Flowering most often in winter, in shades of pink, violet and white, the cambria is an indoor orchid whose stems carry flowers once only before being cut away. It asks for plenty of light but never direct sun through the glass; get that right and the leaves take on a reddish tint that tells you the plant is content.
Often blooming during winter, this orchid comes in many colors around the shades of pink, violet and white.
Here are best practices in terms of care that will help you grow your cambria orchid.
Cambria requires maximum light levels but has an aversion to direct sun rays behind a window pane. Most indoor plants are like this, actually.
Room temperature is also relevant, even though the cambria orchid tolerates relatively cool rooms.
There are 2 different seasons for cambria over the course of a year. One is the vegetation phase (growth), and the other is the dormant state where not much happens.
Cambria has a need for organic matter to support its growth. As mentioned above (section on watering), a suitable option is to provide it often with fertilizer in moderate amounts.
Use a fertiliser labelled for orchids, or dilute a general houseplant feed well below its stated strength, since a cambria’s fine roots are sensitive to the salt concentrations left by full-strength feeding.
As for all orchids, repotting is a recurring step for proper care. It helps eliminate old roots. In the wild, wind and rain do this, but for potted cambria we have to intervene ourselves.
Like all orchids, repotting is part of cambria’s life cycle and supports its root system.
You can propagate your cambria very simply: pull the pseudobulbs apart, just after the blooming, usually in spring.
The cambria alternates between a growth phase and a dormant phase, and each job below belongs to one or the other. Use the table to see what the plant needs and when.
| Task | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Watering in growth | As soon as new leaves appear | Water often but without leaving the roots immersed, using soft water |
| Watering in dormancy | Cooler months, usually fall and winter | Water as little as possible, about once a fortnight, and stop feeding |
| Feeding | While leaves are growing, most often late spring to early autumn | Special orchid fertiliser at half the stated dose or less, every other watering |
| Repotting | Every 1 or 2 years, when new roots are being produced | Move up to a pot 1 inch (2 cm) larger across, then wait a month before feeding |
| Cutting spent flower stems | After blooming | Cut the floral scapes at the base and wait for new stems |
| Propagating | Just after the blooming, usually in spring | Pull the pseudobulbs apart |
Keeping to this rhythm is what brings the next flush of stems, since old scapes never flower again.
“Cambria” is a trade label covering a family of related intergeneric orchid hybrids, all grown in exactly the same way. The table below sets out the named hybrids most often sold, so you can pick on colour, scent and the size of plant you have room for.
| Variety | Flower colour | Scent | Plant size band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambria ‘Plush’ | Deep red, white-marked lip | None | Medium |
| Nelly Isler | Bright red, white and red lip | Sweetly scented | Compact |
| Wildcat | Mahogany blotched on yellow | Little or none | Tall, branching sprays |
| Tahoma Glacier | White, purple mottling | Light | Tall, large flowers |
Unlike phalaenopsis, cambria doesn’t bloom twice on stems that have born flowers.
Cut off floral scapes at the base after blooming.
Wait for new stems to appear and they will bear more flowers.
Read also on caring for orchids:
