David,

*Soil* is a misnomer for epiphyte mixes. There are in fact terrestrial
orchids that grow in soil, but the majority of what most of us grow are
epiphytes that won't do well in dirt.

There are many potting media that are suitable for our orchids. They range
from the classic bark (usually lightened up with some sponge rock or
Perlite) that you show to fired clay pellets to plain old pebbles.

Regarding your plant, the bark on top looks okay, but what matters is how
the bark down in the pot is like. You may want to check it to see that it
hasn't broken down and turned to mush. Also, while the plant appears to have
a new growth and looks pretty healthy, there is at least one brown
pseudobulb right smack dab in the center of he photos. I can't tell if it is
soft or just dried up.

If it is soft, it's necessary to excise it using a clean razor blade or a
sterilized cutting tool Cut away any rotten tissue and then seal the cut
with a paste of Elmer's Glue and cinnamon. (Cinnamon has properties that
protect the plant from bacteria and fungus.)

If the p-bulb is hard, you might be able to just cut it off or leave it to
shrivel on its own.

One last thing. You picture the plant in a glazed, decorative planter. I see
indentations on the side that may or may not be holes. The plant needs air
circulation in order for the medium to dry out. Does the pot have holes
anywhere?

Diana

"David Farber" wrote in message
...
I started with this nice Miltonia plant which I purchased at a local
farmers market about four years ago. It was spring and it had a few bright,
colorful, blooms. That winter, new shoots emerged. What I knew about
orchids then were that they were supposed to be temperamental and needed to
be watched carefully. I looked at the "soil" and wondered, "What the heck
is that? What could possibly grow in that? It looks like something you'd
find blown up against the curb on a windy day?" I figured, I must go out
and buy the good stuff. So I bought some potting soil and repotted it with
that. Yes, the exact opposite of what it needed. The plant soon stopped
growing. The leaves turned yellow. I waited until next spring for a bloom
but nothing. Later that year I returned the plant to the nice lady that
sold it to me. She looked over the situation and told me that the plant
needed to have bark, not soil and promptly did the changeover for me. She
told me to wait until the next spring for the next bloom. Sure enough, her
prediction was correct. Then the following winter, I repotted with some
bark mix and some *orchid* potting soil. And I'm wondering now if orchid
potting soil is an oxymoron. According to my research, a Miltonia is an
epiphyte which never even touches soil in the forest. Here are some
pictures of the plant:

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/.../miltonia.html

The top two photos are how the plant looks today. The bottom two are how
it looked last year.

I was wondering does it look healthy now and should I get rid of the
orchid potting soil?

Thanks for your reply.
--
David Farber
L.A., CA