96 orchids: how to grow them successfully. 



should be potted moderately firm, bringing the new compost well 

 to the base of the pseudo bulb, and, when potting is completed, 

 should any portion sway, steady it by tying the pseudo bulbs to 

 neat sticks, it being so necessary to the roots when pushing to take 

 a fii"m grip of the compost, which is prevented if the plant is 

 unstable. There are numerous varieties of C. Gaskelliana, varying 

 more or less in shades of colour and markings, light tinted forms 

 predominating, so that the darker varieties are in gi'eater demand ; 

 also those which are almost white, but very few pure white forms 

 have yet appeared. These can all be grown in pots or baskets, and 

 should have a position where there is much light, but shaded from 

 the hot sun. Tliis is a somewhat plentiful species, and good strong 

 plants can be bought for 2/6 per leading growth, so that plants 

 suitable for a 32 -size pot with three or four leads may be bought 

 for 10/6. Watering should be attended to as recommended for 

 C. aurea, and a good supply given when the plant is growing, but 

 only sparingly when at rest. Newly imported or established. 



Cattleya labiata gigas. From Antioquia. 

 (aS'j///. C. Warscewiczii.) 

 This is another superb summer-flowering species, blooming 

 immediately the pseudo bulb is formed, and some of its varieties, 

 known as Sanderiana, Imperialis, Burfordiensis, &c., have blooms 

 of a great size and brilliancy of colour, but, if recently imported, 

 these varieties cannot be determined until they have bloomed. 

 Cattleya Sanderiana is really a very fine form (or variety) of C. 

 gigas. Imported plants of this splendid Orchid are sometimes sold 

 by auction, under the name of C. Sanderiana, but, as previously 

 stated, their identity cannot be established until they are in flower. 

 There are varieties of this species which are naturally shy bloomers 

 whilst others flower very freely, but whether shy blooming or 

 otherwise, they flower much more abundantly if grown near the 

 glass, and almost fully exposed to the sun's rays, only shading 

 them when the sun is intensely hot and bright. This species can 

 be grown in pots or baskets, in peat and sphagnum, and are best 

 repotted either in March, just as they commence growing, or in the 

 summer, immediately after flowering. I prefer summer potting, as 

 then the new pseudo bulbs push out a number of fresh roots, which 

 continue growing more or less through the winter, and the plants 

 at this stage become quickly re-established in the new compost. 



