Orchids make up a huge portion of the flora family. There are approximately over 25,000 species of orchids and many more are still being discovered.
This flowering plant species is a truly unique kind and has diverse features from variation in colors of flowers, sizes, shapes, foliage, growing season and growth patterns, etc.
Orchids are very appealing flowers and their sweet and soft fragrance only adds to its beauty. Orchid plants make excellent houseplants. They can be grown indoors as well as outdoors.
Their ornamental purposes are never-ending and with just the proper care and tending of these flowering plants, they can emerge as the best garden and indoor plants. All it needs is a proper knowledge of growing and providing the orchid with all it needs.
Among the big and diverse orchid family is the Cambria orchid. It is an inter-generic hybrid variety of orchid that is cultivated for commercial and ornamental purposes.
The Cambria orchid is a hybrid between the Odontoglossum Clonius and the Vuylstekeara, and it came to be known as the Vuylstekeara Cambria Plush.
This is a special type of orchid and has gained plenty of recognition and rewards from the Royal Horticultural Society as well as the American Orchid Society.
Description of the Cambria Orchids:
The Cambria is a very popular kind among orchid hybrids and is so because of its beautiful appearance and display qualities. Their long stems and big fragrant flowers make them unusually attractive and exotic.
This is rather a group of various cross-bred orchid varieties under the term – ‘Cambria’ that are all indoor plants cultivated in labs.
The Cambria orchids are evergreen flowering plants and have big and beautifully spotted blossoms. They are found in several different shapes, sizes, and vivid colors.
Commonly, these orchid flowers are very big and vibrantly colored with either dark red, orange, pink, or purple flowers with white speckles all over the flower.
The leaves and the tall stems that bear flowers grow from wide pseudobulbs. The flower clusters usually bear around three to seven blooms together.
Cambria orchids grow and flower in the summer, spring, and autumn months. Their growth can vary depending on environmental factors.
These orchid varieties are very popularly grown and are also comparatively easily grown and bred types among the orchid family. This cross-bred orchid species are rather uncommon and thus can be difficult to find.
Their strikingly different characteristics make them even more famous than the common houseplant – moth orchid plants. They are simple and straightforward to grow and maintain as well as create less fuss. They can do well even without too much attention.
These flower usually every year or every nine months as the pseudobulbs take around nine months to grow. But due to some inefficient surroundings or improper supply of its growth needs, the plant cannot always bear flowers. There is a balance of requirements that are needed to make an orchid plant bloom efficiently year after year.
Let us look through some reasons why Cambria orchids may not bloom well and how to correct this.
Reasons why your Cambria isn’t flowering and Care tips to make them bloom:
1. The placement of your Cambria orchids are a very important factor in its blooming. It is best to keep a Cambria orchid in an area where it can receive bright sunlight but does not get affected due to the direct rays of the Sun. If keeping indoors, the plant must be placed by an East or South facing window.
The lighting around these windows is great for the plant as it receives a good amount of the bright light of the Sun but at the hours of the day when the Sun isn’t too hot and harsh.
If your plant is placed by a West window, it tends to get too much light which is direct and during the hottest hours of the day. This can cause adverse effects to the foliage of the plant and also damage the leaves. This positioning also hampers the flowering because of improper light supply.
Also, if the plant is kept by the North window, it would not receive enough sunlight that can fulfill its needs.
A well-lit place with enough indirect sunlight is an ideal location to keep these unique plants.
2. This plant prefers a location where it receives maximum bright sunlight but also is protected from the direct rays. They can be protected by a sheer curtain over the windows when kept inside the house.
If being planted outdoors, the Cambria orchid can be placed under the shade of a bigger tree. This helps in keeping away the direct harmful rays and at the same time, it also supplies full bright sun for the proper growth of the plant.
3. The plant if shows the following signs, indicates an improper light supply can be one of the major reasons for the orchids not blooming.
- If the leaves are bright red, it indicates that the plant is getting too much light. This can be harmful to the leaves and the overall flowering and growth of the Cambria orchids.
- Slight red-pigmented foliage color is the ideal appearance of the Cambria orchid plant. It represents that the plant is getting a good and sufficient supply of light.
- If the leaves begin to appear dark, it is a sign that the Cambria orchid is not supplied with sufficient sunlight. This sign must be taken into consideration to move the plant to a brighter location.
Any of these signs if shown by your plant, make sure to move it according to its needs.
4. These orchid plants also have a certain ideal range of temperature where it grows well and flowers properly. Usually, these grow considerably well in room temperatures, they can also tolerate slightly cooler surroundings.
An optimal temperature setting for these orchid species is around 64to 75. It can go up to slightly higher temperatures during the summer months and can also tolerate cool rooms and outdoors.
Frost conditions or extreme temperatures must be avoided to grow these potted plants properly and facilitating flowering in the plants.
A sudden change in temperature can also be harmful to these plants. It is better to let the plant gradually adapt to climate-related changes.
5. Watering the Cambria orchids during its growing season differs from that of its non-growing season. A different watering routine for the orchids during the growing season, that is, during the summer and spring months should be started as soon as the plant starts bearing new leaves.
