OKCHIDS: HOW TO (iROW THEM SUCCESSFULLY. 33 



pans. Thorc! arc, however, exceptions, as in D. Falconeri, one 

 of the most beautiful of all, and a comparatively fra^le grower. 

 This variety is most successfully cultivated on a tcjakwood raft, or, 

 what is still hcitt(T, a portion of the; stem of a tree fern. D. a^^re- 

 ^atum majus must also Ik; grown on a block. 



TIME OF REPOTTIXG. 



Tl)e proj)!'!- tiiiK! for carrying out this work can scarcely be 

 disregarded, and it should })e made a practice to do all that is 

 required in this respect immediately after their season of flowering, 

 for it is then that Orchids commence growing and pushing new 

 roots, which readily take hold of the new soil. There are, however, 

 a few exceptions to this rule to be found in the autumn-flowering 

 .species, notably Oncidiums, Vandas, Odontoglossum grande and 

 its allied vaiieties, Pleiones, and Tlmnias, which should not be 

 disturbed until repotted in the spring. Cattleya gigas, aurea, and 

 Warnerii are also late summer and autumn-flowering kinds, but 

 these I prefer rcijiotting directly after they have flowered, although 

 they may be left until th(i early spiing, when this operation can 

 be performed with success. Cattleya labiata [sijn. Warocqueana). 

 Rowringiana. and marginata also flower late in the autumn, and, 

 like all othei- late-flowering sorts, are best left over until spring, as 

 during the dark days of winter but little root action takes place, 

 and it is far better to leave the repotting until young loots are ready 

 to start into the new compost. The Cool-house Odontoglossums I 

 repot in September, but it is best to attend to each as they go out 

 of flower and directly the new growth is seen pushing from the 

 base of the last made pseudo bulbs. 



POTS AND BASKETS versus BLOCKS. 



Do not be persuaded to attempt growing Orchids on blocks of 

 wood, thinking that by so doing their natural habit will be more 

 closely imitated, for it invariably ends in failure, and there is no 

 exception to this ride. They cannot, in our artificially heated 

 ghiss liouses, be gi-o\\Ti successfully for any length of time 

 on blocks of wood or lumps of stone, as they are kno^^^l to do 

 in their native habitats, where they flourish in fidl vigour 

 and beauty. This may appear to be a strange dogma to the 

 inexperienced in growing Orcliids, but it is nevertheless a fact. 



D 



