Ukck.mbki: ao. ll^iOT. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



231 



Dendrobium Wardianum. 



iiierce. So buy this in quantity and fix 

 up small bits in 4-inch baskets; the plant 

 in flower would undoubtedly find a ready 

 sale, and if successfully handled would 

 prove a great source of revenue. To be 

 successful with these two varieties you 

 must endeavor to have all growth finished 

 upon them not later than the end of July, 

 ■which will enable you to strike the Christ- 

 mas trade with a portion of your stock, 

 the remainder you can re'.ard or flower at 

 pleasure. 



To accomplish this, start your plants 

 into j^rowth early in January^ and keep 

 tU;m growing; let the night temperature 

 be as near 70° as you can keep it; give 

 abundance of water at the root and over- 

 head, as soon as you get good root ac- 

 tion, and encourage the growths by fre- 

 quent applications of liquid manure from 

 fresh horse droppings. .\nd be it under- 

 stood that they require a decided period 

 of rest after the growing process, when 

 they should be removed to a cool, air}', 

 dry atmosphere with full expo-sure to 

 light and sunshine, to thoroughly ripen 

 the psuedo bulbs, as upon this depends 

 your crop of flowers; and during the 

 resting period, water must be applied 

 very cautious! v as thev are verv easilv 



excited into growth at this season. On 

 no account allow the bulbs to shrivel, in 

 fact, keep the foliage upon them if possi- 

 ble, which is not a difficult matter in Ihe 

 case of nobile, as this will enhance the 

 value of them commercially. 



Baskets or the ordinary orchid pans are 

 preferable to pots, as much valuable 

 space is economized b}' suspending them 

 from the roof. Use hard, dry fern stems 

 for growing on, crocks are not necessary 

 in this case, and topdress with chopped 

 sphagnum, after the roots have run a little. 



For early fall trade grow Dendrobium 

 formosunigiganteum. Dendrobium Phal- 

 fenop-sis Schroderianum formosum is per- 

 haps unequaled in the genus. It is pure 

 white with an orange yellow throat, bears 

 from three to six flowers from each Ijulb, 

 four to six inches across, and is a most 

 desirable variety for cut flowers. It sel- 

 dom returns less than twenty cents per 

 flower. Pot culture is advisable for this 

 varietv. Drain the pots well and use 

 hard, dry pieces of fern stems for grow- 

 ing on, topdress eventually with sphag- 

 num. To grow and when growing, treat 

 as advised for Wardianum and nobile, 

 but unlike these varieties, this requires a 

 long rest after flowering when it shoidd 



be placed close to the glass in a cool airy 

 house exposed to the sun, with just 

 enough water to keep it plump. 



Phukenopsis, another grand acquisition 

 to the trade, has graceful sprays and rich 

 colored flowers, which are sufficient to 

 attract the attention of anyone in quest 

 of a rich decoration. This, like formosum, 

 requires resting after it has flowered, and 

 like that variety, the more exposed 

 to the sun, the stronger they will break 

 away when started growing again, but 

 unlike those variet'es mentioned, this one 

 is ver\' suscepiible to water, especially over 

 head. However, if grown in a genial, moi.st 

 atmosphere, they will fare very well until 

 the weather permits of free ventilation, 

 when they may be sprayed once or twice 

 a dav. Guard particularly against a sud- 

 den fall in temperature. When fairly 

 under way give ample water at the root 

 and feed well, as it is a very good grower. 

 This variety should be suspended from 

 the rafters and does well when grown in 

 small orchid pans. Curtail the size of 

 pan to a minimum in comparison to 

 to the plant. For potting material 

 chopped fern stems will meet all their 

 requirements, and topdress with sphag- 

 num when vou find it difficult to keep 

 them moist.' J. ROBERTSON. 



Madison, X. J. 



EPIPHYTES. 



Is it material, or a knowledge of their 

 requirements, that is necessary to the 

 successful culture of orchids? I read 

 with a degree of interest, in the Ann rii-'Hi 

 Florist, of December 11, page 456, an 

 article on the definition of peat, and the 

 best natural fibre, for orchid culture, with 

 a few interesting facts on how things are 

 done in Europe, and how in England our 

 fern roots were a complete failure, and 

 the great difiiculty experienced in re- 

 b.askeling some cattlevas, as I take it, 

 that had too many roots for the baskets 

 thev occupied. Now, to anyone in pos- 

 sess'ion of cattleyas in baskets with abund- 

 ance of root, I should say, do not kill 

 them as described in the above mentioned 

 paper, but let them remain right there, 

 and do not worry should they eat the 

 basket clean up.' You cannot give a 

 cattleya better material to grow in than 

 a nia.ss of its own roots, that is, if kept in 

 a healthv condition. Composts are not 

 absolutely essential, nor, should I say, 

 much of a criterion to go by, as it is an 

 understood fact that a great many orchids 

 have been successfully grown and flow- 

 ered in good loam and also in pure leaf 

 soil. " M. 



CYPRIPEDIUM NOTES. 



The most satisfactory feature about a 

 collection of cypripediums is that you 

 alwaAs have some in flower, but 

 now IS practically the height of their sea- 

 son, and calling recently to see a superb 

 collection, I was fortunate enough to find 

 some of the very best in flower and not a 

 few of them American raised varieties. 

 Foremost among them is Pygmalion, a 

 cross between villosum and ciliolare, and 

 a flower of great distinction and mag- 

 nificent proportions. The large dorsal 

 sepal recurves gracefully, is lined with 



