Cumbria Orchid: the best varieties, breeding features

HomeOrchidsCumbria Orchid: the best varieties, breeding features

Orchid Cambria is a hybrid with inflorescences of an unusual color, created by crossing several varieties of orchids: Brassia, Miltonia, Odontoglossum and others. The resulting culture combines the characteristics of each mother plant. Thanks to this, it looks very beautiful and original. This flower is intended for growing at home, so it is distinguished by unpretentious care, high immunity to diseases and pests. Growing luxurious Cumbria on the windowsill brings pleasure even to inexperienced growers. This plant is an exquisite interior decoration and a real pride of the owners.

Description

According to the botanical description, Cumbria is an orchid with a sympodial type of growth, with large thickened oval pseudobulbs that accumulate a large supply of nutrients that help the plant to endure extreme conditions. The more pseudobulbs on the orchid, the healthier it is, and therefore more beautiful. Their length is from 8 to 15 cm. Up to 12 pseudobulbs can form on one specimen.

The roots of the plant are thin, almost threadlike, necessary for fixing the flower in the soil. At the end of flowering, the roots die off, but soon form again on the pseudobulbs. Most of the roots are aerial.

From each pseudobulb, 2–3 narrow, broadly lanceolate dark green leaves up to 40 cm long are formed. There is a pronounced vein in the central part of the leaf blades.

On one plant, several peduncles up to 50 cm long develop simultaneously, with 2-10 buds that open alternately. Flowers with a diameter of 6 – 11 cm, consist of several elongated, slightly curved petals on top and a single lower lip.

The color of the petals is not limited to any one color range and can be very diverse. On their surface there is always an unusual pattern of a contrasting shade. The flowering of this orchid with good lighting and proper care is observed several times a year.

Varieties

This culture has many varieties that differ in the color of the buds. The names, photos and descriptions of Cumbrian varieties that are most popular among orchid fans are shown below.

“Plush” – has large flowers with velvety petals and a long lower lip. Petals of cherry color, on the lip there are yellow spots and white speckles.

“Beallara Margarita Holm” is a plant characterized by an abundance of buds and tall inflorescences reaching more than half a meter. The petals have intricate patterns of burgundy and white spots. The flowers have a sweet light fragrance. Flowering lasts all year round.

“Catatante Pacific Sun Sports” – a variety with medium-sized oval pseudobulbs. The leaves are lanceolate, dense, dark green, up to 40 cm long. The color of this variety is muted, includes orange, light brown, red, yellow tones. On peduncles, 10 buds are formed. Flowering can be observed 2 times a year.

“Odontoglossum Stirbeek” is a very beautiful variety with long narrow leaves pointed at the end. Peduncles about 60 cm long form up to 7 star-shaped flowers. The petals are yellow, with brown, burgundy and white patterns. Flowering continues all year round.

“Wildcat Bobcat” – a variety with velvety flowers with a burgundy color. The lip is long, with wavy edges and yellow dots.

“Black Cat” is an expressive variety with large burgundy flowers that have a thin yellow border around the edges of the petals.

‘Eurostar’ is a compact shrub with fuchsia-burgundy flowers. The edges of the petals are white. Lower lip with wavy edges, white with a lilac spot in the center. This variety looks very elegant.

“White Fairy” – distinguished by graceful inflorescences, consisting of narrow snow-white triangular elongated petals and a large wavy lip, in the center of which there are yellow and purple specks.

“Masai Red” is a small shrub that is strewn with spectacular flowers for several months of the year. The inflorescences are burgundy, with an elongated lower lip, on which there are thin white strokes. On one adult plant, 20 – 30 flowers bloom at the same time.

“Bartley Schwarz” is an interesting variety with bright pink petals. The lip is large, white, with a slit in the center.

“Burrageara Nelly Isler” – this orchid is distinguished by the brightness of flowers, painted in a piercing pink color scheme. There are numerous small white strokes on the lower lip. The pharynx, located in the center of the flower, is yellow in color.

