Miltonia or Miltoniopsis? Cambria?

[monivik]

I just got 2 new orchids ...

The first one: the tag says Miltonia and but I've heard that stores commonly mis-label this two the Miltonia and Miltoniopsis. But I do want to know for sure what it is because as I understand they do require completely different care.

I have a feeling it's a Miltoniopsis, but want to know for sure. Or is it a hybrid of this sort? Please if anyone can help me identify this orchid? And also give me some care tips, I'd appreciate it. Ok so, those are pictures 1 and 2.

The 3rd picture is of the other orchid that I got, it's brownish/orange. That one is labeled as Cambria (Vulstekeara), now this much I do know: Cambria is always a hybrid... but a hybrid of what? I'm trying to get some more information, to also know what care to give it. Does anyone know?

[Ray]

The first is a miltoniopsis hybrid.

The other is a hybrid from the Onciidinae group. I have no idea what the hybrid may be.

There is no genus named "Cambria". That is a result of sloppy terminology usage that originated in Great Britain. Way back when, there was a Vuylstekeara Cambria 'Plush' FCC/RHS that was one of the first plants cloned and widely distributed. Other, similar hybrids, came simply to be known as "cambria types", and that has been bastardized to simply "it's a cambria". That particular hybrid, by the way, has been reclassified as an oncidiopsis.

On the assumption that your plant IS a true vuylstekeara, the genus is made up of cochlioda, miltonia and odontoglossum.

[MrHappyRotter]

Your hunch is correct. The "Miltonia" is actually a Miltoniopsis.

The colloquial use of "Cambria" is unfortunate and convoluted, and I wish it would go away. I feel the same about the fact that people still refer to Miltoniopsis as Miltonia, but that's at least understandable to me.

Anyway, these days it seems like Cambria refers to any arbitrary Oncidium intergeneric hybrid. In reality, there are a some specific Oncidium alliance hybrids that use Cambria or some variation of it in the name. Because names are too hard to keep up with, for some odd reason, folks just latched on to the Cambria part and stared calling everything Cambria. It's a bit like a child using "kitty" to refer to lions, tigers, house cats, and even vaguely cat-like animals such as raccoons.

Your "Cambria" likely involves things like Oncidium and/or Odontoglossum. There's potential that it also contains things like Brassia, Cochlioda, and possibly even some Miltonia or Miltoniopsis. Without a real tag with accurate identification, it's really unlikely that you'll ever know its real id, so guesses may all you'll ever have in this case.

[monivik]

Thanks. That's handy to know, so the "Cambria" should be treated like an Oncidium, when it comes to it's care.

Now about the Miltoniopsis: So what I understand is that this is a more demanding orchid, not very easy. I also understand is that it likes cooler temperatures. Now for most part of the year this is not a problem, my house doesn't get warmer than 20 degrees Celsius = 68F. We have cold rainy winters here and my house isn't the warmest, we also don't put up the heater too much.

But the summer, this is an entirely different thing. It can get hot, right now (spring) it's 73,4F indoor. But the thing is that we can get some really hot summers, and last summer we had this unusually long heat-wave, I think it lasted almost 2 months. It was 35C = 95F and above. I live in a small apartment in the city, top floor with a flat black roof. It gets unbearably hot. And I can't afford an airconditioner right now.
Does anyone have any suggestion on how to keep the orchid cool? I was told it could be placed outdoors, as long as it's in a shadowy place. But my balcony is super hot!!!

Maybe I'm worrying over nothing, but I just would like some advice when it comes for care regarding this type of orchid.

[neophyte]

miltoniopsis likes it evenly moist <- more watering compared to a miltonia, which has the added benefit of cooling down the medium (evaporative heat loss). placing the plant in a clay pot can accelerate evaporation, which should cool the plant down somewhat. i think you should read about zeer pots - the wikipedia page is very interesting.

[claypot]

I agree the "Cambria" tag is very sloppy and is rather an insult to Keith Andrew who produced that wonderful Vuylstekeara Cambria Plush - FCC's are not easily earned.
There are over 60 different Odontoglossum Alliance hybrid combinations most of which the floral trade find easier to label as Cambria so as not to let their true derivation be known to prevent copying. For those interested in the true Odontoglossum genus there is a worldwide group who insist on maintaining the historical genus name not recognising the grouping into Oncidiums. This group is the International Odontoglossum Alliance and you can find information at Home. Take a look. The site is building gradually to be a wonderful archive of information.

[neophyte]

i grow a vuylstekeara which i place near an east-facing window. you should know that odontoglossums prefer cool temperatures (below 80 F year-round) and should be watered very frequently. i use tap water to water my vuylstekeara (because i don't have an r/o apparatus) which has caused the leaf tips to burn and turn yellow because odontoglossums are very picky about having pure water (no dissolved minerals - fertilize weakly and flush often), so try to use r/o or distilled water.

[monivik]

I've been searching online for pictures of an orange colored Vuylstekaera... and I think I've found the one I've got.

Well, it's not exactly the same but very similar so the name is the Vuystekaera (Cambria) Catatante.

Very similar to my orange colored hybrid.

[Ray]

That is certainly not Catatante. Based upon its appearance, your plant almost certainly has more odontoglossum in it, suggesting that, like the miltoniopsis, it will do better with slightly cooler conditions.

[monivik]

Originally Posted by Ray

That is certainly not Catatante. Based upon its appearance, your plant almost certainly has more odontoglossum in it, suggesting that, like the miltoniopsis, it will do better with slightly cooler conditions.

Oh ok LOL
I guess I was going after the similar color... there are some similarities though funny.... of course I'm not an expert