Miltonia

Family. Orchidaceae.

Origin. Colombia, Brazil.

Description. Miltonia is a small genus consisting of only 15 species of evergreen, epiphytic, sympodial orchids. 

The pseudobulbs are oblong - ovoid, slightly flattened laterally, from 5 to 10 cm long.

Each pseudobulb bears at the top 2 yellowish-gray or green, thin, belt-shaped leaves up to 40 cm long. There is often a beautiful pattern on the surface of the leaf blades.

During the flowering period, tall, leafless, thin peduncles bear one, but more often several brightly colored flowers with a diameter of 7 - 9 cm, which have a charming aroma.

Each pseudobulb can have up to 6 peduncles at the same time.

The color range is very diverse and contains any shades except blue. Flowers may open sequentially or simultaneously.

Height. Depending on the type, it can range from 20 to 50 cm, grows quickly. 

Care at home

Transplant 

The transplant is carried out immediately after flowering or in the spring - when the period of new growth begins.

Flowering specimens should not be transplanted - it will be too stressful for them, the seedlings will suffer for a long time after transplantation and may die.

An exception may be a newly purchased orchid. The fact is that flower farms often grow plants in the poorest and most nutrient-poor substrate. After purchase, miltonia is adapted to new conditions for a week, and then transplanted into a nutrient mixture, regardless of flowering.

The transplant is carried out very carefully, trying to preserve the earthen lump as much as possible and disturb the roots as little as possible.

Repotting is done only when necessary - when the soil needs to be changed to fresh soil or the root system has become frankly cramped in the pot.

Mature bushes need to be repotted every 2-3 years to change the substrate. The need to replace the pot with a larger container will be determined by the roots emerging from the drainage holes of the pot.

Slightly cramped conditions contribute to abundant flowering, so you should not immediately offer too large a pot.

Transparent pots have proven themselves well for growing miltonia - in them you can monitor the condition of the roots and easily determine the moisture content of the substrate.

When kept in a transparent pot, the root system acquires a greenish tint - chlorophyll appears in it, allowing the orchid to receive additional nutrition.

Before transplanting, miltonia is watered generously or soaked in water - this measure will allow the root system to be saturated with moisture and make it more flexible. Dry roots can easily break off when transplanted.

Also, the water will soften the old soil and the plant can be easily removed from the old pot. 

1. When replanting, the flower is removed from the old substrate and the root system is shaken off from the depleted soil.
2. The roots are carefully examined and, if necessary, rotten and old ends are cut off with sharp pruning shears.
3. The wound surface resulting from pruning is sprinkled with charcoal or ash powder.
4. Before planting, the orchid's root system is pre-dried, leaving the plant in a warm and dry room with exposed roots for 3 to 5 hours.
5. Select a plastic pot with large drainage holes to contain the orchid and place drainage on its bottom. The height of the drainage layer can be up to 1/3 or even half the height of the pot. When growing orchids, pieces of pine bark can be used as a drainage layer.
6. Pour the required amount of substrate onto the drainage and place a flower in the center of the pot.
7. When transplanting, miltonia is placed at the same depth at which it was in the previous container.
8. The root system is sprinkled with soil, and the pseudobulbs should protrude from the soil by about 3/4 of the height or better completely. 

The roots are sprinkled with fresh soil and lightly tapped on the walls of the pot so that the soil mixture settles. After planting, do not compact the soil too much - air must reach the root system.

The transplanted flower is placed in a well-lit place, but not accessible to direct sunlight for 5-6 days.

For 2-3 days, the orchid is not watered, but watering is replaced by abundant spraying with warm water.

The first feeding after transplanting is preferably carried out after 3-4 weeks. During this period, the nutrients that are already in the fresh soil will be sufficient.

How to care 

Miltonia is a rather finicky plant and amateurs are not always able to keep it indoors. This orchid requires high air humidity and good air circulation.

The flower often does not have a clearly defined dormant period and does not like sudden changes in temperature conditions - accustom it to the new temperature gradually. 

The bush should not be taken outside even in the summer months.

From time to time, the leaves should be wiped from dust with a damp sponge.

In autumn and winter, do not place the flower pot near heat sources.

After the buds wither, the peduncle itself dries out - it is cut off close to the base, but without injuring the pseudobulb.

It is interesting that in some species new buds appear on old flower stalks and in this case the flower stalks should not be removed.

As they fade, faded buds will fall into the pot - they should be removed.

Sometimes during the dormant period plants stop their development - this is normal. 

When miltonia blooms 

Spring – summer, the flowering period is long and takes about 1 - 1.5 months. With proper care, re-blooming may occur within a year.

Modern varieties can bloom throughout the year with a short rest break in winter. 

To form buds, sufficient light and proper maintenance during the dormant period are necessary.

Watering 

Water during the growth period so that the top layer of soil dries out a little before the next watering.

In spring and summer, miltonia actively grows and forms buds, so it consumes quite a lot of moisture.

Be sure to drain off any excess moisture that has accumulated in the tray after watering.