Transfer

After acquiring a flower, you should not change the container and substrate throughout the year. Transplant Cumbria orchids in the first weeks of spring during the formation of young shoots and the development of the root system. The transplant should be carried out in several stages:

  1. Carefully remove the orchid from the pot, remove the remains of the substrate from the rhizome. You can wash the roots under water. If they are intertwined, carefully unravel. Roots ingrown into the bark should not be separated from it.
  2. Remove dried brown roots with clean, disinfected scissors. Places of cuts must be sprinkled with crushed coal or treated with a fungicide solution.
  3. Place the plant for 24 hours in a dark, dry place to dry and tighten the cuts.
  4. Prepare soil for growing Cumbria. You can buy a special substrate for orchids in the store, or cook it yourself from crushed pine bark. To disinfect the substrate, rinse it under hot water.
  5. The capacity for growing this plant should be shallow and narrow, have an average size. As with any other orchid, plastic containers are recommended for Cumbria. A layer of drainage from stones should be laid at the bottom of the pot. Pour a little substrate on top, put flowers on it and fill in the existing voids. It is not necessary to compact the soil, since it is important to keep it loose for free access of oxygen to the roots and pseudobulbs.
  6. After planting, the flower must be watered with soft settled water that does not contain chlorine and other impurities.
  7. The first days the plant is best kept in a semi-shaded place for its successful adaptation.

Transplantation of this culture should be carried out 1 time in several years.

Care

Caring for a Cumbria orchid when kept at home cannot be called difficult, but still it requires regular work. However, according to flower growers, even beginners can take care of this culture. The basic rules for growing this plant in an apartment are described below:

  • Lighting. This culture likes to be under bright lighting for a long time, but reacts negatively to direct sunlight. For this reason, it is worth shading it. To observe the flowering of Cumbria in the autumn-winter period, you will need to use additional lighting. Fluorescent lamps are well suited for this purpose.
  • Air temperature. This type of orchid prefers coolness. The comfortable temperature range in the daytime for him is 19 – 24 degrees, at night, as well as in the cold season – 10 – 15 degrees. The orchid does not like high temperatures exceeding 25 degrees.
  • Watering. Experienced flower growers place Cumbria in the shower using settled water with a temperature of 40 degrees. Then you need to let the water drain through the drainage holes. So you can prevent rotting of the root system and saturate the plant with moisture. Between water procedures, the substrate should dry well.
  • Air humidity. A tropical plant is recommended high humidity at the level of 60 – 70%. When growing in a room, daily spraying and periodic wiping of leaf plates with a damp cloth will be required.
  • Topdressing. Fertilizer must be applied during the period of intensive growth, using for this purpose mineral complexes with vitamins and amino acids and organic matter. This work is carried out 2 times a month, combined with watering. Starting from autumn and until the onset of spring, it is enough to apply fertilizer once a month.
  • Pruning. To stimulate abundant flowering at certain life stages of the plant, pruning is carried out. In addition, this procedure helps to maintain the beautiful shape of the orchid, is the prevention of various diseases, since during the pruning process all damaged, dying parts of the plant are removed, which often cause infections.

This work must be done during flowering. It is important to use a clean, disinfected instrument. With its help, old diseased parts, faded inflorescences are removed, and elongated shoots are shortened.

Growing problems

When growing an exotic flower, you may encounter some problems. So, flower growers sometimes wonder why the Cumbria orchid turns yellow, and what to do to reanimate the plant. The reason for the yellowing of the foliage is the presence of a fungal disease caused by improper care, most often excessive moisture of the substrate. The diseased flower must be removed from the pot, dried for 24 hours in a dry, shaded place. After that, treat with a fungicide and plant in fresh soil.

A common cause of yellowing orchid foliage is also a lack of fertilizer. It is necessary to adjust the work on fertilizing, or pay attention to the composition of the mineral complexes used. They must contain substances such as potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen.

Sometimes flower growers complain that Cumbria does not bloom for a long period of time. To activate flowering, reduce the frequency of watering during the growth of pseudobulbs.

After that, it is recommended not to water the flower at all for a couple of weeks, and then to carry out water procedures as before. After a couple of weeks, leave the plant again without water. Usually such a watering schedule provokes a stressful situation for Cumbria, as a result of which it begins to actively form buds.

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Wednesday, November 8, 2023