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A PAGE FOR THE mt 

 AT ORCHID GROWERS 



7s it because orchids have bloomed less freely than usual this season, or 

 is the demand this year so much greater than usual f At any rate, the 

 interest in orchids never was stronger, and growers and retailers will be 

 interested in these seasonable suggestions concerning popidar commercial 

 varieties. 



O a good many florists, 

 especially in the stores, 

 the word orchid means 

 only one thing, the cat- 

 tleya, but there is a wide 

 increase in the popularity 

 of the spray orchids that 

 now are coming onto the 

 market* in larger and 

 larger quantities, and 

 which are found increasingly useful in 

 the better class of work, baskets, vases, 

 dinner table centerpieces, etc. Still, 

 Cattleya Trianse is the standard winter 

 cattleya and fills a longer season than 

 any other variety. A small proportion 

 of the plants usually are in hloom for 

 Christmas, while others will last until 

 the end of March. 



Cattleyas for Christmas. 



The buds are showing prominently in 

 the sheaths of many Trianae plants now 

 and in some cases have pushed through. 

 These latter should be in bloom for the 

 holidays. As cattleyas 

 bring a fancy price 

 at the Christmas season, 

 it will pay to get as 

 large a crop as possible 

 at that time. Hard forc- 

 ing of the plants is not 

 to be recommended, but 

 plants in the cool end 

 of the cattleya house 

 may be moved to the 

 warm end and placed 

 where they can get a 

 fair amount of sunshine. 

 Plants to be retarded 

 should go to the cool end 

 and be shaded. 



It is possible to hoM 

 back a few of the late 

 C. labiata until Christ- 

 mas, but they must be 

 in a dry house. If placed 

 where it is cool and 

 moist, the flowers will 

 soon become spotted. 1 

 doubt whether it pays 

 to move cattleya plants 

 in flower at this season 

 from the house in which 

 they are growing. Cat- 

 tleya houses should be 

 well ventilated and fair- 

 ly dry, and at night the 

 minimum temperature 

 should not now be over 

 58 to 60 degrees. As 

 the plants pass out of 

 flower, keep them on the 

 dry side until new 

 growths and roots show 



signs of starting, when any repotting 

 may be done. 



The Sale of Seedlings. 



Cattleya labiata promises soon to 

 become a scarce article in ihe markets. 

 All plants now arriving are small seed- 

 lings and the prices are constantly ad- 

 vancing. He who has the facilities 

 and will undertake to raise seedlings 

 of this indispensable fall variety will 

 make an excellent investment. In spite 

 of the almost innumerable hybrids 

 raised, none of them surpasses this va- 

 riety in floriferousness, in substance, 

 in size and in all-around commercial 

 properties. 



Cattleya Percivaliana is a small cat- 

 tleya when compared with C. labiata 

 and C. Trianffi. It is free-blooming, 

 however, and is valuable because a 

 large number can be depended upon 

 to flower for Christmas. A year ago, 

 when C. Triana- was worth $9 to $\2 

 per dozen at wholesale, and even more, 



Vase of the Spray Orchids of Increasing Popularity. 



(Arranifetl by the Art Floral Co., San Francisco.) 



C. Percivaliana readily made $6 per 

 dozen. Even if it can be sold at an 

 average through the season of $3, it 

 will pay the grower as well as the large 

 cattleyas, but it must be flowered early, 

 for when it is in competition with a 

 full crop of Trianffl the larger flowers 

 will invariably be selected. Give Per- 

 civaliana a warm, sunny spot for the 

 next few weeks, to advance it as much 

 as possible. Perhaps you may have 

 some nice 5-inch or 6-inch plants which 

 will be in good bloom for Christmas. 

 In such a case, if you chance to have 

 a call for choice pot plants, you may 

 be able to dispose of them. 



Shade on Cattleyas. 



We have reached a season when the 

 sun 's power is steadily declining, and 

 while it is just a little early to remove 

 all shade from cattleyas, the greater 

 part would better be removed. Let- 

 ting the plants have a good sunning 

 may make the foliage a little paler, but 

 it will harden the 

 growths and make them 

 bloom much more satis- 

 factorily. Plants in 

 flower or coming into 

 flower can easily be 

 given a location where 

 they will be protected 

 from the sun's rays. 



The foliage on calan- 

 thes will now begin to 

 turn yellow as the flower 

 spikes advance. Now 

 that the bulbs are fully 

 made up, the use of 

 liquid manure must be 

 discontinued. Keep the 

 plants in a warm and 

 fairly moist house; 60 

 to ();■) degrees at night 

 will suit them nicely. As 

 the flowers begin to 

 open, let the plants have 

 somewhat cooler and 

 drier quarters. As ca- 

 lanthes are deciduous 

 when in flower, if the 

 plants are mixed with 

 adiantums to cover the 

 pots they will look much 

 more effective. Only a 

 moderate supply of 

 water now will be need- 

 ed, and when the flow- 

 ers are expanded none 

 will be needed at all. 



At this season and for 

 some months to come, 

 cypripediums arc in the 

 heyday of their glory 