In the warm season, you can use bottom watering by immersing the pot in a container with warm, soft water for a few minutes. Bottom watering will help completely saturate the soil with moisture.

In autumn and winter, the frequency of watering depends on the temperature of the content - most often, watering is reduced and the substrate is dried to 3 - 5 cm in depth.

Adult specimens tolerate substrate drying out better than constant flooding. Large pseudobulbs present in orchids store moisture and use it when the soil dries out.

For watering, use only well-settled water at room temperature or higher (up to 40 - 42 degrees Celsius). Chlorine should leave the water and mineral salts should precipitate - this usually happens within 24 hours.

Once a month, you can add a few drops of lemon juice or grains of citric acid to the water for irrigation - this will help maintain the necessary acidic pH of the soil. You can also water the plants with filtered or drinking bottled liquid.

Rainwater can be used for irrigation only when it is collected away from busy roads.

Water miltonia from a watering can with a long and narrow spout to avoid moisture getting into the axils of the leaves and onto the surface of the pseudobulbs.

Soil 

A coarse fiber substrate that allows air and moisture to pass through.

A mixture of small pieces of pine bark, pieces of charcoal, coconut fibers, sphagnum moss, peat, fern roots with the addition of perlite or vermiculite to improve drainage is suitable.

You can add some finely chopped pine needles to the mixture for growing miltonia - it will maintain the soil pH at the desired level and saturate it with nutrients.

The soil should have a slightly acidic pH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 and should not only easily allow moisture to reach the root system, but should also allow the roots to breathe. 

Reproduction 

Since miltonia belongs to sympodial orchids - that is, each flower is equipped with a creeping rhizome with pseudobulbs located on it, it is easiest to propagate it by dividing during transplantation.

You should not divide small bushes - a sufficient number of pseudobulbs allows the plant to survive inclement periods of drought and nutrient deficiency. Accordingly, the fewer pseudobulbs a flower has, the more difficult it will be for it in such conditions. 

1. Each division obtained as a result of the procedure must have at least 2 - 3 pseudobulbs and a well-developed root system.
2. If, as a result of division, it was necessary to resort to the help of pruning shears, then all wounds on the plants are treated with antiseptics and sprinkled with crushed charcoal.
3. The delenki are planted in separate pots and placed in a place protected from the sun for a week. During this period, watering is replaced by spraying.
4. To prevent plants from losing moisture, you can provide them with a shelter in the form of a transparent plastic cap.

For 2-3 weeks, the planted bushes may slow down their development - this time is necessary for adaptation and healing of wounds received during division.

You can propagate miltonia by separating pseudobulbs, but this method of propagation does not always guarantee success, and the plants obtained in this way will develop more slowly than divisions.

Separated pseudobulbs often rot without forming roots and leaves.

Diseases and pests 

• These orchids suffer from stagnation of moisture - they are prone to rotting.
• Direct sunlight on the leaves causes sunburn.
• Keeping it too cold can cause spots on the leaves.
• Lack of light or keeping it at too high a temperature prevents flowering - miltonia drops its buds.
• If there is insufficient air humidity, the orchid slows down its development, and the flower stalks on the bush dry out.
• Leaf blades curl and become deformed with insufficient watering. 
• You should not place dishes with ripe fruits near the pot - when exposed to ethylene, miltonia can shed both buds and leaves.
• Plants slow down their development, and new leaves are smaller in size compared to old ones when there is a lack of nutrition.
• The tips of the leaf blades dry out when watered with unsettled tap water.
• Leaves turn yellow when exposed to direct sunlight or when moisture stagnates in the leaf axils, and also if the orchid is kept in dense soil that does not allow the root system to breathe.
• Plants do not bloom if they are exposed to too sudden temperature fluctuations.
• When kept in a too cool room, the surface of the leaf plates wrinkles.
• Black, weeping spots on pseudobulbs appear as a result of high humidity and too cool conditions.
• Leaf blades become limp and wrinkled if the roots are too crowded in the pot.
• Anthracnose. 

Harmful insects sometimes include mealybugs, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies and scale insects. 

How to grow roots

Due to improper care, almost the entire root system may die, but do not rush to get rid of such bushes. You can try to grow roots again.

1. First, all remnants of rotten or diseased roots are cut off to healthy tissue with a sharp knife.
2. The base of the plant is soaked for half an hour in warm water with an added fungicidal preparation.
3. After soaking, the base is treated with sulfur powder or finely ground charcoal to dry and disinfect.
4. The remains of the root system after all activities are dried in the open air in a warm room for 3 - 5 hours.
5. To encourage root growth, the stem is immersed in room temperature water for 3-4 hours a day.
6. Once a week, add rooting powder to the soaking water.
7. With the appearance of the first tubercles in place of the roots, the orchids are already soaked in water for 5 hours, and the use of growth hormones is stopped.

When the roots reach 4 - 5 cm in length, you can plant miltonia in fresh substrate. To grow new roots, you need to be patient - they grow to the desired length within 5 - 6 months or even a year. 

