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The Florists^ Review 



September 20, 1917. 



thes need a fair amount of shade and 

 love a brisk, moist heat. 



Dendrobiums. 



The plants of Dendrobium Wardia- 

 num and nobile with the pseudobulbs 

 best developed are now in a light, rather 

 sunny and dry house, where their water 

 supply is much reduced. A syringing 

 occasionally will keep the growths 

 plump and. an occasional watering may 

 be necessary if we get hot weather. 

 Gradually keep the plants drier as the 

 season advances and heat diminishes. 

 Plants of D. Phalaenopsis Schroederia- 

 num with the spikes well advanced must 

 not be subjected to any chills, or the 

 buds will drop. They should not go 

 below 60 degrees for best results. D. 

 formosum giganteum, the largest and 

 finest of the white dendrobiums, is also 

 a great heat-lover. Both varieties suc- 

 ceed well in a division devoted to pha- 

 laenopsis and calanthes. 



Oncidiiuns. 



Of the various orchids carrying sprays 

 of flowers, oncidiums are the best known 

 commercially. The variety mostly in 

 evidence is O. varicosum Rogersii. It 

 is not an orchid which can be carried 

 along for a term of years in fine condi- 

 tion, but usually deteriorates after a 

 few years. New importations have been 

 few of late and the stock of this oncid- 

 ium is now rather low. Spikes are well 



fairly near the glass. A few other fine 

 florists' oncidiums are O. ornithorhyn- 

 chum, exceptionally sweet-scented; O. 

 sarcodes, O. crispum, O. incurvum and 

 O. Marsliallianum. 



Vandas. 



While there are a good many varieties 

 of vandas, most of which need warm 

 treatment, about the only one grown to 

 any considerable extent for the mar- 

 ket is V. cserulea, far and away the most 

 beautiful of the species and the finest 

 of all blue orchids. V. cserulea does 

 not need a warm house. It succeeds well 

 at the cool end of the cattleya house, 

 in a winter minimum of 55 degrees, oc- 

 casionally lower. The glass is given 

 only a light shading over these vandas. 

 As a consequence their leaves are not 

 of so deep a green as many others, but 

 they never fail to flower well. Can any- 

 thing be finer than a long spike of the 

 rich, blue-marbled flowers of V. cse- 

 rulea? While a dozen large flowers to 

 a stalk is not uncommon, we have had 

 them carrying as many as twenty-one 

 flowers. There are some deep green, 

 beautifully foliaged . cseruleas which 

 never seem to flower, no matter how 

 they are treated, and I h^ve sometimes 

 thought that there may be a flowerless 

 form of this vanda, just as there are 

 flowerless wistarias and other plants. 

 Spikes of cseruleas are pushing out now. 

 Protect with cotton wool from the at- 



Cattleya GaskelUana is an Important Cut Flower Variety in its Season. 



advanced on some of the earliest plants 

 and flowers are already open on a few. 



This oncidium succeeds best in small, 

 shallow pans suspended from the roof, 

 and does not need a warm house. As 

 a protection from small shell snails, 

 wrap a piece of cotton wool at the base 

 of each flower stalk. Oncidium splen- 

 didum is a grand largc-flowerinfj va- 

 riety, which sells well at Christmas. To 

 get plants in bloom at that time, give 

 them an average night tomporaturo not 

 lower than 60 degrees and suspend them 



tacks of snails. If the surfacing of 

 sphagnum moss is old and lifeless, give 

 them some fresh material and try to 

 keep" it growing. Some orchids seem 

 to thrive better when this moss can 

 be kept in a growing condition on the 

 surface of the pans, pots or baskets 

 they are growing in. 



Cypripediums. 



Where plants of that old but most 

 useful cypripedium, insigne, have been 

 grown outdoors or in coldframes, they 



should be placed under glass before the 

 nights become too cold, as there is dan- 

 ger of the spikes becoming blasted. 

 Many of the insignes, including some 

 of the beautiful yellow forms, such as 

 Laura Kimball, Sanderse, Sanderianum, 

 Ernestii and others, already are show- 

 ing spikes. Like all others of this fam- 

 ily, these succeed well in a moderately 

 warm house, with a fair amount of 

 shade even in midwinter. All of the 

 cypripediums enjoy a spraying each 

 day; without it red spider or thrips are 

 liable to get a foothold. A few other 

 really good florists' cypripediums are 

 C. Leeanum, C. aureum, C. Oharles- 

 worthii, C. Sallieri aureum and C. vil- 

 losum. 



- £*- V Coelogyne Cristata. 



■ ■*'f'i . 

 Coelogyne cristata does not want a 

 warm hotise. It is a cool orchid and 

 will succeed better in the cold house 

 with odontoglossums than with cat- 

 tleyas. The bulbs will not be made up 

 for some time yet. If the plants are 

 well rooted, an occasional watering with 

 weak liquid manure will help them ma- 

 terially. Keep the same ventilation on 

 day and night and a spraying can be 

 given on every clear day. 



SOCIETY OF AMERICAN FLORISTS. 



The National Publicity Fund. 



I suppose you have read with much 

 interest the great movement that was 

 started in New York toward raising 

 $50,000 for national publicity. The 

 central committee has been appointed 

 and sub-committees are in the process of 

 appointment. 



To my mind, this is the greatest 

 thing that was ever started for the 

 benefit of the florists at large. Think 

 of a national publicity campaign on 

 the use of flowers along the same lines 

 as Uneeda Biscuit, Coca Cola, Velvet 

 Joe, Shredded Wheat and other simi- 

 lar products that have been given a 

 wonderful national consumption by a 

 national publicity campaign. None of 

 them appeal to the people as much as 

 flowers. I believe you realize the im- 

 portance of this movement. We have 

 now close to $15,000 subscribed, nearly 

 all of which was raised on the con- 

 vention floor in a few minutes' time. 

 This money will be handled by our 

 own committee, with an advertising 

 expert in charge, and you may rest as- 

 sured that .every cent will be spent 

 judiciously. 



I trust the members of the trade will 

 rally to the support of this cause. Do 

 not wait for the committee to call, but 

 send in your agreement to the secretary, 

 stating what amount you will subscribe 

 per year. You will note from a list 

 of subscribers, how these subscriptions 

 are running. I sincerely trust we will 

 be able to complete this fund by Octo- 

 ber, in order to get down to business 

 by Thanksgiving. Do not hesitate; be 

 liberal. It is money well invested. For 

 further information, write General 

 Chairman George Asmus, Chicago, 111. 

 R. C. Kerr, President, 



CLEVELAND FLOWER SHOW. 



The premiums committee of the Cleve- 

 land flower show announces that the 

 final list will be mailed to all commer- 

 cial and private growers about Septem- 

 ber 25. The following information rel 

 garding the addition of a number of 



