16 



The Florists' Review 



October 30, 1913. 



SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Cattleya Trianse. 



Cattleya Trianse, the standard winter 

 cattleya, now has its bulbs pretty well 

 made up. It is sometimes a disappoint- 

 ing orchid, inasmuch as the bulbs may 

 be large and the leaves a beautiful, rich, 

 dark green color, holding out expecta- 

 tions of sheaths carrying at least four or 

 five flowers, but instead a solitary flower 

 often appears, to the disgust of the 

 grower. To remedy such difficulties, it 

 is absolutely necessary to give the 

 plants more light. After this date, 

 no shade whatever is needed for 



C. Trianff, Mossiae, Mendellii, Per- 

 civaliana, Schroederse, or any other win- 

 ter or spring-blooming cattleyas. Keep 

 the night temperature for the cat- 

 tleyas 60 degrees on warm nights and 

 58 degrees on cold nights. Avoid 

 a damp, stagnant atmosphere; this will 

 surely start decay in some of the partly 

 made up growths. Give air on every 

 possible occasion; in fact, the venti- 

 lators should never be tightly closed at 

 this season. 



Dendrobium Phalaenopsis. 



Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schroederi- 

 anum is at its best under warm house 

 culture, and should have a night tem- 

 perature of 6.5 degrees when develop- 

 ing its flower spikes. This orchid suc- 

 ceeds best in quite small pans or bas- 

 kets which dry up readily, and, if time 

 will permit, the best method of water- 

 ing is dipping in a pail or tub; at 

 this season twice a week will suffice. 

 This is one of the most valuable va- 

 rieties to use in fall groups. Its long 

 spikes, which sometimes carry fifteen 

 to twenty flowers, arch over gracefully. 

 Another fall blooming dendrobe is 



D. formosum giganteum. The flow- 

 ers of this variety are as large as 

 some cattleyas and command as high 

 a price in the market. Its color is 

 pure white, with a yellow throat. This 

 dendrobe needs rather larger recepta- 

 cles than D. Phalaenopsis, and is 

 more difficult to keep in good condi- 

 tion year after year. It does well in 

 a hot, humid, old-fashioned stove housf, 

 and the finest I ever saw had a thick 

 carpet of growing sphagnum on the tops 

 of the baskets. 



Dendrobium Wardianum. 



All the plants of that large and 

 showy flower, Dendrobium Wardianum, 

 should now be in a light, dry, sunny 

 house, where a much reduced water 

 supply and full sun will help to ripen 

 the bulbs. Do not let the tempera- 

 ture run too low; 45 to 50 degrees is 

 all right, but 40 degrees may cause 

 damage. Just as soon as the little 



flower nodes appear, place the plants 

 in a warmer and somewhat moister 

 house. Water sparingly, but spray the 

 pseudo-bulbs over on fine days to as- 

 sist the plumping up of the flower 

 nodes. 



Dendrobium Nobile. 



Most of the plants of Dendrobium 

 nobile, and many hybrids, such as 

 D. Ainsworthii, Chrysodiscus, Cybele, 

 Splendidissimum and Juno, should now 

 have their growths completed and 

 be ready for a ripening process in a 

 cooler and dry house. Reduce the 

 water supply considerably, but spray 

 overhead on clear, hot days, such as 

 we often get in October and Novem- 

 ber. Do not be in too great a hurry 

 to start the plants after nodes appear. 

 Let them become fairly prominent first. 

 Also avoid much moisture after they 

 are removed to a warmer house, as 

 this will cause nodes to produce growths 

 instead of flowers. D. anosmum is the 



earliest hybrid to flower; this will be 

 in good condition before Thanksgiv- 

 ing. 



WITH SOUTHERN GROWERS. 



The Rose Hill Greenhouses. 



While on a recent trip through the 

 south we spent a day at the Rose Hill 

 Greenhouses, at Columbia, S. C. These 

 are the leading greenhouses of this rap- 

 idly growing city, and they are new 

 and in spick-and-span shape. Roses and 

 carnations are the principal crops 

 grown; only one house is devoted t6 

 chrysanthemums and one to ferns. 



We asked why there was not more 

 space given to mums and were told 

 that they were grown in every yard in 

 the city as well as they could be grown 

 inside and so there was little demand. 

 Sure enough, we saw them in the gar- 

 dens on our return to the city, grown 

 to a single stem, and apparently they 

 would equal the inside plants. We were 

 told that they often bloomed twice in 

 the year if cut down as soon as they 

 bloomed. 



At Rose Hill we saw a new fern 

 pest, or at least it was new to us. It 

 is a worm about two inches long and 

 colored much like those- that feed on 

 parsley. In spite of poisoning, they 

 have all but put the ferns out of busi- 

 ness. They do not seem to attack the 

 wild ferns that grow near the houses. 



Eight houses, each 200 feet long, are 

 devoted to carnations, and here again 

 we were surprised, for we saw them 

 thriving in a stiff red clay soil that we 

 supposed would never do at all. They 

 are given plenty of liquid manure, how- 

 ever. Six houses of the same size as 



John Boddy. 



(Chairman Executive Committee for the Cleveland Trade Show.) 



