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The Florists^ Review 



April 22, 1920 



wonderful color combinations, most de- 

 ^ sirable for use in crossing. The pri- 

 mary leeliocattleyas usually have won- 

 derful colors but poor shape and are 

 often small. Laeliocattleya luminosa is 

 one of the best and recrossing it with 

 Dowiana makes a grand hybrid, but I 

 would advise any commercial grower 

 never to use a straight Iselia as a parent 

 and but few of the Iseliocattleyas, un- 

 less they are secondary crosses. The 

 Iselia shape is hard to build up and re- 

 quires several generations of crossing. 



In closing my remarks on this phase 

 of my subject, I would say, never make 

 a cross without some definite idea in 

 mind as to the results you wish to at- 

 tain. Avoid crossing a light flower with 

 a dark one, or crossing any two flowers 

 " that are widely different in shape, as 

 the poor shape and light color will come 

 out most strongly in your hybrid. 



An Orchid Orphan Asylum. 



Always use the best varieties you have 

 or can get, even if carrying the seed 

 pod kills the plant. I have seen many 

 fine orchids die through carrying seed 

 pods. A seed pod is a severe drain on 

 some plants, especially the Dowianas. 

 Mr. Moore calls the seedling house the 

 orphan asylum, because so many of the 

 female parents die through carrying 

 pods. 



After the flower is hybridized, there 

 is little to be done until the capsules 

 ripen; this takes about one year, but 

 occasionally they will stay on the plant 

 one or two months longer. The plant 

 requires.no different treatment from the 

 rest of^ts class, but it should not be 

 potted and its root action should not 

 be disturbed if this can be avoided. 



Primary hybrids always give the hy- 

 bridizer a good crop of well filled seed 

 pods, but in making secondary hybrids, 

 and 80 on, the percentage of pods that 

 mature become less, with a correspond- 

 ingly smaller amount of good seed per 

 pod. 



Saving and Sowing the Seed. 



After the pods are ripe and gathered, 

 the seed should be shaken out of the 

 capsules and spread on a piece of paper 

 to dry, care being taken that the seed 

 is not Ijlown away in the process. After 

 being dried, it should be kept in a cool, 

 dry place until you are ready to make 

 a sowing. Make your sowing as thin as 

 possible and that will be many times 

 too thick if the seed germinates well. 



I consider the best times to sow are 

 in March and September; I presume I 

 have sown in every month of the year, 

 but my best results were attained from 

 sowing in these two months. As to the 

 material to sow on, I believe it does not 

 make much difference what it is, so 

 long as it absorbs moisture. I have 

 used burlap and toweling with good suc- 

 cess, but the seed will germinate just 

 as well on sphagnum moss or osmunda 

 fiber. Usually I get a good number of 

 seedlings off the rim of the pot itself. 



Bequlrements for Oermination. 



The principal requirement in getting 

 the seed to germinate is the right at- 

 mosphere in the house. Avoid seedling 

 frames or small sash frames; I tore mine 

 out long ago; they catch all the con- 

 densation and drip constantly on the 

 pots, destroying all hopes of getting a 

 good germination. Make the sowings 

 in a small house which you can keep at 

 a temperature of 75 degrees at night, 

 letting the temperature go as high as 



it likes during the day, with sun heat 

 and with the atmosphere always satu- 

 rated with moisture. A cold draft is 

 sure death to seedlings.^ I never use 

 the ventilators on my^eedling house, 

 summer or winter, but^ve a change of 

 air by slightly opening the door of the 

 adjoining compartment. 



Fungi as Aids to Germination. 



Of late years a good deal has been 

 said about fungi that are necessary be- 

 fore germination can take place. For- 

 merly I used to laugh at this idea and 

 I got seedlings up, too. But I am older 

 and possibly wiser now. Without the 

 presence of these fungi, orchid seed, 

 will not grow, but this is not an alarm- 

 ing fact, as the fungi are always present 

 among orchids and, within three or 

 four days from the time of sowing, will 

 make their appearance among the seed. 

 The great object to be attained is to 

 keep the fungi after they have come, 

 for a cold draft or the least dryness 

 or even too wet a condition of the pot 

 is death to them, and thus germination 

 is checked until a new crop of fungi 

 comes. By that time your seed may 

 have rotted or otherwise become use- 

 less. The effect of this fungi is hard to 

 explain, but my own observations lead 

 me to infer that orchid seed is not fer- 

 tile until the fungi have done their part. 



