originally Posted by tom499

I dont like the look of the potting mix, it seems very compacted damp moss.
i would remove it from this to check the roots, and pot it in a lighter medium like bark chips.

i would see what others think though, as im not sure why just the flowers would die off like that, but rooting could be a problem.

good advice tom499.

I would second that.

[DDS2007]

do u think i should repot although there are flower spikes??
if i didn't find bark potting mix. is it ok to repot it in wood shavings ? or should i buy coconut and use its outer shell

[kmarch]

I agree with the other posts. Flowers fail to open completely or drop usually in responce to some environmental change. For example, when I buy a Phal in bud, I invariably loose a bud or two because of the change in conditions. Bad roots, and therefore a drain on the plants water and energy supply could cause buds to drop or flowers to fail.

Do not pot in wood shavings. They're not the same as bark chips. The coconut husk chips could be used but soak and rinse them 2 or 3 times before potting as some coconut chips (coir chips) contain high levels of salt. Go to a local nusery if you have one nearby or look for orchid mix. Also orchid shows almost always have someone selling supplies. You could get some there.

Good Luck

[DDS2007]

good Lord !

after a 5 hour search in the local nurseries i finally found bark.
i know i should soak it for 1-2 days before transferring my orchid. but this leaves it in the same rotting conditions for another two days
please help me ASAP what should i do to save it

[DDS2007]

tom , fred and kmarch , you were right on !!

once i removed my Milt i could see/feel some of the roots are super soft and look yellowish/white. not healthy at all . i removed them buy hand they were falling off that i didn't even need scissors. the rest of the roots seemed ok so i repotted with bark . i also cut the yellowish flower spike. it didn't look healthy after all..

i have completely covered the roots in bark , as u can see in the pics. no roots are exposed to air , is that ok ? and can u please look at the pics and tell me is this a small daughter plant growing in front of the parent plant? and please tell me what are the chances of the other spike for flowering?

fred, many thanks to you for your prompt help. i truely can't thank u enough for the info u provided , it definately feels good to be part of the orchid geeks community and having u as a super cool geek adminstrator!

thanks a lot and all posts are welcomed
Farah

[mayres]

After all the effort you have been through I hate to say anything - but normally milts would prefer a finer mix - the general rule is finer bark for finer roots. Sorry you are having all these challenges - all of these experiences are learning experiences. Anyone who grows orchids has issues with different types of orchids they try and most loose one now and then through the process. Dont give up! mike

[DDS2007]

hi mike,
all comments are most welcomed , as u said this is a learning process!
growing orchid in the country i live in is a challenge. i think i might be the first one growing orchids cuz i can't find any orchid supplies!! this bark is all i could find. it's actually much coarser but i manually cut the big chunks into small pieces for my Milt. and this is as fine as i can chop it !

i didn't know that fine bark is needed. i actually added 4-5 big chunks deep in the pot then added the plant then covered it with fine bark . do u think i should take it out again and replace the bottom chunks with the finer ones i have. or would it only cause further trouble to my orchid?

Farah

[tom499]

The bark doesnt look too chunky, and it is still an improvement on the moss you had before

mayres is right, smaller chunks are better but what you have looks ok too. as much advice we can give you, in the end each plant is personal so trying different things is a good thing, whether they go good or bad.

cleaning out the dead roots will help it immensely, and giving it some fresh medium will have made a huge difference.

i would now leave it to sit, its had a major change so will need time to get used to the new, better conditions.

[mayres]

The main thing with the larger bark is that it is going to dry out sooner, so you will need to keep an eye on it and don't let it get/stay dry for an extended period of time. Hopefully you presoaked the bark for 24-48 hours berfore using it. Even this done, sometimes it is good to soak the bark, plant and all, at least once a week for the first month or so until the bark gets to the point that it will start absorbing and retaining water better. I believe this plant will want to stay a little on the damp side - don't let the bark dry completely. This is sometimes difficult to tell in that the top might look dry and underneath an inch or two it might still be damp - the skewer method noted on this forum numerous times helps to know that the dampness level within the pot is at all times. Not sure about there, but here in the states you can get a package of bamboo skewers for less than a dollar - good investment for beginners. Good luck - mike

[Aniko]

One more thing has to be considered: the climate.
If is hot and dry, this coarse bark will be hardly kept wet, I'm afraid a long agony would follow...
I would try to make the bark fine, cutting it piece by piece - I know it's not an easy task but worthy to be done.

[DDS2007]

thank u for all ur replies!

but u still didn't tell me if it's better to take the plant out and replace with finer bark. or should i keep it as it is and water more often ??

thank u

[Aniko]

Dear Farah, I can only tell what I would do: I definitely would re-pot in finer bark, to provide the best conditions.

(You can see there are always more options and a lot of other factors that contributes or have influence on the final result.)

[fred]

Farah
Quote]

fred, many thanks to you for your prompt help. i truely can't thank u enough for the info u provided , it definately feels good to be part of the orchid geeks community and having u as a super cool geek adminstrator!
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I thank you for your kind words.

I am only good at my Admin job because of all the awesome orchid geeks we have on the forum.

We are all here to help eachother to learn to gain in the Knowledge of orchids and to help and pass on our knowledge to other orchid lovers.

Your plant looks a lot better.

You can put your plant in a fine bark mix if you wish.
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Quote]tom499

i would now leave it to sit, its had a major change so will need time to get used to the new, better conditions.

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thank you for your nice compliment,s
happy growing

[PhalPal]

As a relative newbie myself, I am amazed at how little water orchids need to do well. Since I live in a very dry area also, I never go by the 'every so many days' rule. I feel each plant to determine if it needs water - every time. Try Cynthia's skewer method; there is a whole thread on it.

[Aniko]

PhalPal, you are right - touching, seeing is safer than counting the days.Gradually we can develop a sense of it.

[Maddy]

Would adding a little sphagnum moss to the mix help compensate for the bark being a little too coarse? Just a thought...