: HOW TO GROW THEM StTCCESSPULtY. 



ORCHIDS IN SMOKY TOWiNS. 



Although many kinds can be grown in town gardens there are 

 some, the delicate flowers of which open in the winter and are not 

 suitable for cultivation where a smoky, foggy atmosphere prevails, such 

 for instance, as the genus Phalsenopsis, and this is much to be regretted 

 as the plants are often so much at home in town gardens, and are 

 frequently met with in a flourishing state under such circumstances, but 

 as they generally bloom in the winter the flowers are much too delicate 

 to withstand dense fogs and the flowers therefore rarely open, the buds 

 turning yellow and dropping off. 



The spring-flowering Dendrobiums also give trouble in this respect, 

 <mch species as D. nobile and the numerous hybrids produced from it, 

 notably D. x Ainsworthii, D. x Leechianum, and such species as D. 

 Wardianum, D. crassinode, and a few others, for heavy fogs are almost 

 certain to destroy the flower buds of these varieties which flower early 

 in the season if placed in too much warmth. 



It is, therefore, better to retard their blooming by keeping them 

 cool and not allow the flowers to expand until April, then the flowering 

 state may be expected to be more satisfactory as the fogs then are fewer 

 and less dense. 



Some of the Cattleyas also give trouble, especially C. Percivaliana, 

 and C. Trianae, both being early-blooming species, and invariably lose 

 their flower buds under the influence of dense fogs. 



There are several other kinds which also suffer, but not so severely 

 as those already mentioned, such as Laelia anceps and other winter- 

 flowering Laelias, the Calanthes, Cattleya labiata, and all of these 

 suffer in a more or less degree, sometimes managing to unfold their 

 sepals and petals but perhaps only for a short time. 



Gypripediums and Odontoglossums are to be recommended as 

 probably the best kinds of Orchids for the greenhouses of large towns, 

 for although a large number of these flower in the winter, the flowers 

 are better able to resist, without injury, the action of thick smoky fogs, 

 but which would be fatal to the bloom of others. They are also most 

 interesting and easily grown, many of the former having handsomely 

 marked foliage, the flowers varying so much in form and colours, and a 

 moderate -sized collection of them ensures an interesting display of 

 flowers throughout the year. 



