Miltoniopsis, the pansy orchid, has cooler-growing species from the foothills of the Andes cloud forest in Colombia and other species that are native to the upper Amazon Basin, growing warmer. They have a light green foliage, which burns at the tips if the light is too strong. They like a bit more light than phalaenopsis, 1200-1500 foot candles, about the same as paphiopedilums, but a little less than oncidiums. In winter they can take the higher end of this range because temperatures are cooler, and better winter lighting promotes increased flower production in late spring.
We think miltoniopsis is an under-appreciated category of orchids. The color range is large - white, pink, lavender, burgundy, yellow, black - and the flowers are large, usually around 3 inches across, but some exceeding 4 inches. With proper conditions they bloom prolifically, up to 10 bloom spikes on mature plants. The difficult part for the grower without a greenhouse is getting low enough temperatures in winter, down to 60 degrees at night for a period of 30 consecutive days, and enough light in winter. A grow light could help supplement the weak light in winter.
Miltoniopsis is an epiphtye, growing on the side of trees or rocks. As such it needs a porous potting medium. We use a coir/peat/bark mixture, which drains well, but retains some water. Miltoniopsis do not like the soil as wet as phalaenopsis, but wetter than cattleyas. They should be fertilized on the lighter side, particularly in winter, when they are semi-dormant.
We have a collection of about 50 different colors of miltoniopis flowers. Some are scented, particularly the yellow ones. Some have a “waterfall” or “tear drop” face, where darker lines drip down from the center against a lighter background color. To see them in full flower, come visit us in May and June. With hot weather they proceed to their vegetative stage, growing rapidly to make food for next year’s flowers. They store this food in their thin pseudobulbs.
