48 orchids: how to grow them successfully. 



begin drooping and a seed pod form, which will require from nine 

 to twelve months to mature and ripen, then the pod will split and 

 begin to open, and the seeds should be sown at once, for if allowed 

 to remain longer the pod opens wider and the seeds are wasted. 

 To prevent the possibility of the first seeds — and these are con- 

 sidered by some Orchidists to be the only fertile ones — falling, the 

 the plant on which it is intended to sow the seed may be placed 

 directly under the ripe pod, so that the seed, in case of shedding, 

 may fall upon the surface of the compost. The Orchid, in the pot 

 of which the seed is to be sown, should have been potted some 

 months previously with the compost in a sweet and sound condition, 

 not containing too much growing or Hving sphagnum, or the little 

 seedlings may be destroyed. On this surface, after well watering 

 it, the seed should be shaken, afterwards gently spraying with a 

 fine syringe or watering can, so as to settle the seeds amongst the 

 compost, the plant afterwards being watered when requiring it, 

 but very gently at first, so that the seeds may not be washed too 

 deeply into the pot, or away altogether. 



I have had the best results from seeds sown in shallow pans or 

 baskets in which Orchids were growing and suspended from the 

 roof. If the seed is fertile and in a state for germinating quickly, 

 it will show signs of doing so in from three to six months, when 

 they assume the appearance of small green globules about the size 

 of a pin's head, from the centre of which a tiny leaf will soon form, 

 and in this early stage these may be transplanted ; indeed, it is 

 best to transplant them as early as possible, for frequently the 

 sphagnum surface on which they are growing becomes stale and 

 diy, and woodlice, slugs, or ants cause the seedlings to disappear ; 

 but if taken away when they are large enough to be moved, with 

 a sharp pointed stick, on to some new, sweet compost, a fresh 

 impetus is given to the little plant, and they then get a firm hold 

 of the material in which they are for a while to find a home, and 

 which is so necessary for their wellbeing. When the seed does 

 not show signs of growth in from three to six months, it rarely 

 vegetates at all. 



I prefer pricking off the little seedlings into what is known 

 as thimble pots (one inch in diameter). These small pots should 

 be half filled with small bits of charcoal or crocks, then filHng 

 level to the rim with chopped sphagnum moss and best fibrous 

 peat, with the dust shaken from it, adding a little silver sand, 



