674 



The Weekly Florists' Review- 



MARCH 24, 



Freshlylimported Cattleya Gigas, direct from the woods. 



blooming, water sliould be given spar- 

 ingly." 



'"How many blooms will one of these 

 boards produce in a season?" 



"An average of 40 to 50." (See il- 

 lustration.) 



"What is your average price for cat- 

 tleya flowers?" 



"Thirty-five cents each." 



"Does this result satisfy you?" 



"Yes." 



"Do you grow any other species in 

 quantity?" 



"No, but we expect to and are now 

 having plans made for a new house, 

 20x150." 



"Do you think that orchid plants are 

 getting scarcer in their native habi- 

 tats?" 



"Most decidedly. In collecting it is 

 necessary to go much farther into the 

 Interior and large sections have been 

 depopulated. And as the supply short- 

 ens the price must advance." 



"What is the best time to import 

 orchids, more especially cattleyas?" 



"Any time. It makes no difference 

 whatever, providing proper care is ta- 

 ken in packing according to the sea- 

 son." 



"Would you be willing to answer any 

 other questions about orchids and or- 

 chid culture through The Review?" 



"Yes, with pleasure, for orchids are 

 becoming more popular every day and 



we would like to refute some of the 

 'Bogie' stories that have taken root, 

 and to dispel some of the mistaken 

 ideas about orchids." 



AGATHEA COELESTIS. 



For years this deserving plant had 

 not been mentioned in any of our flor- 

 ists' papers until early in January, 

 when a short notice on a few trial 

 plants grown for Christmas blooming 

 appeared in The Review. Since then 

 a number of articles on the cultivation 

 and the uses of this plant have ap- 

 peared in other papers, showing evi- 

 dently that some of our florists at 

 least appreciate the value of old 

 things as well as of the newer intro- 

 ductions, and that I was not the only 

 one experimenting in this line to pos- 

 sibly add more variety to the limited 

 stock of flowering plants for Christ- 

 mas sales. 



There is no doubt that the agathea 

 can be grown into large specimen 

 plants, as intimated in one of the ar- 

 ticles referred to, but in our northern 

 climate we may never succeed in ac- 

 complishing it all in one year. Start- 

 ing from a cutting, one year old plants 

 will not be much over 10 inches or a 

 foot high at the end of a season, even 

 when planted out in the most favor- 

 able position and with the very best of 



care. Those plants 3 to 4 feet high 

 and as much across, which we see in 

 southern countries, are no chickens; 

 they have been treated to repeated an- 

 nual shearings and if we should try 

 to grow such specimens here. I am 

 afraid the grower would get discour- 

 aged with the size of his plants at the 

 end of the third year. However, we 

 will be able to grow handsome strong 

 plants 12 to IS inches high in two 

 years, but then they should be planted 

 out in the open ground and receive a 

 liberal amount of attention. Their 

 growth naturally is inclined to be 

 short and compact, but occasionally a 

 few straggling shoots may have to be 

 shortened in order to keep the plant in 

 shape. 



In the fall we must pot them and if 

 not wanted for blooming that same 

 winter, a protected frame will be good 

 enough to store them away in; they 

 are almost hardy and can stand a few 

 degrees of frost, in fact some years 

 they come through in open border 

 when slightly protected, but are not to 

 be depended on as perfectly hardy. 

 When planted out again the second 

 year, the growth is stronger and 

 quicker than in the first season. I 

 would recommend to pot them up early 

 in September and to keep the plants 

 well syringed until the roots are again 

 active and able to nourish and support 

 all the foliage. With early potted 

 plants no trouble should be expe- 

 rienced to get them to bloom freely 

 by the middle of December and there- 

 after. Whether it will be a paying in- 

 vestment to grow these larger plants 

 or whether we would do better to dis- 

 pose of them the first season, remains 

 to be demonstrated by somebody. I 

 would prefer to sell one year old me- 

 dium sized plants, but in larger cities 

 there is a market for good sized spec- 

 imen plants and often the price is not 

 objected to if the stock is of the right 

 sort. If we had the advantage of a 

 mild southern climate (the same as 

 that where your correspondent first 



r^ ^ 



•H-Vi^a 



Agathea Coelestis. 



cultivated these plants many years 

 ago), our plants would grow continu- 

 ously summer and winter and we 

 could produce any desired size with 

 very little expense, but when we have 

 to winter the stock under glass, be it 



