I bought this Miltoniopsis hybrid a couple of months ago, intending to throw it away when it finished blooming. I sat it on the deck when it was done. It sat there dry and exposed for more than a month. Yesterday I noted that my only other Miltoniopsis is producing what looks like a flower shoot. That development inspired me to try to rescue this one.
It's not in too bad shape considering what I did to it.
I soaked the roots in rain water for 20 minutes.
The pot is too deep. The manufacture of shards to fill space in the bottom is a precision method. It takes years of experience, a graduate degree, and a hammer.
All done. Planted in orchid bark-based potting mix. It's a little close to the top, but might settle. Then again I might take it back out and remove some medium before it gets too settled. I watered it in nicely, and now it's in a East facing window.
I'm an odd person. I like leaving on the old stems. If the dead flowers stay on, I like that too. It gives the orchid a "natural" or "botanical" look, like it would be on the tree branch if no humans were around. Plus, it reminds me that this plant once bloomed, so might again. I do remove dead leaves. They can be a source of infection, and generally fall off anyway.
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