CATTLEYA 



CATTLEYA 



687 



time of blooming of a cattleya, that is to say force it as 

 other plants may be forced, without injury to the 

 plants and a poor quality of bloom, but they are often 

 retarded by systematic copier treatment. 



The best potting material is the soft brown osmun- 

 dine, used alone with no sphagnum moss unless it is 

 possible to make this moss live, and even then it is of 

 no value to the plants except as an index to the pres- 

 ence of moisture. Moss that is dead and inert is a 

 detriment in the potting material of all orchids. The 

 one imperative thing in the potting of cattleyas is that 

 they be made perfectly firm in their receptacles; 

 if loose potting is practised, the young roots are injured 

 each time the plant is handled, and the material is 

 like a sponge, holding too much moisture in suspension 

 for the plants to do well, and, given a time when the 

 roots do not dry out quickly, all will soon die. 



Newly imported cattleyas, as they arrive from South 

 America, are usually much dried up, due to the treat- 

 ment given before shipment to avoid loss by decay or 

 fermentation on the way. If the plants are washed well 

 with soap and water, placed in an airy shaded house for 

 a few weeks and allowed to plump up again, roots will 

 soon be seen starting. At this time, pot each piece in a 

 receptacle suitable to the size of the plant (never let it 

 be too large, but always err on the minimum when in 

 doubt), fill the pots half full of drainage if common 

 flower-pots are used, and fill up with osmundine to the 

 top, pressing this material in with a blunt-pointed stick 

 so that the plant will be firm. Moisture from this time 

 on for weeks may be applied by spraying overhead 

 during bright days. If the pieces are large, baskets 

 are preferable to pots, as there is more aeration through 

 the material and the plants may be suspended and 

 space economized. Newly established plants often 

 bloom the first year, and one may get an idea of the 

 infinite variety found among the plants, as no two are 

 alike. Some districts known to collectors produce bet- 

 ter forms than others, in fact, in certain localties, the 

 plants found produce flowers of very inferior quality. 

 It is becoming more difficult to collect orchids, especially 

 cattleyas from their native habitats, transportation 

 not having improved and the distance to travel being 

 greater each time. In consequence of this, hybridizers 

 are now turning their attention to the reproduction of 

 fine forms true to themselves, with considerable success, 

 and should the supply of wild plants fail, there cannot 

 now, in view of the well-understood and successful 

 methods of raising cattleyas, be a time when the plants 

 will be unobtainable. Considering the variation found 

 among the wild plants, it is to be expected that home- 

 raised seedlings will vary; but if the best-known forms 

 are used, and these only are worth the trial, one may 

 expect a large measure of success. 



In our climate there is no period when the cattleyas 

 should be kept dry at the roots. The plants are either 

 getting ready to bloom, in crop, or recuperating there- 

 from, and these three periods cover the year. One does 

 not have to resort to drying to attain ripening as do 

 the European cultivators, and failure here is often 

 traceable to foreign training or text-books. 



Established plants should be repotted at least every 

 second year. This is as long as the osmundine will 

 remain suitable for the roots to ramify in, and if the 

 plants are grown in pots, immerse the same a day before 

 if the roots are dry, or most of them will remain at- 

 tached to the pots. Remove all decayed portions of 

 material and roots, wash with clean water, and repot as 

 with newly imported plants, remembering always that 

 a size too large often proves fatal to success. Plants 

 that have been newly potted must not be placed among 

 others that have not received attention, but all should 

 be put in a situation in which they can be treated to 

 little water at the roots for several weeks until the 

 weather is such that there is no danger of their becom- 

 ing overwatered. Cattleyas should be attended to in 



this respect in the winter months, taking first C. labiata, 

 as it is the first to start growing, then C. Trianx; the 

 later kinds may be potted before flowering with less 

 injury than afterwards, if done with care. 



In hot weather, cattleyas should always be watered in 

 the evening or latter part of the day. A generous spray- 

 ing overhead will supply the moisture at a time when 

 the roots get most of it, as may be seen by an examina- 

 tion in early morning. There is no danger of injury if an 

 abundance of air is supplied. One has only to be care- 

 ful during such times as the atmosphere outside is sur- 

 charged with moisture, then it is wise not to use any 

 moisture inside even for a week at a time. This is when 

 the dreaded "black spot" disease is often seen. It 

 usually begins at the union of leaf and bulb, and when 

 first seen, amputation must be practised to a point 

 below infection, and dry sulfur and powdered charcoal 

 applied at once as an absorbent. A small can of this 

 ought always to be ready to hand, for if the disease gets 

 down to the rhizome, several bulbs will be affected at 

 once, and it is often difficult to save the plant. The 

 disease is also highly infectious and may easily be 

 transmitted to a healthy plant by means of a knife 

 used to cut off diseased parts of another. 



^8H mr* 



841. Cattleya Mendelii. 



Apart from seeds, the propagation of cattleyas is a 

 slow process to be accomplished only by the cutting of 

 the rhizome between the bulbs, leaving at least three of 

 the leading ones and separating the older ones accord- 

 ing to their strength or the dormant buds at the base 

 that are visible. A clean cut or notch that almost 

 severs the rhizome is the best, leaving the parts where 

 they are until new growth and roots are made, then 

 potting in small receptacles, wiring or staking the little 

 pieces firmly. Apart from the three last-made bulbs 

 on the rhizome, the older ones are a source of weak- 

 ness to the plants and are better removed, and in 

 the case of valuable forms utilized as above. This is 

 the way all duplicates of the many albino varieties have 

 been obtained. There are many white cattleyas bearing 

 the same name, as C. Triame alba or C. Mossise Wagneri, 

 for many have appeared among importations, but these 

 differ in each individual and unless a plant is increased 

 by division one cannot be sure of the same thing. 



Opinions are divided as to the "feeding" of orchids. 

 It is certain that when rain-water is saved in cisterns 

 for the plants, and these happen to be in the vicinity of 

 cities where soot collects on the roofs of the houses, the 



