OCTOBEE 23, 1913. 



The Florists^ Review 



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Group of Orchidt Exhibited by Sander & Sons at the Recent Holland House Show, London, England. 



fiber grows this orchid to perfection, 

 and it is better not to use sphagnum 

 moss, as this brings shell snails, small 

 in size, but destructive to the flower 

 spikes of all the odontoglots and on- 

 cidiums. 



Vanda Cxrulea. 



What a beautiful orchid Vanda caeru- 

 lea is when well flowered! Many grow- 

 ers are unable to flower it satisfac- 

 torily; the reason for ttis usually is 

 that they are grown too shaded. Fine, 

 dark-leaved plants are produced in the 

 shade, but flowers are usually few 

 and far between. Give the plants 

 plenty of sun and a light shade even 

 in summer. Then they will flower well, 

 although their foliage will be a trifle 

 pale and may not win applause. Plants 

 which have become tall and ungainly 

 can be cut down, leaving one or two 

 good roots on each top. These can be 

 planted in well drained pots in a mix- 

 ture of fern fiber and sphagnum. The 

 plants seem to luxuriate with a cover- 

 ing of live, growing sphagnum. V. 

 caerulea does well at the cold end of 

 the cattleya house. 



Odontoglossum Crispum. 



Midwinter, the coolest part of the 

 year, is the season which suits the 

 colder blooded odontoglossums the best. 

 The plants stood the late summer par- 

 ticularly well, as we had but few tor- 

 rid days. Now that we are getting 

 steadily cool weather, a considerable 

 improvement in their condition can be 

 seen. Fall is the time when the ma- 

 jority of the crispums, Pescatorei, An- 

 (iersonianum, Hallii and other varie- 

 ties and hybrids, need repotting. All 

 ''^■ill not be ready at one time. It is 

 *>"t possible to select a psychological 

 rnoment for an entire batch. Disturb 

 tl <; roots as little as possible, but re- 

 "''ve all worn-out compost. Fill the 

 pots half full of clean crocks or char- 

 <'^'il and use fern fiber for compost; add 

 8''hagnum sparingly for small plants 

 ^'•d not at all for strong ones, as it 

 I^"s and tends to sour the compost. 

 i't firmly and water sparingly until 

 f''>t action starts. Also avoid expos- 

 '^ -? newly potted plants to bright sun- 



shine. Plants which are not to be re- 

 potted will do better exposed to the 

 full sunshine for the next four months. 

 Lselia Purpurata. 



Any repotting of Laelia purpurata can 

 be done now and, like all other cat- 

 tleyas and laelias, it should now have 

 all possible sunlight. Use a compost of 

 pure fern fiber of rather coarse texture 

 and pot firmly. Give the plants an 

 elevated position, as near the glass as 

 possible. Spray about the pots, but 

 give water only in moderate quantities 

 for some time yet. 



Cattleya Labiata. 



What would we ever do without Cat- 

 tleya labiata, this free-flowering, at- 

 tractive and most generally useful of 

 all fall-blooming orchids? It is getting 

 more scarce each year, and the price 

 steadily climbs. Unless some new 

 source of supply appears, it will soon 

 be prohibitive in price for commercial 

 growers, but we hope seedling rais- 

 ers will anticipate such a possible short- 

 age and raise thousands of good type 

 plants annually. Then we shall be in 

 a considerable measure independent of 

 forest production. 



Plants in bloom, or opening, must 

 have a reduced water supply, but when 

 taken to store windows or exhibitions 

 where the air is likely to be warm and 

 dry, more moisture at the root should 

 be given. All plants in bloom should 

 be protected from the sun and given 

 a rather cooler location. Be sure, how- 

 ever, it is dry, for if cool and damp 

 the flowers will soon become discolored. 



SANDERS' GROUP. 



In the last few years, and especially 

 since the orchid has come into commer- 

 cial prominence as a cut flower, some 

 splendid groups of plants in bloom have 

 been seen at American exhibitions, but 

 it has not yet been possible in this 

 country to equal the magnificent dis- 

 plays that are a feature of English 

 flower shows. Take, for instance, the 

 group at the recent Holland House 

 show in London, by Sander & Sons. It 

 was given a gold medal in its class 



and also the challenge cup as the finest 

 feature of the exhibition. 



DISTINCTIONS IN PRIMULAS. 



A recent issue of The Eeview con- 

 tained an inquiry in regard to certain 

 distinctions in the naming of primulas, 

 with a brief reply by one of The Re- 

 view's correspondents. That the mat- 

 ter in question aroused an unexpected 

 amount of interest is evidenced by the 

 fact that two members of the trade 

 have since written, intimating that the 

 subject needs further elucidation and 

 expressing their views about it. The 

 two letters are here appended. 



In a Review of recent date I no- 

 ticed what was to me an interesting 

 question: "What is the difference be- 

 tween gigantea and grandiflora prim- 

 roses?" The answer given was, in 

 substance: "Both are supposed to in- 

 dicate the large-flowered types." That 

 is correct, as far as it goes, but it may 

 be important to state, for the benefit 

 of any grower or dealer who does not 

 already know it, that Primula obconica 

 gigantea and P. obconica grandiflora 

 are two different types of the same 

 family, as gigantea was originated by 

 crossing with another family of primu- 

 las. 



Grandiflora, the older type, blooms 

 early and freely and has flowers of 

 more different colors than gigantea; 

 therefore, for early blooming, it is bet- 

 ter than gigantea. The gigantea type, 

 on the other hand, is stronger and more 

 robust in growth, with extra strong 

 flower stems and large flowers and clus- 

 ters, but does not bloom so freely early 

 in the season; hence, it is better for 

 later or spring blooming. The gigantea 

 comes only in a few different colors, 

 mainly pink, red and lilac, with no 

 white as yet. E. R. 



The inquiry probably had reference 

 to Primula obconica grandiflora and 

 Primula obconica gigantea, or perhaps to 

 P. Chinensis grandiflora and P. Chinen- 

 sis gigantea. In this instance, ' ' grandi- 

 flora" stands for "large-flowering" 



