N«TBU«BB 24, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



23 



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AN ORCHID SYMPOSIUM 



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CYPRIPEDIUMS. 



[A digeRt of the address of Donald HcKenzie, 

 head orchid grower for E. B. Dane, Brookline, 

 Haas., delivered before the Gardeners' iind Flo- 

 rists' Club of Boston, November 15, 1921.] 



Cypripediums are the most charming 

 and interesting of orchids, far exceed- 

 ing cattleyas in interest by reason of 

 their wonderful range of color and mark- 

 ings. It takes twelve montlis on an 

 average for pods of cypripediums to 

 ripen and seedlings take from four to 

 six years on an average to flower. 

 Cypripediums are terrestrial orchids 

 and, having no bulbs to support their 

 leaves, need an abundant water supply 

 at all times. They should never be al- 

 lowed to become dry. 



In potting I fill the pots or pans one- 

 fourth their depth with clean crocks 

 and use for compost two parts of os- 

 munda fiber to one part of moss. I 

 have entirely discarded loam even for 

 the insigne sections, as it has proved 

 unsatisfactory. Fern fiber is more in- 

 destructible and never sours. I use a 

 little bone mixed in the compost, but 1 

 never use liquid manure on any varie- 

 ties and I do not approve of its use. 

 The plants in summer are syringed three 

 or four times daily in bright weather. 

 On an average the plants receive one 

 watering daily, much depending on the 

 weather. Syringing is done in winter in 

 the morning, when the skies are clear. 

 Syringing and spraying are absolutely 

 necessary to keep down yellow thrips. 



No two growers, probably, would give 

 the same list of best cypripediums. I 

 consider the following the best eighteen 

 varieties for general purposes, includ- 

 ing exhibition: Alcibiades illustre, 

 ActR?us Majestic, Dreadnaught, Frau 

 Ida Brandt, Boltonianum, Harrisianum, 

 J. S. Ball, insigne Louis Sander, Gaston 

 Bultel, Laurebel, Lord Wolmer, Zealan- 

 die, Leeanum Richard Ledeaux, Maudise, 

 Oakes Ames, Leeanum Samuel Gratrix, 

 Rheims, Minos Youngii, Archie Neil and 

 Watsonianum. 



The following is a list of fine va- 

 rieties that succeed well in a lower 

 temperature than those named above: 

 Insigne Sandera?, insigne Harefield Hall, 

 insigne Cliantinii, insigne Laura Kim- 

 ball, insigne Gloire de Adignon, Leea- 

 num Clinkaberryanum, Ijceanum gigan- 

 teum, Arthurianum and Juno, both Fai- 

 ricanum hybrids, Niobe ancl Spiceria- 

 num. W. N. C. 



CALANTHES. 



[A (liRpst of till' nddross of (ioorKe I-yilinrd. 

 (Srower to I,. I). 'Inw:!'. fif Newton. Mmss., U'fore 

 the Oarrtcners' iind Florists' Club of Boston, 

 .November in, 1»1>1.J 



Wliile Calanthe vestita was known and 

 cultivated in 1847, C. Veitchii, raised 

 by the noted firm of James Veiteh & 

 Sons, London, Eng., was tiie finest of 

 the genus and is still .sujiorior to all 

 other calanthes. B. I. "Williams in his 

 work on orchids refers to a specimen 

 growing in the then noted collection of 

 Samuel Mendel, with a spike six feet 

 high and over fifty flowers open at one 

 time. I consider Scdenii second best to 

 Veitchii. 



My method of culture is different 



from that usually practiced. After 

 flowering, I give the bulbs no rest at 

 all, but I pot them singly in 4-inch pots 

 of coarse sand and place them in a 

 temperature of 60 degrees. The sand is 

 kept moderately moist. When the 

 growths average four inches high the 

 bulbs are potted singly in 5-inch and 6- 

 inch pots, great care being taken not to 

 firm the soil too much near the center, 

 where the roots arc, as they are easily 

 broken. The soil should be settled at 

 once with a good watering. 



During the flowering, calanthes like a 

 strong heat, 80 to 85 degrees in the day- 

 time and 70 degrees at night. Not much 

 ventilation is needed, but frequent 

 syringing during the clear weather is 

 desirable. Calanthes are great feeders 

 and will stand as much liquid stimulant 

 as chrysanthemums. Cow manure and 

 soot make an excellent stimulant. The 

 majority of growers start to feed the 



A Good Turn 



Your neighbor who is not now a 

 reader of The Beview would be a 

 better florist if he were brought 

 each week into contact with the 

 progressive ideas and up-to-date 

 methods of the leaders in the trade 

 as presented for the betterment of 

 aUin 



THE 



You can do him no better service 

 than that which has already been 

 done for hundreds of florists by 

 their neighbors, urge him to send 

 $2.00 for a year's subscription. 

