128 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE 



the potting shed for pots and potting material as soon as these 

 growths are seen is a great and pardonable one, but it must not on 

 any account be yielded to. Let us think a moment. Here are 

 rootless and leafless plants, with their fleshy bodies still further 

 weakened by a long journey through hot regions, and by being 

 packed in dry material. They are invalids just taking a turn for 

 the better, but by no means fit for strong diet. " Make haste 

 slowly " is an excellent motto to bear in mind at this stage. 



The proper time to pot newly imported Odontoglossums is 

 when the new growths have made some progress and new roots 

 are being formed at the base. It is useless to expect all the plants 

 will be ready for potting at the same time ; some will soon begin 

 to grow and root, while others wait a long time before showing 

 any signs of life. The plants must be potted as they become 

 ready for that process. Large specimens are very rarely imported 

 nowadays, consequently large pots will not be required. The 

 size of pot to use is one that will just comfortably accommodate 

 the plant to be dealt with. Three inch (6o's), or four and a half 

 inch (48's), will usually be large enough for the Odontoglossums 

 obtained to start with. 



Use clean pots, and if the pots are new ones, they must be 

 soaked in a tank of water for at least an hour or two (and then 

 drained and dried) before being used. When established, and 

 especially when growing freely, Odontoglossums need an abund- 

 ance of moisture, and as the material in which they are potted has, 

 with very few exceptions, to be kept moist all the year round, it 

 will be readily understood that there must be ample drainage 

 beneath the compost to permit the water applied above to pass 

 quickly away. If the water does not pass away readily, the 

 compost will become sour, the root tips be killed, and the plant 

 die or become seriously weakened. The old practice was to place 



