Miltonia spectabilis

Miltonia spectabilis is a significant species that is in the background of nearly 1000 Oncidium Intergeneric hybrids, including some of the newer breeding lines that will dominate the future of Oncidium Intergenerics.  From the flowering perspective it’s quite a contradiction, usually only having one flower (occasionally 2) per spike and one spike per bulb growth, but what a singularly impressive flower it is.  A single specimen will normally grow and flower all new bulbs at the same time, thus putting on quite a show.  The photo of my specimen shows what is classified as Miltonia spectabilis var. moreliana, and is slightly larger flower of the darkest purple in all the varieties known.  Other varieties listed in the description in OrchidWiz are alba, bicolor, lineata, radians, and rosea, which range from white through to pink flower colours.

As you can see in the photos my specimen is growing on a slab of treefern hanging on the eastern side of our covered greenhouse.  This species is quite easy to grow as it will tolerate a wide range of climates, particularly hot weather.  An associate has their specimen hanging in a tree out in the garden with no special treatment.  I have found that the best results are on treefern mounts as the short fine roots seem to suffer in pot culture.  When growing on treefern you really need to water this orchid everyday during the warmer months and regularly during the cooler months.  Watering the treefern with a weak solution of liquid fertiliser every second or third day will give great results.

One problem with growing this species is the long rhizomes that are produced between each pseudobulb, which means this orchid spreads out very quickly.  As can be seen in the photo showing the entire treefern mount the orchid has already gone around the treefern and is growing and flowering on the other side.  Sometimes it’s best to manipulate new growths to keep them bunched up on the treefern or going around the treefern mount.