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The Florists^ Review 



February 10, 1916. 



riums and diflferent varieties of foliage 

 plants. Which would be the more suit- 

 able, the high or the low house, and 

 will the results be as good if they 

 are grown with other plants f 



F. S.— N. Y. 



OATTLEYAS AFTER FLOWERING. 



H^ long should cattleyas be rested 

 after flowering, and about how often 

 should they be watered when resting? 

 I have the following varieties: Trianse, 

 now in bloom; labiata, resting; Mossise, 

 Percivaliana, speciosissima and Schroe- 

 der89. Should they be repotted and 

 given new peat each year after flower- 

 ing? What kind of feed should be used 

 for cattleyas, if any? Do the leads that 

 have flowered this year ever flower 

 again, or is it only the new leads that 

 flower? Would it be advisable to cut 

 off the old leads that have lost the top 

 part of the leaf? I have a Vanda 

 CBBrulea that is starting to make a new 

 leaf. Will it need plenty of water from 

 now on? Would it be advisable to di- 

 vide large plants and make several 

 smaller plants? I have a plant of 

 Schroederse just showing bud. Will it 

 be possible to get thiS' in bloom for St. 

 Valentine's day? The night tempera- 

 ture is 70 to 72 degrees. 



B. A. E.— 111. 



Cattleyas after flowering like a mod- 

 erate rest, but the resting used to be 

 much overdone, with resultant injury to 

 the plants. Keep them drier for a 

 couple of months, until the new growths 

 are well started; then gradually water 

 more abundantly. Hybrid cattleyas do 

 far better if not rested at all, and such 

 species as you have need a short rest 

 only.' Water sufficiently so that there 

 is no fear of the bulbs shriveling. Pot- 

 ting is not always necessary each sea- 

 son. Occasionally it suffices to remove 

 some of the surface soil and add some 

 new compost, but if the plants are 

 starved or crowded, or have overhang- 

 ing roots, repot by all means during 

 the resting period. Be sure to pot cat- 

 tleyas firmly. 



C. labiata should be repotted at once, 

 and Percivaliana and Trianae before the 

 end of March; the others named should 

 be potted somewhat later. Fern fiber is 

 the ideal compost for cattleyas; not the 

 sof J material, but that which is some- 

 what doarser and tougher, and through 

 which water passes freely. Keep the 

 plants tolerably dry after potting, until 

 new roots become active; then increase 

 the moisture at the roots. 



Leads on cattleyas and Iselias which 

 have once flowered do not bloom again. 

 They must not be cut off, however, until 

 they show signs of decay. Some grow- 

 ers feed cattleyas; others do not. Per- 

 sonaU^i^' I have found that occasional 

 weak applications of cow manure dur- 

 ing the growing season are beneficial 

 to these and many other orchids, but 

 for cattleyas the doses must always 



be weak and not of the strength 

 which calanthes, phaius, zygopetalums, 

 coelogynes, sobralias, etc., appreciate. 

 Cattleyas and other orchids are often 

 divided when they become unwieldy in 

 size. Moderate-sized plants in 6-inch or 

 7-inch pots give more blooms in propor- 

 tion to their size than larger specimens. 

 Do not try to force your Schroederse 

 in any such night temperature as 70 to 

 72 degrees, unless you want to ruin 

 them. They should have a temperature 

 of 55 to 60 degrees at night. 



Vanda cserulea, if well rooted, will 

 need a fair supply of moisture. It likes 

 a light position, with full winter sun, 

 at the cool end of the cattleya house. 

 A temperature of 55 degrees at night 

 will suit it better than I'O degrees 

 higher. C. W. 



HOUSE FOR MIXED ORCHIDS. 



I should like to change my orchid 

 collection, consisting of cattleyas, 

 vandas, dendrobiums, odontoglossums, 

 Iselias, cypripediums and coelogynes, 

 from a house tweWe feet to the ridge 

 and seventeen feet wide to one twenty- 

 two feet to the ridge and thirty-four 

 feet wide; both houses are fifty feet 

 long. The larger house is three-quarter 

 span. I want to grow them with a gen- 

 eral collection of stove and greenhouse 

 plants, such as palms, ferns, anthu- 



On the whole, the smaller or lower 

 house would be the better. Cattleyas 

 and Iselias would do well in the larger 

 house, provided they could have the 

 necessary air and proper light. Some 

 varieties, such as vandas, dendrobiums, 

 cypripediums, phalajnopsis, aerides, etc., 

 would do well in a warm, moist house, 

 such as you would grow tropical foliage 

 plants in, except that dendrobes, when 

 their growths are completed, should be 

 moved to a cooler and drier house to 

 mature their pa^do-bulbs. Odonto- 

 glossums and coelogynes require a 

 fairly cool house, especially the former. 

 The various orchids you name cannot 

 all be grown successfully in one house. 

 You will get much better results by 

 keeping the different varieties in tem- 

 peratures as nearly suited to their con- ^ 

 ditions as possible. C. W. 



SPLIT EASTER LILIES. 



Please tell me what makes Easter 

 lilies split. I also would like to know 

 why cold storage lilies have short 

 stems. I have never tried growing 

 cold storage lily bulbs until this year 

 and they have only made stems from 

 six to twelve inches long. Is the trouble 

 in the growing? S. M. — Kan. 



Usually bulbs that are diseased 

 produce split flowers. The cause of 

 much disease is overwatering in the 

 early stages of growth and the start- 

 ing of the bulbs in too low a tempera- 

 ture. As a rule, lily bulbs have an 

 insufficient rest before being started. 

 Cold storage lilies never possess the 

 vigor of fresh bulbs. Give them a 

 warm and shaded location. The shade 

 will help to draw up the stems. 



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SEASONABLE iir 

 JMT SUGGESTIONS 



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Easter Lilies. 



Constant inquiries are coming in 

 about Easter lilies, and it is well to 

 rdmind readers that, while April 23 is 

 an unusually late date for Easter, it 

 is not a good policy to hold back their 

 plants in a cool house. L. longiflorum 

 giganteum, which is the Easter lily par' 

 excellence for pots, should have a good 

 heat from start to finish; otherwise 

 you will get a large proportion of 

 dwarf, stunted plants. If you can see 

 and count the buds on your plants 

 March 15, you are all right, if the 

 plants are then allowed 60 degrees at 

 night right along. If your plants show 

 buds earlier than this, do not run them 

 cooler. A far better plan is to let 

 them come along and hold tlxem cooler 

 and shaded when the first flowers have 

 opened. If you take lilies from a tem- 

 perature of 60 to 65 degrees and give 

 them, say, 20 degrees lower at one 

 swoop, do not be surprised if a large 



part of the buds are destroyed. Lilies 

 will not stand such sudden changes. 



Fuchsias. 



For bedding out in shady positions 

 fuchsias are quite satisfactory. If you 

 have started up some old plants they 

 will soon give you a fine crop of suc- 

 culent cuttings, which will root easily. 

 If kept potted along, these will make 

 nice stock in 4-inch pots for May sales. 

 Fuchsias also make nice flowering 

 plants in 6-inch, 7-inch or 8-inch pots 

 for summer. Give them a cool, airy 

 and somewhat shaded house to grow 

 in. Of course, give them an abundant 

 water supply. There are some trailing 

 fuchsias which make grand basket and 

 piazza-box plants. These flower for 

 months if grown in a position where 

 they are fairly well protected from the 

 rays of the sun. Even if you have none 

 of the regular drooping fuchsias, any 

 of the ordinary varieties make fine 