The First -Transplanting. 



From that time on the seed develops 

 rapidly and in about thirty days, if 



it was sown in March, the seedlings 

 should be ready to prick off. For this 

 operation I use the same compost as 

 was used for the seed. 



Up to this stage the seedlings have 

 numerous extremely fine root hairs 

 around the base of the globule; these 

 disappear when the true roots form. 

 When the true roots are about oue- 

 fourth of an inch long, the seedlings 

 are ready to be potted off into thumb 

 pots. From then on they grow along 

 in the same manner as any other cat- 

 tleya in its growing season, but are not 

 dried off or rested until they reach the 

 flowering stage, when they are treated 

 in the same way as the species. 



In conclusion I would say that the 

 largest factor in raising seedlings is un- 

 limited time and patience. 



PIiANTINa FOR THANKSGIVING. 



When should bird's-eye peppers, Jeru- 

 salem cherries, Primula obconica and 

 P. chinensis be planted to be in bloom 

 for Thanksgiving and Christmas f 



L. K. M.— Pa. 



Seeds of peppers, Jerusalem cherries, 

 Primula sinensis, or chinensis, and P. 

 obconica should be sown at once; in 

 fact, the Jerusalem cherries would have 

 been better if sown in March, but you 

 still have time to secure good-sized 

 plants. I should advise planting the 

 cherries out in summer, lifting and pot- 

 ting them in early September. C. W. 



"The Growers' Exchange has de- 

 veloped beyond our most sanguine ex- 

 pectations; in addition, it is a line of 

 intercommunication, an exchange of 

 ideas, as well as of stock," said Charles 

 N. Cotter, Jamestown, N. Y., also men- 

 tioning that his son, Jeffery, was get- 

 ting ready to travel in the interests of 

 this growing concern. 



• • • • 



The Lake View Rose Gardens, James- 

 town, N. Y., are producing right along 

 under exceptional diflBculties. It is re- 

 markable what can be accomplished 

 under a competent head, but doubly so 

 when the hands have to follow suit. 

 Superintendent Cotter has plans for re- 

 construction, which, if carried out, will 

 be undoubtedly a big success. 



• • • • 



Theodore Staudt, Bockville, Conn., 

 said that Easter was a thanksgiving for 

 him, because he had just recovered from 

 a five weeks' siege of pneumonia and 

 was able to help out a bit during the 

 rush. Mrs. Staudt and a son held the 

 business together. 



• • • • 



That Easter business was about as 

 usual was the report of\the Brainard 

 Nursery & Seed Co., JPhompsonville, 

 Conn. Seed orders are numerous and 

 planting prospects are good. » 



• • • • 



W. A. Wettlin, Hornell, N, Y., has 

 placed a contract for a new greenhouse, 

 35x100 feet, with a service room, as a 

 nucleus of what may become the largest 

 range of glass in the neighborhood. 

 If business demands and space permits, 

 the necessary wherewithal will be forth- 



coming when other conditions are more 

 favorable than at present. The old 

 range is crowded with spring stock in 



fine shape. 



• • • • 



F. J. Weiss, Port Jervis, N. Y., speak- 

 ing o'f business generally, banked on 

 having a new greenhouse completed in 

 time to help out at Easter, but was 

 disappointed. He figured that with the 

 stock prepared and exceptional demstlid, 

 the house would almost pay for itself 



the first season. 



• • • • 



"Great season for posies," observed 

 George W. Haas, of George W. Haas & 

 Son, Meadville, Pa. "We are pleased 

 to note an increase in the wearing of 

 corsages, for which much of our stock 



is well suited." 



• • • • 



"Fine business, but oh! so rushed!" 

 exclaimed Mrs. Krueger, at the store 

 of H. J. Krueger, Meadville, Pa. ' ' Can 

 you send us a good man to help our son 

 at the greenhouses!" Hers was not the 

 only request for help, by any means. 



• • • • 



Irving Nicholson, Kennedy, N. Y., ^^ 

 prominent market gardener, in speaking 

 about the scarcity of labor, mentione<l 

 that the Erie railroad was scouring tbR 

 country in his vicinity, offering as high 

 wages as $5.50 per day, and said that 

 although he is gardening the larger part 

 of 100 acres, the prices for produce arc 

 so unremunerative that under existing 

 conditions the temptation to give up is 



strong. 



• • • • 



George Heelas, Jamestown, N. Y., 

 said that he never handled so many 



i.?..v. -«A^>; 



