36 ORCHIDS : HOW TO GROW THEM SUCCESSFULLY. 



with a thin layer of sphagnum over the drainage. All the old soil, 

 &c., must be removed from the roots, the plants held in position and 

 filled in between the roots, as before advised for Cattleyas, taking 

 care not to injure the roots, or packing too hard or too loosely ; 

 it is advisable to have the plant just above the rim of the pot. 

 Cypripediums grow rather luxuriantly, and should therefore have 

 reasonably large pots in proportion to the size of the plants and the 

 quantity of roots. 



DENDROBIUMS. 



These must be potted in the very best fibrous peat and sphagnum, 

 in equal proportions, preparing both as recommended for Cattleyas, 

 and the pots should be thoroughly drained in the same way. As 

 a rule, Dendrobiums do far better in small pots than large ones ; in 

 fact, some kinds are most sensitive in this respect, a large mass of 

 material about the roots being most distasteful to them. Many of the 

 Dendrobiums really thrive better when planted in teakwood baskets or 

 earthen pans and suspended from the roof ; still there are some kinds 

 which it is necessary to grow in pots, because of the great length 

 of their pseudobulbs. Fig. 12 illustrates the method of growing 

 them in baskets or pans. There are, however, exceptions, as in 

 D. Falconeri, one of the most beautiful of all, and a comparatively 

 fragile grower. This variety is most successfully cultivated on a 

 teakwood raft, or, what is still better, a portion of the stem of a tree 

 fern. D. aggregatum majus must also be grown on a block. 



TIME OF REPOTTING. 



The proper time for carrying out this work can scarcely be 

 disregarded, and it should be 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, and these are the autumn-flowering species, such as some of the 

 Oncidiurns, Yandas, Odontoglossums, Pleiones, and Thunias, which 

 should not be disturbed until repotted in the spring. Cattleya 

 Warscewiczii (syn, gigas), aurea, and Warneri are also late summer and 

 autumn- flowering kinds, but these I prefer repotting directly after they 

 have flowered, although they may be left until the early spring, when 

 this operation can be performed with success. Cattleya labiata (syn. 

 Warocqueana), Bowringiana, and Lselia pumila also flower late in the 

 autumn, and, like all other 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 roots are 

 ready to start into the new compost. It is best to attend to the Cool- 

 house Odontoglossums as they go out of flower and directly the new 

 growth is seen pushing from the base of the last made pseudobulbs. 



