ORCHIDS 



ORCHIDS 



2399 



The coolhouse orchids have totally failed after 

 repeated trials. But most of the cattleyas, the den- 

 drobiiiins, onoidiiiius, epideiuiruiiis, lycastes, maxil- 

 lari;vs, brassi;is and brassivolas, gongora, la^lia, inil- 

 tonia, vanda, cyrtopodium and others have succeeded 

 excellently. Phalsc'iiopsis ainabiliji and P. Schillniaiia 

 are succeeding excellently on trees in low hammock 

 and bloom beautifully every winter. \\'ith cyjiripe- 

 fliums, cjnnbiihums, phaius and some other terrestrial 

 orchids in the hanmiock, the success has been only 

 moderate. 



Epiilendrum lainpcnse is an attractive native orchid 

 and well worthy of cultivation; E. iioduriium and E. 

 ciicultatum are interesting; Cyrloinidimn punclatum 

 forms great ma-sses on the trees and sometimes a single 

 plant may bear 300 or more flowers. These are of con- 

 siderable size and, with the scapes, are yellowish green 

 variegated with red brow'n, a most striking and beauti- 

 ful plant. Oncidium luriduin anil its var. guttalum are 

 very fine, having immense heavy leaves and long 

 branching spikes of brown-red and yellow flowers. 

 These spikes or panicles curve gracefully and are 

 sometimes 10 feet long. Oncidium spbacclatum is an 

 epiphytal orchid that has become terrestrial or sub- 

 e])iphytic in its habit, growing wild on decaying logs, 

 the ba.ses of trees, or even in the soil of ]3ine woods. It 

 has tall panicles of bright yellow and brown-green 

 flowers. The last seven species are natives of Florida, 

 an 1 all of them are doing well in cultivation. 



There is apparently no reason why anyone may not 

 have a few of these strange and beautifvd plants any- 

 where in Florida. In the northern half of the state, the 

 hardy Florida species and others of similar character 

 from northern iNIexico, Japan, north India or the cooler 

 parts of South America can be successfully cultivated, 

 wliile in the warmer part of the state a large jiroportion 

 of the tropical species can be grown. They do well on 

 trees in hammocks, in artificial groves and even on 

 isolated trees where they are not too much exposed. 

 Nothing is more entrancing than the cultivation of 

 these strange, often weirdly, beautiful forms. If one 

 once becomes interested in orchids he is sure to be a 

 confirmed lover of them ever afterward. 



Ch.\s. T. Simpson. 



Cultivation of the various kinds of orchids. 



At this point are brought together, in alphabetic 

 order, the leading orchid genera for instruction a-s to 

 methods of cultivation. The list is prefaced with 

 remarks on orchids in general and their cultivation, 

 even though they cover some of the ground already 

 pone over in the article by Robert M. Grey, which was 

 contributed to the Cyclopedia of American Horti- 

 culture. The orchids are so special in their requirements 

 that another experience will be valuable. 



Orchid-culture ha-s ever been that of the few who are 

 students of plant life and who can give time and care 

 to their plants. This statement has been exemplified 

 by many prcjfessional men who have used this means 

 a.« an alternative to their other cares, and find it all- 

 sufficing since so many species require special treat- 

 ment and some are never imflerstood. If evidence 

 were needed, it is proved by the fact that so many fine 

 collections are dispensed after the decease of their 

 owners, and that decadence is the usual result with 

 plants that thrived well before pa.ssing into other hands. 

 There Wii.s also the added interest that when buying 

 imported plants, the flowering of many rare and 

 valuable kinds resulted, which at times paid a liberal 

 interest on the original investment. It is safe to assume 

 now that we shall secure relatively few more new 

 .species of value from the native wilds, these having 

 been searched to such an extent that few are the 

 expeditions now made up in search of them. 



The greatest impetus in orchid-cultivation today is 



in the raising of plants by crossing and hybridization 

 under conditions of cultivation, and the time is with 

 us when we do not need to import either new spe- 

 cies or plants of well-known forms. It is worthy of 

 remark that the variation among orchids as we know 

 them is such that no two plants are alike in the color- 

 ing or marking of the flowers. In the well-known 

 CaUleya Triana^ or any other of the forms of the C. 

 labiata grou]3, each plant is different. Doubtless this is 

 due to the fact that most oreliids require insect agency 

 for pollination. Usually each flower has a highly col- 

 ored lip or labellum, to attract the insect, with radi- • 

 ating fines or tracks leading to the nectar and, when 

 this is secured, it is impossible for the agent to with- 

 draw from the flower without taking toll in the shape 

 of pollen which, of necessity, is deposited on the next 

 individual visited. In some orchids there are distinct 

 keels on the lip, the track thus being emphasized and 

 the bee compelled to take the narrow path that his 

 mission shall be fulfilled. 



It is often said that orchids need a well-marked period 

 of rest. This is not always possible with specimens 

 newly received from the wilds, as the flowering period 

 has to be changed to accord with our winter or summer 

 which in time governs their well-being. We will assume 

 that the flowers have been pollinated by insect agency, 

 and the seeds have matured. Tliis maturation usually 

 requires about a year. No one knows the number of 

 seeds that wiU be contained in a healthy capsule. There 

 must be tens of thousands, a very small proportion of 

 which ever reach maturity when sown under glass; but 

 here is apparently a reason for the time taken to ripen 

 the capsule, that it may take place about the period 

 for the plants to bloom again, which is presumably 

 the most favorable or rainy season, and the seeds are 

 distributed by the breeze to suitable media, and a 

 proportion germinates and grows. We learn by sowing 

 under glass that very few, even under the most careful 

 treatment, ever five through the vicissitudes of initial 

 stages, the tiny green globes or thalli having no true 

 roots for months. It is perhaps a year after sowing the 

 seeds before true roots are visible, but in the mean- 

 time, a hot drying day, if no gentle spraying of moisture 

 is given, will blast all the hopes of many months' wait- 

 ing; but we have the compensation of knowing that 

 each plant we raise will be eminently fitted to sur- 

 vive under greenhouse conditions. The recent careful 

 laboratory investigations have suggested rational meth- 

 ods of procedure in the growing of seedlings, and the 

 subject will probably gradually jiass out of the region 

 of accident and doubt. (See page 2;387.) 



Variation that obtains among wild orchids is also 

 present in various degrees among crosses and hybrids 

 rai.sed under cultivation. This was jjroved by the rais- 

 ing of over eighty plants of ('atlltya Tliayvriana, no 

 two of which were alike, and some could not have been 

 attributed to the same origin were it not for the con- 

 necting-links that rounded out the series. 



In Europe, a great liking is shown for the coolhouse 

 odontoglossums, especially since the raising of plants 

 from seed has proved or illustrated the origin of many 

 supposed species, the type flowers of which were sealed 

 up for twenty-five years in ^■ienna in the herbarium of 

 the late Professor Reichenbach who, in his day, was 

 the dean of the orchid botanists, and whose collection 

 was but this year uncovered. Following is a clause in 

 Reichenbach's wiU: "My herbarium and my botani- 

 cal library, my instruments, collection of seeds, etc., 

 accrue to the Imperial Hof Museum in Vienna, under 

 the condition that the pre.served orchids and drawings 

 of orchids shall not be exhibited before twenty-five 

 years from the date of my death have elapsed. I'ntil 

 this time my collection shall Vie preserved in sealed 

 cases. In the event of the Vienna Institution declining 

 to observe these conditions, the collection falls under 

 the same conditions to the Botanical Garden at Upsala. 