 Your service will be appreciated by 

 him and by The Beview. 



I will t.'ike this opportunity to express 

 my appreclution of The Review us n trade 

 pai)er and us one of the great factors in 

 the uplinildinB of tlie cnift. I am one of 

 the oriKinnl siibscribers and I expect to 

 take it and read it as lone as I am in the 

 business— W. U. Cnip, Wichita, Kan., Oct. 

 30. 1921. 



plants too late. For best results, it is 

 well to start in July and to vary the 

 feeding a little. l" like to alternate 

 two prepared fertilizers from week to 

 week, along with the cow manure and 

 .soot, starting to use these in August. 

 Anotlier good tonic for calanthes is to 

 take four ounces of nitrate of potash, 

 saltpeter, and four otiiices of aninioniuin 

 phosphate. This should he dissolved in 

 four gallons of water, using two ounces 

 of the sidiition to each gallon of water. 

 C. Veitchii will staml about twice as 

 much feeding as tlie forms of vestita. 



Scale must be closely watched. If it is 

 .'illowed to reninin on the leaves through 

 the growing seasDU, ]ioor s])ikes will be 

 the result. For coiiipost I use equal 

 parts of fibrous loam, with finer parti- 

 cles shaken out, osmunda fiber an<l cow 

 manure passed through a quarter-inch 

 .screen, adding to each two bushels of 



this medium a 4-inch pot of soot, a 6-inch 

 pot of charcoal, with the dust and lumps 

 like small peas shaken out, and a 6-ineh 

 pot of medium bone, mixing the whole 

 thoroughly. 



To increase the stock, I recommend 

 putting five old bulbs in an 8-inch pan. 

 Two-year-old bulbs produced thus make 

 splendid flowering bulbs. The bulbs can 

 also be cut in pieces transversely and 

 stood in coarse sand in a warm, moist 

 house. This plan will produce five nice 

 little bulbs the first season. 



I recommend hybridizing calanthes. 

 The pods ripen in three months and the 

 seed can be sown on the surface of the 

 potting medium suggested. Some will 

 flower in two years and maiiy in three 

 years from seed, as opposed to five or 

 ten years needed for most of the cat- 

 tleyas. Seedlings always give a fine 

 range of colors. 



Black spot, which causes some trouble 

 among calanthes, is caused by over- 

 watering and too low temperature. All 

 the varieties of vestita are good, but the 

 real gems are Veitchii, Sandhurstiana, 

 McWilliamsii, Orpetiana and similar 

 long-bulbed hybrids. Calanthes have a 

 season of over two months, are splendid 

 for cutting and keep well in water. They 

 make splendid table centerpieces and for 

 mantel decorations are unexcelled. There 

 is a great future before them in America. 

 W. N. C. 



PHALiENOPSES. 



[Address of CJenrRe I'Anson, phaIainop8i» 

 Kn)wpr for \. C. BiiriKKe. Beverly Farms, Mass., 

 before the Cardeners' and Florists' Club of Bos- 

 ton, .November 1."), 1921.) 



Phalffinopses unquestionably occupy 

 the foremost place in the eastern section 

 of tropical orchids, on account of their 

 long, branching flower spikes and pecu- 

 liarly shajied flowers, as well as the 

 soft, delicate colors of several varieties. 

 They produce their flowers in profusiott 

 and last in excellent condition for three 

 or four weeks during the dullest months 

 of the year, when exotic flowers are 

 greatly api)reciated, especially for table 

 decorations. 



Coming, as phalaenopses do, from 

 dense, swampy jungles, nearly always 

 saturated with moisture and during the 

 night enveloped in heavy vapor, the 

 temperature during the growing season 

 ranging from 90 to 95 degrees during 

 the hottest part of the day and going 

 ilown to 75 or 85 degrees at night, cul- 

 tivation under glass has usually to be 

 modified to suit the requirements of 

 other species growing in the same house. 



The growing season starts the latter 

 ]iart of March, ^^lleu the temperature 

 will have to be gradually allowed to rise 

 to 75 degrees or 80 degrees during the 

 day, witli bottom ventilation and .a lit- 

 tle top ventilation for one or two hours 

 during the hottest part of the day, al- 

 lowing it to drop to 70 degrees during 

 the night until after flowering. The 

 l)lauts should have a rest of five or six 

 weeks' duration each year, allowing the 

 temperature to drop down at that time 

 to 65 degrees hut not lower. With strong 

 sunlight let the teinjicraturo rise to 7& 

 or 80 degrees, when bottom ventilatio-n 



