ID and care for a beautifull Cambria hybrid

[herrjanermeister]

Hello everyone,

I just bought my first orchid, identified by the shop as a "Cambria hybrid". I'm hoping some of you can help me id this one more exactly, as I'd like to know specifically which exact plant I actually have. I also would like to know how to properly take care of it. From what I've read , I should water it a little twice a week, and I've bought fertilizer to use once a week, with the watering. I've got a glass pot with a drainage hole in the bottom and a plate underneath to catch water, where I planted it with orchid soil (with bark and moss for air). Should I pour the water straight onto the soil, or just in the plate below the pot? And what temperature should the water be? How much water would you give it, should I cover the bottom of the roots or should I not? In the pictures, I've just removed the plastic pot from the shop and planted it in the glass pot outside. It will live inside, on the windowsill in the livingroom, to catch most of the sunlight.

[herrjanermeister]

After some googling, I believe this may be some type of brassia; am I correct?

[pipsxlch]

Looks like a Miltassia, would now be a Banfieldara or somesuch. Anyhow, a multigeneric Oncidium gtoup hybrid and cared for as such. There's no such thing as a Cambria; that's a mistake made and promulgated by some of the mass market growers. (I believe it came about because a famous Odontoglossum- in the Oncidium group- type hybrid had the grex name Cambria, and the name came to be associated with all Oncidium types, like we use trade names such as Kleenex and Q-Tips for all tissues and cotton swabs)

Most people find members of this group pretty easy windowsill growers; there's multiple threads here on them, and we also have several Scandinavian growers who may be able to help with info specific to your conditions.

I'm no expert on this group. I worry about your term orchid 'soil', and I hope it's something that was missed a little in translation. They can't handle anything resembling soil. Your best bet would be a fine bark, mixed perhaps with a little sphagnum moss and/or perlite or something similar depending on what's available to you. Maybe another Norwegian can kick in here with what's available in your area. I also don't think your pot has adequate drainage. Your best bet would be a plastic pot with multiple good sized holes all over the bottom and sides. The plant shouldn't sit in water. It should dry to the just damp point between waterings. Weekly fertilizing is likely overkill. Water into the top of the pot until it freely drains, then allow it to drain thoroughly. Room temp- say coolish, not cold- should be fine. As for frequency, it will be however long it takes to get to that just damp stage- maybe twice a week, maybe once, maybe 3x, maybe every 10 days.

Though it deals with the genus Phalaenopsis, looking at the stickly thread 'The Phal Abuse Ends Here' could be helpful. Especially pay attention to descriptions of the skewer method of determining when to water. (your plant will want to stay a little damper than a Phal).

[herrjanermeister]

I see, yes it could be a Miltassia also. I googled some pictures and it looks very similar. I'll also check out that sticky thread, and try to investigate some more on which exact one it is, but the most important thing is caring for it properly. Maybe try with the fertilizer every other week and see how it goes. Thanks for the help!

Also, no it's not actual soil. It was called soil in the store, but it's only small pieces of bark and moss, so it should be fine from what I understand. I'll also see if I can find a better pot if the drainage seems to be too small in this one.

Edit: I added a picture of the pot, so you can get a better idea what the "soil" looks like. The green moss is part of what it's planted in from the store.

[rbarata]

Hybrids are always, if not impossible, to identify.
When you bought it there was any label in the pot? With the vendor name?
If so, you can contact them and ask.

---------- Post added at 01:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------

I've found something interesting.
I own one of these...

and it's a cross between Miltonia Anne Warne and Miltassa Olmec.
Here's a photo of the Olmec...it seems like yours

It's a cross between between Brassia Rex and Miltonia Minas Gerais. As you can see, it's really difficult to identify unless one reaches a definitive conclusion when comparing the actual plant with lots of pictures in the web...even though, thre's always the possibility to be wrong.

My Darth Vader is in a plastic pot with holes on the bottom, medium is medium bark + leca, humidity between 40 and 80% and temps between 12ºC in winter and 28ºC in summer. Watering once per week (summer) and every 10 days in winter. Medium should never be dry.

[herrjanermeister]

Ah, the Miltassa Olmec looks almost exactly like mine. So I was onto something with the Brassia then. This is a big help, thanks!

No, there wasn't any tags on the pot when I bought it, just "Cambria hybrid". But it looks like the Olmec might be the one. I added a slightly better picture of one of the flowers on mine for comparison. The only thing I can see is that the broadest petals on yours might seem a little more pink than mine, but I reckon that might be just individual differences?

Do you use anything to measure the humidity, or just keep a look at it from time to time? And I should not let mine dry out completely then between waterings?

I realise I'm asking a lot of questions; I'm entirely new to this, with little previous experience with plants.

[rbarata]

The only thing I can see is that the broadest petals on yours might seem a little more pink than mine, but I reckon that might be just individual differences?

It can be caused by the type of light when the pics were taken.

Do you use anything to measure the humidity, or just keep a look at it from time to time? And I should not let mine dry out completely then between waterings?

I use this one. It has a wireless sensor so you can measure the temps on a second place. It costs around 20 EUR.
And you should never let it dry out between waterings.

[nutgirl]

When you repotted it did you just slip it out of its plastic pot with the existing potting material intact?
Often plants from the grower have material in the center of the root ball that is quite old and can lead to rot.

After it finishes blooming and when new growth begins you might want to take it out of its pot and carefully pull the old potting material out. It will allow air to get through and promote new root. growth.

[herrjanermeister]

Yeah, it might be the lighting. Otherwise they look identical, as far as I can see. Thanks for the link to the sensor, I might look into getting one of those. Thanks again!

Nutgurl, yes, I just slipped it out of the plastic pot with the original potting material and put some bark on the bottom of the new pot before I put it in, and some new material around it to stabilize. I will have a look at the old material once it finishes blooming, thanks for the tip. I didn't consider that before.

[estación seca]

At a glance, and to an eye not familiar with lots of orchids, your plant somewhat resembles Miltassia Olmec. But when you look closer, you will see it is almost certainly not Olmec.

Hybrids are very variable. I have not seen all the Olmec seedlings ever produced, but the different clones pictured on the Web all have wider petals and sepals than does your plant. They almost all have at least a fair amount of pink or red in the lip, which yours does not. Their lips are all wider than that on your plant.

This is why a plant without a label cannot be identified, except under very rare circumstances: a unique plant easily recognized by an expert. If you labeled your plant Olmec and passed the plant along to another person, they might not realize the plant is mislabeled. They might photograph it, and put it on their blog... and yet another misidentified orchid would be on the Web.

There is a chance the shop where you bought it could give you contact information for their supplier. If you followed that chain of custody back to the original grower, likely a huge company in the Netherlands, you might be able to send them a photo and get an ID.