i8g6. 



GARDENING. 



263 



CYPRIPEDroM ACAULE 



cannot give them too much water carl^- 

 in the morning; then again at a conven- 

 ient time through the day. and again 

 from 7 to 9 at night. I think this late 

 watering is more conducive to their suc- 

 cessful cullure than at any other time. 

 The floor should never be dry duringtheir 

 season of growth. 



The grower who lias not had time to 

 go through his orchid stock should now 

 be on the alert; no time should be lost in 

 going carefully over all the collection and 

 if any be found not in the proper sized 

 I)ots they should have immediate atten- 

 tion. The Cypripedium family should 

 either be top dressed with nice short live 

 sphagnum or repotted, as their condition 

 rcquir s. I do not advocate too often 

 repotting them, neither do I believe in 

 too often dividing them, even for a com- 

 mercial house, for almost any buyer 

 woidd prefer a good sized plant, and pay 

 the value of it than purchase a small 

 weak piece that will take years to bring 

 into a flowerinc; state This interesting 

 family of orchids enjoys pi nty of heat 

 and moisture, and revels in a "plenty of 

 atmospheric moisture. Never let them 

 dry up in the summer time; grow them in 

 slight shade, and give them plenty of 

 atmospheric moisture, and do not let the 

 house run down too cold at night or at 

 an\ time, especially when they are grow- 

 ing rapidly, which they will do if cared 

 for as above. 



Orchids. 



FORCINO ««RDy ORCfllDS. 



By this we mean growing some of the 

 hardy native orchids in pots or flats so 

 as to have them come into bloom in the 

 house or greenhouse some weeks or 

 months earlier than they would bloom 

 out of doors. Among our hardy ones the 

 cypripediumsor lady's slipper orchids are 

 not only the most attractive for our pur- 

 pose but also the easiest groVv'n The 

 best kinds to grow are spectahile. acauk, 

 pubescens and parviflorum; we have also 

 grown arietinum and canelichim as pot 

 plants, but they do not make show 

 enough to justify us in forcing them. Of 

 the first four spectabile is the boldest and 

 prettiest, and it forces well; indeed, if 

 kept growing after its flowers fade and 

 are past, the same plants will bloom in 

 potf or boxes year after year. The same 

 is true of the yellow-flowered ones, po6es- 

 cens and parviSomm, while acaule is very 

 beautiful as a pot plant, it seems to fail 

 completely after the second year, but for- 

 tunately it is our most abundant siecies, 

 hence we can iccuperate our stock every 

 year from the woods. Orr illustrations 

 from the American Florist show a panful 

 of spectahile and another of acaule as 

 grown at the Bussey Institute. And 

 apropos of them we read: 



"Cypripedium spectabile is usually 

 found in our northern swamps in limited 

 (piantities. P'or collecting the roots from 

 the native haunts, earlv September, just 

 as the leaves are turning yellow, is the 

 best time. Select suitable roots with 

 strong, flowering pips. 



"In their native haunts b th Cypripe- 

 dium spectabile and pubescens are com- 

 paratively surface rooters, their matty 

 roots seldom reaching si.\ inches below 

 the surface in a light peaty soil. This 

 should be borne in mind in potting them 

 up, which should be done as soon as the 

 clumps are received from the woods. 

 Have the soil light with plenty of leaf 

 mould and old peat and make the drain- 

 age very good. The clumps can be 

 crowded in the pans quite thickly, care 



bcmg taken not to cover the crowns too 

 deep with soil or they are apt to rot. 

 After potting they should be top-dressed 

 with a thin layer of sphagnum moss and 

 after a good watering should be placed in 

 a cold frame to remain until they are 

 brought into a temperature of about 55°, 

 not earlier than Januarv 1, and the later 

 the better. 



"The croivns will sometimes take 3 to 

 4- weeks before they show signs of start- 

 ing, but after growth begins it is very 

 rapid. If possible place them then in a 

 cooler temperature where the growth 

 will get hard and the flowers be allowed 

 to develop slowly. As soon as theflower 

 buds commence to appear carefully avoid 

 excess of moistrre, as the flowers are sen- 

 sitive to injury from moisture. The 

 plants are heavy drinkers and yet the 

 young growth is sensitive to rot, so ex- 

 tremes must be avoided. 



"From 10 to 11 weeks is the time re- 

 (|uired to bloom the plants from the time 

 they are brought into heat, and after 

 they have passed out of bloom they 

 shoidd be grown on carefully for the suc- 

 ceeding season, when they will do equally 

 well for three or four years to come. This 

 is also true of Cypripedium pubescens, 

 which is the easiest of all our native cyp- 

 ripediums to grow und r cultivation. 

 About 8 weeks is sufficient tune to bloom 

 this species and from 6 to 7 weeks for 

 C acaule. The latter shoul 1 be collected 

 new every fall, as it is extremely hard to 

 carry it over from year to year. All the 

 above plants, dving down every fall and 

 making a distinct crown (like the lily of 

 the valley)." 



ORCHIDS. 



Attention is now in order for the wel- 

 fare of telias that have now gone through 

 a season of longr. st; nothingwould have 

 been gained by attempting an early start. 

 .\bout now they will push vigorous!}^ and 

 respond kindly to any little attention you 

 can give them by way of repotting, 

 plenty of heat and moisture, and at the 

 same time plenty of liaht and fresh air. A 

 very little shadingof theglass is required. 

 When growth is half completed, which 

 should be by the latter part of June, you 



Orchids are now no longer the mysteri- 

 ous and hard subjects to handle' that 

 many of our old gardener friends would 

 have us believe. Neither are they the 

 uncommercial quality that many modem 

 florists would have us think and have 

 been wont to rate them; to prove this 

 you need go no further than visit many 

 of the leading florists' stores in this coun- 

 try, and who, by the way, do not con- 

 sider a choice decoration complete with- 

 out a liberal use of orchid bloom. Many 

 3'ears ago our old friend B. S. Williams of 

 orchid manual fame pointedly referred to 

 the sad havoc made by foolish and unscru- 

 pulous collectors, who gathered so many 

 plants out of proper season and without 

 rareful management, succeeded onlv in 

 bringing home a lot of half dead and "half 

 ripened plants that were fit for only a 

 quick relegation to the rubbish heap. I 

 am afraid that with all those severe les- 

 sons and wholesale disappointments they 

 have not yet heeded them, but are con- 

 tinually bringing home in a half dead con- 

 dition thousands of lovely types of the 

 many beautiful genera to be found, and 

 yet the continual howl of those who are 

 "principals" in this "unholy" work is an 

 effort to try to make us growers believe 

 that many of the best and most useful 

 kinds are fast becomingextinct. There is 

 no doubt that very heavy hauls have 

 been made on many of the best and most 

 serviceable kinds, but I believe there are 

 large quantities yet to be had, and no 

 doubt they can be brought here in good 

 condition if proper precautions are used 

 in their collection and transportation. I 

 have on a few occasions had cases sent 

 me packed in such a way that I would 

 not venture to ship them 1,000 miles bj' 

 rail, let alone ship them from 3,000 to 

 0,000 miles by boat and steamer; the 

 plants were apparently in good condition 

 when packed, but as they were packed 

 like sardines in a box, with nothing but 

 dusty, musty shavings about them, and 

 n iled in a tight box, with no provision 

 for airing. To my way of thinking this 

 way of doing things was a discreditable 

 and slip-shod way of handling such valu- 

 able stock. Wjm. Mathews 



Utica, N. \., May 12, '96. 



