Miltonia Purple Queen and Miltonidum Bartley Schwarz

[catttan]

This has been a frustrating time for me as the orchids are blooming but the yellow beetles and thrips have been ganging up on me. In spite of spraying with Malathion, most of the cattleyas and vandas have been attacked by thrips during the bud stage causing deformed blooms. Those that have escaped the thrips are attacked by yellow beetles as soon as the flowers open. The less succulent flowers of miltonias and oncidiums seem to have escaped their attention.

I am posting pictures of Miltonia Purple Queen which I have sadly neglected, only 1 bloom instead of the usual 2 -3.

Also posting pictures of Miltonidium Bartley Schwartz ' Highland'. This spike has only 3 flowers but the next spike has 5 buds.

P 1 & 2 - Milt Purple Queen

p 3 & 4 - Mtdm Bartley Schwartz

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Yew Sung, these are so pretty. The deep purple hue on the Milt Purple Queen is most striking. Great growing, sir!! Sorry about the troubles with pests.

Cheers,
BD

[orchidsal]

These flowers are wonderful. I to am sorry to here about the thrips and yellow beetles. I have in the past lived in a temperate rain forest and though plants grew rapidly, anything that seemed 'sweet' to the insects got chewed on. I can imagine what a more tropical environment would be like. AL

[Halloamey]

Awesome ! I have always wondered how these plants do in a tropical hot setting, and I am really happy that they are really doing well. I think I need to get one.

[Halloamey]

Yew try using Confidor, its better than Malathion according to my experience. It is a tobacco analog and works systemically in plants and is harmless to humans pets and honey bees.

[catttan]

Yew try using Confidor, its better than Malathion according to my experience. It is a tobacco analog and works systemically in plants and is harmless to humans pets and honey bees.

Thanks Amey. I'll try to look for the product.

BTW Milt Purple Queen is a warm growing Miltonia, the ones we used to refer to as Brazilian miltonias as opposed to the cool growing Colombian miltonias, which are now classified as Miltoniopsis. Mtdm Bartley Schwartz is a cross with one of the warm miltonias. Unfortunately the warm miltonias have few flowers on a spike unlike the cooler miltoniopsis.I've had Milt Purple Queen for more than 35 years and at one time I grew it into a specimen plant with more than 20 spikes with each spike bearing 2 flowers.

[Halloamey]

Thanks Amey. I'll try to look for the product.

BTW Milt Purple Queen is a warm growing Miltonia, the ones we used to refer to as Brazilian miltonias as opposed to the cool growing Colombian miltonias, which are now classified as Miltoniopsis. Mtdm Bartley Schwartz is a cross with one of the warm miltonias. Unfortunately the warm miltonias have few flowers on a spike unlike the cooler miltoniopsis.I've had Milt Purple Queen for more than 35 years and at one time I grew it into a specimen plant with more than 20 spikes with each spike bearing 2 flowers.

Thanks Yew. I will be getting the warm growing species Miltonia regnellii, Miltonia spectabilis and Miltonia spectabilis var. moreliana, the last one looks a lot like purple queen, I think it must be one of the parents.

[catttan]

Thanks Yew. I will be getting the warm growing species Miltonia regnellii, Miltonia spectabilis and Miltonia spectabilis var. moreliana, the last one looks a lot like purple queen, I think it must be one of the parents.

You are quite right, Amey. Milt Purple Queen = spectabilis x russelliana. I am pretty sure you will be delighted with your selection when you get them.

[blrnut]

Wow! love the blooms!

[Dorsetman]

Malathion is banned in UK and has been for many years but it was generally agreed that used on Phalaenopsis, it caused a flower spike to come from the centre , and after that you never saw a new leaf. A warning perhaps ?
But in general, every time we find an insecticide (etc) which is really good, it seems to get banned by the EU for one reason or another. About the only semi-systemic left for us now in UK is one made by Bayer and sold here under the name Provado. But a synthetic Pyrethrum extract has just been marketed - not systemic - but should be usefu;l, or worth trying I think. All this is so far as amateur use is concerned. Professionals do have a wider range, and I sometimes find that tyhe professional nursery supply firms will supply me, but then I have to order in professional quantities too...
I have never had beetle problems in the greenhouse, but the scarlet red lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii) regularly decimated my garden lilies - L.auratum and many hybrids for example ; then I found that routine fortnightly spraying with provado solved that , and now I have big clumps of them.
But I doubt that you could safely use Provado that way on orchids - the Bayer web-site recommends no more than three applications a year ( my lilies don't seem to mind a dozen applications in the growing season, however ).