CUT-FLOWER CROPS 285 



Habitat. Australia, tropical China, Japan, India 

 and the Philippine Islands. 



380. Culture of dendrobiums. Dendrobiums grow 

 better in comparatively small pots or baskets and are 

 often grown on blocks. They require the same soil con- 

 ditions as do cattleyas, but differ from them in their 

 moisture requirements and their flowering habit. During 

 the season of growth, they should be given abundant 

 moisture and a night temperature of about 65. When 

 growth is completed, the temperature should be lowered 

 about 10, and water partly withheld, to ripen the wood 

 before flowers are produced. When buds form, only 

 enough water should be given to keep the pseudobulbs 

 plump. When in flower, they are often nearly destitute 

 of leaves. After the flowering season, growth should 

 begin at once. 



381. Laelia, botanical classification. (Derivation of 

 name uncertain.) There are about thirty species of 

 Lselia. They are divided into four groups based on the 

 characters of the pseudobulb and the flower-cluster. 



Group 1. The pseudobulbs are rounded, pear-shaped (pyri- 

 form), or ovate; they form medium sized plants. The flower- 

 scape is slender, erect, nodding or subhorizontal, bearing at its 

 end from one to twenty flowers. 



Lcelia anceps (November to January), sepals and petals rosy, 



lip deep purple ; 

 Lcelia albida (November to June), white or pale pink, veined 



with yellow ; 

 Lcelia autumnalis (November to January), flowers purple, lip 



pink and white with yellow center ; 

 Lcelia flava (February to March), clear yellow; 



Group 2. The pseudobulbs are short, cylindrical and stem- 

 like. They are swollen at the joint and sheathed with bracts. 

 They have a dwarf habit of growth, and bear one to two very 

 large flowers on short stems. The leaves are leathery and 

 about six inches long. 