To grow roots, you can also place the flower in a container filled with moist vermiculite. The layer height should be only a couple of centimeters.

1. Sphagnum moss is placed on vermiculite and thoroughly moistened using a sprayer with warm water with the addition of growth hormones.
2. The base of the orchid is immersed a few millimeters in moss and the container is covered with a transparent plastic lid to maintain high humidity.
3. At a temperature of 23 - 25 degrees Celsius in a well-lit place, protected from direct sun, after 1 - 2 months it will be possible to notice the beginnings of roots.

When the roots reach a length of 3-5 cm. The orchid is planted in the substrate. 

House maintenance - temperature

The optimal temperature is at least 21 ° C during the day, decreasing to 15 ° C at night. Many subspecies prefer higher temperatures. 

During the winter months, the plant goes into a dormant period and can be kept at a temperature of about 15 - 16  ° C. The dormant period lasts for about 2 months and begins when the young pseudobulbs ripen and the current year's shoots are equal in size to last year's. 

Some varieties do not have a clearly defined dormant period and can be kept at normal room temperature all year round. When buying in a flower shop, you should inquire about the conditions for keeping a particular flower.

Miltonia does not like strong summer heat - even high humidity and abundant watering will not save it. With the onset of summer, you should choose the coolest place in the house, protected from direct sunlight.

Do not allow sudden changes in temperature - accustom the flower to all changes gradually, over the course of a week.

Do not expose Miltonia to temperatures below 12 °C - it may die.

Spraying 

Plants need high air humidity - under optimal conditions it should be 70 percent relative, but it can drop to 60 percent.

Since in nature miltonia uses large trees to grow and is most often saturated with moisture by absorbing it from the air, it will naturally develop well only at high humidity.

Place the plant pot on a tray filled with wet pebbles or use a room humidifier. When keeping on a tray, make sure that the surface of the water does not come into direct contact with the bottom of the pot. 

You can surround the pot with a layer of damp sphagnum moss or spray the leaves with soft water at room temperature, providing a place with sufficient air movement.

Spray in the morning so that the moisture has time to evaporate before dark. When spraying, make sure that drops of water do not fall on the flowers and buds, as well as in the axils of the leaves.

Spray the bushes only with well-settled water at room temperature - tap water can leave unsightly whitish spots on the surface of the leaves.

Placing several specimens in a tight space significantly increases air humidity.

Representatives of the genus do not like cold drafts, so it is better to move the pot to another room for ventilation in the winter months. Also, do not place the flower in close proximity to a working air conditioner.

Lighting

A well-lit place without direct sunlight on hot summer days. In nature, miltonia thrives under the canopy of a tropical forest and the sun almost never reaches the flower.

In spring and summer, the orchid can sunbathe only in the morning and evening hours. During the day, direct sun can leave burns on the leaf blades.

Well-lit leaf blades may take on a pinkish tint. 

Interestingly, the color of the buds will also be brighter in good lighting.

Window sills facing east or west are considered the most suitable for keeping miltonia. When grown on the south side, the flower is placed in the back of the room or covered from the sun with a light curtain. Plants should be placed on northern windows only as a last resort if the lighting is properly organized.

In autumn and winter, artificial additional illumination with fluorescent lamps or special phytolamps is also possible. With the help of artificial lighting, the duration of daylight hours is increased to 12-14 hours a day. 

Feeding

During the growth period, feed with liquid orchid fertilizer at half strength every 2 weeks.

Regular feeding is carried out in spring and summer. In autumn, the frequency of fertilizing and the content of nutrients in them can be reduced.

In the winter months, feeding is stopped and resumed only in the spring, when the bushes begin to form new flower stalks.

Fertilizers are applied both directly to the substrate and to the leaves - using the foliar method, alternating root and foliar feeding. The nutrient solution is sprayed onto the leaf blades using a fine sprayer.

Root feeding is carried out after abundant watering - so the solution cannot harm the root system.

Purpose

A valuable ornamental flowering plant valued by collectors. Looks great in hanging baskets. 

Note

With good care, miltonias can live indoors for many years.

The color of the flowers of some varieties of miltonia resembles the well-known violet - Pansy.

You should not cut flower stalks from plants and place them in a vase - the buds will lose their attractiveness within 2 - 3 days. 

Varieties: 

Miltonia Honolulu

A compact epiphytic orchid with long, green, glossy, linear leaves up to 25 cm long. The peduncle is strong, vertical, up to 15 cm high. Each flower stem can contain 2 - 3 flowers with a diameter of up to 8 cm, with petals colored violet, lilac or dark pink shades. The lip is wide, with wavy edges. Petals are oblong, often pointed. The flowering period lasts from one and a half to three months. 

Miltonia spectabilis

Epiphytic orchids, reaching a height of 18 - 30 cm. with oblong, light green, fusiform pseudobulbs up to 10 cm long. Each pseudobulb bears at the top two narrow, glossy, linear leaves up to 30 cm long. Peduncles are short, bearing a single flower at the top up to 8 - 10 cm in diameter, with white or purple petals.