Cambria (Cambria) - a flower of the Orchid family, is a hybrid of Oncidium and Miltonia. This variety was bred for indoor floriculture, thanks to which they are easy to care for and live well in apartments.
The cambrian flower belongs to a variety of sympodial orchids, their pseudobulbs have an oblong shape and are well developed, reaching 8 cm long.On each such pseudobulb there are long leaves, about 2-3 pieces, which can reach 50 cm in length, rather wide, densely spaced, color - dark green with a prominent and bright central vein. The bulb blooms once, releases about two flower-bearing stalks, after flowering they are removed.
The flowers are large enough, about 10 cm in diameter, often red in color with light or white spots. After removing the faded pseudobulbs, cambria forms new ones, which sprout with other peduncles. When purchasing a flower, you should not take a flower with a single pseudobulb. The fact is that such a cambria is almost always unviable and is unlikely to take root. It is best to buy a plant with three or more pseudobulbs.
Home care for cambria
Location and lighting
Cumbria love diffused but bright light. In summer, the flower is best kept in the west or east window, or it is better to shade the south windows slightly to avoid direct rays, and later - burns on the leaves of the plant. If in winter cambria is in a dormant period, then additional lighting is not needed, and if active flowering is still continuing, then it would be better to illuminate it with lamps for 10-12 hours.
Temperature
The cambrian orchid is not particularly capricious to the temperature regime in the room. It grows and blooms well at normal room temperature. The optimum temperature for cambria is 18-25 degrees. Also, the flower does not need strong fluctuations between the temperature of the day and night, as required by other types of orchids, which makes cambria comfortable for indoor cultivation.
Air humidity
In general, we can say that cambria does not need high humidity in the room. It grows even at 25-30% humidity, but when new flower stalks begin to form, it is still better to increase the humidity in the room to 35-40%, this will help the cambria to endure the heat without losing the quality of growth and flowering.
Watering
Water the flower with a moderate amount of water. The water is preliminarily defended during the day. It is better to water the cambria by immersing the flower pot in water for 20-30 minutes. The water should be warm.
After the flower is "drunk", it should be removed from the irrigation tank, but not immediately put in its usual place - the water must be allowed to drain, otherwise it is simply impossible to avoid rotting of the root system. It is necessary to ensure that between watering the cambria, the soil in the pot dries out almost to the very bottom.
The soil
The optimal soil composition for cabria is composed of fern roots, charcoal, pine bark, forest moss, and coconut chips.
Top dressing and fertilizers
The flower is fed with special mineral fertilizers for orchids from February to October twice a month. There is a small feature: in the first month of fertilization and in the last month, the amount of dressings is given the minimum, they do this so that the flower gets used to or weaned from dressing. In general, there is an opinion that cambria should not be "overfed", it is better to "underfeed" a little. You can also fertilize your orchid while spraying.
Transfer
This flower does not tolerate transplanting well. This should be done in extreme cases, only when the roots grow as much as possible or it is necessary to replace the soil in case of slight decay. the transplant is usually done once every 2-3 years. A cambria transplant is carried out only after the complete flowering period. After the transplant has passed, the plant is left alone and not watered for 5-7 days.
Reproduction of cambria
Cambria propagates by dividing the bush. When transplanting, the bulbs are separated from each other so that the roots are not damaged. If the roots are nevertheless damaged, then when planting, they should be sprinkled abundantly with activated charcoal to avoid infections.
Seated pseudobulbs, which have not yet taken root, do not hold well in the soil, so it is better to secure them with a support stick. The first watering after planting new cambria is done after 7-8 days, during which time the flower begins to take root, and the damaged roots heal. If old bulbs remain during reproduction, then you need to wait until they die, so that new ones grow, and flowering begins.
Diseases and pests
Cumbria can contract various fungal and bacterial infections. If this happens, then the affected organ of the flower is removed and treated with a fungicide. Also, cambria can be affected by scale insects, orchid aphids and spider mites.
Growing difficulties
- If the leaves of the plant turn yellow, then you need to pay attention to excessive lighting.
- Sluggish leaves mean either little watering or too low a temperature of the content.
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