The Cambria orchids should be frequently watered during its vegetative phase. While watering makes sure the roots do not stay immersed in water for too long.
Plan your watering schedules accordingly and prevent waterlogging in the roots. Overwatering the plant can hamper with its growth and flowering.
The water that is used for watering the Cambria orchids must not be hard. They prefer blooming in soft water. Watering can also be accompanied with a diluted orchid-specific fertilizer every other time you decide to water the plant during its growing period.
6. The winter and fall months bring a dormant phase in the growth and blooming of your Cambria orchids. With the beginning of this stunted growth period, watering the Cambria orchids during the winter months must be altered.
Unlike in the warmer growing season, these orchid varieties do not require too much moisture during the dormant stage. It is ideal to reduce the amount and frequency of watering your orchid plant in the winter to match its growth needs as per the season.
It is advisable to water the plant sparsely and around once in each fortnight. Fertilizing along with water, which is a good practice in the summer and spring seasons, must be avoided during this dormant stage as it can accumulate too many unnecessary nutrients.
This winter watering schedule can be changed back to normal when the plant starts to show fresh foliage growth and blooms. Proper care during the dormant stage is very important for the Cambria orchids as this rest period when passed successfully leads to a good growing and flowering phase.
7. Fertilizing is a very useful element when it comes to the proper blooming of an orchid flower. There are special kinds of fertilizers available particularly for orchid plants.
These fertilizers can be used to facilitate growth and bloom during the growing season. Cambria orchids require the addition of organic matter to the soil to help it grow and develop well.
The supply of fertilizers and organic matter must be carried out only during the growing season, that is, summer and spring months from around May till September.
This is the period for the Cambria orchid plants to develop fresh new foliage. Small and diluted doses of the orchid fertilizer can be supplied to the plant frequently.
It can even be aligned with every second or third watering of the plant. High doses are not very helpful and the dose which is specified on the fertilizer packaging can be reduced to half its strength to promote better nourishment from time to time.
8. Blooming of your Cambria orchids can also be affected if the plant has reached the present potting capacity and cannot grow further if continued in the same pot.
Re-potting is also a very efficient factor in the good growth of the plant and it ensures proper spacing and supply of moisture and nutrition from the soil.
The Cambria orchid plants need to be re-potted every year or once every two years. This assures continuity in the development of your plant. It is advised to select a pot that is at least an inch bigger across.
If you can see the roots emerging and filling from the bottom of the pot and do not have any more room for growth, then it is time to re-pot the plant.
The growing season must be chosen to carry out the re-potting procedure of the Cambria orchids. Let the plant set in well into the newly potted soil and wait at least for a month before adding fertilizers.
The pot must have a good drainage facility and the soil used must also be the ones recommended for the orchid plants. These factors when kept in mind can induce better growth and lead to blooming of beautiful flowers on the plant.
9. To keep the plants in fresh blooms it is necessary to keep the orchids healthy and away from pests and diseases so that the plant is not damaged and does not show reduced growth.
Scaly insects and mealybugs are common plant pests and they make the leaves sticky and dark. They must be picked away with hands and the foliage must be cleaned with soapy water.
The leaves that were infected by these bugs and pests should be softly wiped with a cloth dipped in soapy water. This helps in getting rid of the sticky feel and also keeps away pests for longer.
Orchid specific insecticides can be used to prevent insects and pests. If the leaves have caught on disease and show signs such as turning into a brown, black, yellow, or whitish color, the leaves must be removed from the plant immediately to keep the disease from spreading.
Brown and black rot often affect the orchid plant and using a fungicide or other orchid medicine can be useful. Keep your Cambria healthy to have good growth and efficient blooms.
10. One major thing to keep in mind when it comes to the flowering of the Cambria plants is that these plants, unlike other orchid varieties, commonly the –Moth orchids and Phalaenopsis orchids, do not bear flowers on a single stem more than once.
To assure flowering and blooming of new buds on your Cambria plant, you need to cut off the stems which have already borne flowers once.
The previously bloomed flowering stems must be snipped off for newer stems to appear and bear buds for flowering. When the flowers dry up and have died, the stems should be cut off at the base just above the pseudobulb of the plant.
This assists in removing old stems that cannot bloom again and creates space for newer stems to grow without making the plant too bushy or crowded.
It is always recommended to use sterile garden equipment to prune the plants to prevent any mishaps and damage.
With all these tips and care techniques in mind you can carry out a smooth growth of your Cambria plants and can experience the unique, attractive, and beautifully scented orchids.
REFERENCES:
- About the Cambria Orchid (Nature-and-Garden.com)
- About the Vulystekeara Orchid (OurHousePlants.com)
- How to Care for Orchids (WikiHow)
Hi there! My name is Constance and I am a professional botanist. My enthusiasm for organic farming has led me to start this blog about gardening for beginners!
I write articles and tips on improving your home and garden with less work. I also share my own advice from the perspective of someone who loves all things green – like how to grow vegetables in containers or how to make compost out of kitchen scraps.