Just got this today for my wife, and, though I got lots of helpful literature at the place of purchase, the orchid was not identified. I just don't wanna' kill it with kindness. Each flower's about an inch or an inch and a half long, and they're blooming on the end of a spike that stands maybe a foot tall above the green leaves of the plant.
I've come close but also have come up empty so far as to what the Orchid you have is as I suspect it is a hybrid. I would think you should look at Oncidium or perhaps Miltonia culture as being close to how to care for your Orchid and yes, indeed, we do kill more of these by being too nice to them. We are too generous in how much water and how often we water them for example. When I have some free time I will look around on the internet some more as now I'd like to know what you have also. Jim
Hey Jim, Thanx heaps, for your thoughtful response to my query. And I agree, it seems likely it's an Oncidium. Went to the orchidspecies.com website--and I confess to being a bit daunted by the realization that there are over 30,000 species of orchid. There was a generic fact sheet that came with the orchid, and it described Oncidiums, Paphiopedilums, and Vanda. It described Oncidiums as thriving on lots of sunlight--yet nearly every Oncidium I viewed at the orchid species site seemed to prefer partial shade. Once again, too much kindness? I don't wanna be so generous with sunlight that I burn the poor thing up. I have it in a south window, and it gets a pretty good bit of sunlight most of the day. We also take it into the bathroom each evening, where it gets two baths worth of humidity before going back to spend its day in that sunny window. Again, Jim, thank you kindly for responding so helpfully to my query. Best, Mike McCool (login name's an alias--my never ending battle against spam).
I have killed the odd (dozen) orchid over time, and usually trying to raise the humidity levels in our home to accommodate these gorgeous plants...however, night time misting and space shifting are not something they like...leave them alone , ignore them, and add warm water only when bone dry, and never feed when blooming, just let their life cycle endure these dy spells, filtered light, away from forced air ducts, and drafts. I have lost too many by pampering them, and too much moisture...good luck!
What great advice! It would be so wonderful just to be able to leave this gorgeous plant alone and not pester it to death. Thanx, for your thoughtful response to my post, M
Mike, do you have a close up shot of the flower? I've chased down at a ton of Orchids lately and at this time feel a photo of your Orchid is not online as of yet. I do feel that it is a Miltassia hybrid of some sort. Miltassia is an enigma all its own when we see how some of these Orchid groups came about like these below. Orchid group on the left, abbreviation in the middle and the breeding on the right. Milpasia Mpsa (Aspasia x Miltonia) Milpilia Mpla (Miltonia x Trichopilia) Miltada Mtad (Ada x Miltonia) Miltadium Mtadm (Ada x Miltonia x Oncidium) Miltassia Mtssa (Brassia x Miltonia) Miltistonia Mtst (Baptistonia x Miltonia) Miltonidium Mtdm (Miltonia x Oncidium) Miltonioda Mtda (Cochlioda x Miltonia) What makes your Orchid even more novel is that it probably is a Miltassia but the heritage of it may be a Miltassia x Miltonia like these below. Notice that all three have the same parentage. I've seen a photo of the 'Hsi-Mei'. The description of the 'Haiku Leopard' is the closest I've seen so far to what your Orchid is showing but without an online photo to fall back on I cannot confirm anything yet. I'll check things over again later but I knew it would be the golden colored flag on your Orchid that would cause me the most trouble to find online and so far it has. Miltassia Radermaker 'Haiku Leopard' (Mtssa. Aztec x Milt. Earl Dunn) Miltassia Radermaker 'Hsi-Mei' (Mtssa. Aztec x Milt. Earl Dunn) Miltassia Radermaker 'Hawthorne' (Mtssa. Aztec x Milt. Earl Dunn) Jim
Hey Jim, Thanx, for your note. Here are some closeup shots of the bloom. Hope they're clear enough to give you better clues. One thing I did just notice is flecks of transparent green pigment, down near where the petals open. (Like they weren't gorgeous enough already). Again, thanx, for your detailed and enthusiastic post. This is my first jaunt into actual orchid ownership, and I feel fortunate to have wandered onto such a helpful forum. Best, M
