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aviolet6

Miltoniopsis

9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

Hi, I have 2 of these indoors because I know the heat may be too much for them in summer. They are 2-3 ft from an eastern window and also get some flourescent lighting from a lamp with CFL bulbs in the evening. My question is, now that I have space, if I should move them right next to the window where they will get more light and some morning sun on them. I am not sure how much light they need compared to phals, oncidiums, cattleya. I'm in Georgia near Atlanta. I forget the exact zone. And yes, they went a little long without watering recently, which shows on the leaves.

Comments (9)

  • 9 years ago

    I read 80-85 degrees. Haven't tried them outside before. Have only had them a year or so if that, and they do ok inside, but whether or not they will rebloom I don't know.

  • 9 years ago

    80-85 is OK. But in August it may be 100. They look healthy. Keep doing what you are doing. Based on color They could take morning sun. The darker the green the more sun they need. If it is a yellow green it is too much. I have no experience with lights.

    aviolet6 thanked shavedmonkey (Harvey in South Fl.)Z10b
  • 9 years ago

    Thanks, I guess I'll put them close by the window and see how they do now that I have room for them there. It's definitely too hot for them outside later in the summer I imagine.

  • 9 years ago

    I live in Montgo mery, Al. and these are the only type of orchids that I grow. I grow each tray of milts. under two GE grow lights that I buy at Wal Mart. The light bulbs are 24 inches long. They also get sunlight indirectly from a window in the room. My plants are far away from the window. Mine never go outside. Many of my plants are currently in bloom or are putting out spikes. Here is how I grow mine indoors in Montgomery. During the summer they live in the same conditions that I do. My central air is set on 70 degrees. If it gets cold during the winter I close the vent in my plant room. Closing the heater vent keeps the room cool and I set my central heat at 68 degrees. I can't take heat and I prefer being cold than hot. The most important aspect in growing these plants is water quality. Never, ever use tap water. Use either rain water or bottled water such as spring or distilled water that I buy at Wal Mart. It's only 80 cents a bottle. I also grow in clay pots because clay pots keep the roots much cooler, I water once a week on the same day. I love these plants and it took me years to find out why I was killing them. A vendor at a New Orleans orchid show was selling these plants. I told him that I love those plants but I always killed them. He told me to use rain or bottled water only. I purchased two plants from him and followed his advice on the water. I haven't killed a plant in over twelve years and I still have those two plants I bought from him. One is blooming now. He also told me to use a pinch of time release fert. once a year. I use Osmocote and my plants are growing like weeds. I can't believe that all of the milts. that I killed was because I was using tap water. I hope that this helps you since you live in my area of the country,


    aviolet6 thanked avondale
  • 9 years ago

    Thank you. I have been using tap water with no problems specifically from its use that I can tell. What signs were yours giving when they were dying?

  • 9 years ago

    The bulbs would start to turn brown and the new growth would turn a watery brown and die. Eventually all of the leaves would look like rot and fall off.

    Eventually the whole plant would die. I recently purchased a milt. from a person on EBAY. I got the plant but I noticed it was starting to rot. I didn't water for a week. When I did water I only used my bottled water. The plant bounced back and it is starting to put out three healthy new growths. I lived in Louisiana and Alabama and the tap water in those two states killed all of my milts. I bet that the tap water in the cities that I lived in had chlorine or other chemicals that the plants couldn't take and it killed the roots. When my plants were dying they started to feel mushy. I must of spent hundreds of dollars on plants that I killed. I tried every remedy that I would read about and the plants still died. After I took the advice about the water, I haven't lost a plant yet. With the right water they grow like weeds. My advice to you is if your plants are growing and happy then I would stick to what works for you. I still can't believe that I killed many plants because of the water.

    aviolet6 thanked avondale
  • 9 years ago

    Water can have strange effects. I believe it may have been a problem for my African violets where I used to live.

  • 9 years ago

    Some people have water issues, some don't. Folk on the AV forum run into this as well. It just depends on your water makeup. You can test your water. We don't seem to have issues with it here though the chlorine does dissipate as I keep the water in open 1 gallon jugs during the winter and in a large plastic trash barrel in the summer to make life a little easier. My understanding though is that chloramine does not dissipate.

    I have one Miltonia, Hula Skirt. It was in spike when I got it but the buds blasted, the leaves wilted and I feared it would be lost to rot. I quit watering for a little while, three weeks or so. Maybe it needed to adapt to it's new surroundings. It's kept in a southern window with a semi-sheer curtain on it. It has done well, literally doubling in size over the last year, and it just re-bloomed. However this time instead of one spike I've got three and I'm very pleased with it. The leaves are a very light green so I'm assuming it's gotten plenty of sunlight from the window. It's kept slightly moist if that helps.

    aviolet6 thanked judyj
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