44 



The Florists' Review 



March 18, 1016, 



continues to do so now, year after 

 year. There is the double gain, in ad- 

 vertising and in gate receipts. Here 

 the landscape gardener was able to aid 

 the florist. 



At the Seattle Exposition. 



An instance illustrating but one of 

 the many ways in which the florist's 

 aid may be called in to help the land- 

 scape gardener is to be seen at San 

 Francisco during the present exposi- 

 tion. There flowers are an extremely 

 important feature. At the Seattle ex- 

 position, several years ago, was an ex- 

 cellent illustration of the value of the 

 floral decoration as an asset of land- 

 scape gardening. There, in the central 

 parterre below the central fountain, 

 were decorative beds of brilliant flow- 

 ers, as much a part of the general de- 



sign as any architectural features sur- 

 rounding them. In the center lay a 

 bed of mesembrianthemum, the midday 

 flower; its wonderful color was, as it 

 seemed, the cynosure of all eyes. Thou- 

 sands like myself remember, no doubt, 

 the beauty of that bed long after the 

 beauty of the rest of the design has 

 faded. 



And so, in the city itself, by flower 

 boxes, by gardens, and by floral decora- 

 tions also, much more may be done to 

 help conditions on every hand. There 

 is, indeed, a large field of cooperation 

 between the art of the grower of flow- 

 ers and that of the planner of a part 

 of the earth's surface, a chance which 

 we will all do well to keep in mind, 

 as it offers opportunities for profit to 

 both of our professions, materially and 

 ideally. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



The really busy season for orchid 

 specialists is now here. Those who 

 have taken time by the forelock and 

 done all possible repotting, rebasketing 

 and top-dressing are to be commended, 

 for, from this time on, with the in- 

 creasing power of the sun, growth will 

 be much more rapid, more watering 

 will be necessary and many other de- 

 tails will need attention. If overhaul- 

 ing is left until so late in the season, 

 there is great danger of its being done 

 either in a slipshod manner or not at 

 all. 



Plants of Cattleya Trianae, which 

 now are mostly through flowering, 

 should be repotted when the roots and 

 bulbs are hanging over the sides of the 

 pots, for such bulbs will never produce 

 good flowers. Keep the roots in the 



Sots for the best results. Be sure to 

 rm all plants thoroughly when repot- 

 ting. This cannot be done with the 

 fingers; a pointed stick of hard wood 

 must be used. After potting, clip over 

 the ends hanging out from the fern 

 fiber, to give the surface a neat appear- 

 ance. Keep all newly potted cattleyas 

 on the dry side until root growth be- 

 comes active. They also appreciate 

 the warm end of the house for a time. 

 C. SchroedersB is now blooming freely. 

 It is not a popular florists' cattleya, 

 as it lacks the rich coloring of Trianse. 

 It is a free bloomer, however, and fills 

 in the season when cattleyas are some- 

 what scarce. C. Mossise will soon have 

 some fiowers open, as buds are already 

 well up in the sheaths; so are those on 

 C. speciosissima. These are splendid 



spring and early summer cattleyas of 

 easy culture. C. Mendelii, which fol- 

 lows C. Mossise, is now imported only 

 in limited numbers, and the plants do 

 not arrive in good condition. This is 

 a beautiful cattleya and it is a pity 

 that it is not more abundant. 



Do not be in too big a hurry to rush 

 shading over the cattleyas. A light 

 covering is all that is needed yet. You 

 can get dark-colored bulbs and foliage 

 by using heavy shade, but such plants 

 will fiower disappointingly. Some of 

 the finest cattleyas I ever saw were 

 grown suspended near the ridge of an 

 old carnation house, where no summer 

 shade was given at all. Where mov- 

 able lath shadings can be afforded, 

 they give the finest possible shade for 

 orchids. They cost money, however, 

 and commercial growers cannot afford 

 the time to do more than syringe or 

 brush some shading on the glass. 



Continue to air freely. Remember 

 that cattleyas cannot tolerate coddling. 

 Never mind if on a severe night the 

 minimum temperature may drop to 50 

 degrees. That is far better for them 

 than 60 degrees with a dry, stuffy 

 heat. On warm days spray the plants 

 over in the morning, but be sure they 

 are dry before nightfall. 



There are wide differences of opinion 

 regarding the feeding of cattleyas. I 

 have seen splendid plants which the 

 growers said were never fed; others 

 equally fine were systematically fed. 

 These orchids in their native habitat 

 are seen in the best condition where 

 the roots can feed on decaying vegeta- 

 tion, insects and birds, and it seems 

 reasouable that under artificial condi- 

 tions they would appreciate a little 

 feeding. The Cookson formula, Bon 

 Arbor, cow manure, sheep manure and 

 even nightsoil have been tried with a 

 greater or less degree of success. Only 

 established plants should be fed and 

 not any which were recently potted. 

 For baskets, the best plan is to dip 



them in a barrel, while pots and pans 

 can be watered through a Kinupy 

 pump, the water being in a barrel or 

 barrels, or in a tank if the house cou- 

 tains one. A change of food seems v.;;. 

 sirable and feeding once in ten da s 

 is sufficient. With the Cookson fci-. 

 mula some growers apply these salts in 

 weak form all the time and find thtt 

 the plants appreciate them. For tho^Q 

 planning to feed in a small way I 

 would suggest trying five pounds of 

 Bon Arbor in fifty gallons of water. 

 Stir thoroughly and allow it to stand 

 a fe.v days before using. 



Dendrobiums. 



The various forms of Dendrobiuu 

 no bile now make a glorious show. This 

 old orchid is still hard to beat. It is 

 a good grower and a profuse bloomer, 

 lasting several weeks in bloom. While 

 the plants are in flower, keep them 

 fairly dry and in a dry house. To in- 

 crease D. nobile, cut off any of the 

 small matured bulbs, with roots intact, 

 which have been produced from nodes 

 on the mature pseudo-bulbs. Put these 

 in small pots or pans in a mixture of 

 sphagnum and fern fiber and grow them 

 in a warm, moist house. In two or 

 three years they will make fine plants. 



D. Wardianum, which will soon pass 

 out of flower, will be making plenty 

 of new growths. Place the plants after 

 flowering in a warm, moist house to 

 make up their growths; the same holds 

 true of D. nobile and its many forms 

 and hybrids. D. thyrsiflorum and D. 

 densiflorum are now showing their 

 racemes. These are beautiful and 

 graceful dendrobes, but the flowers do 

 not possess great lasting properties. 

 They succeed well when hung up close 

 to the glass without any shade through 

 the winter. A temperature of 50 to 55 

 degrees at night and comparative dry- 

 ness at the root will tend toward florif- 

 erousness. 



Cjrpripedimn Insigne. 



The flowers of that good old stand- 

 by, Cypripedium insigne, are now all cut 

 and plants which bloomed sparsely, due 

 to an overcrowding of growths; should 

 be pulled apart and repotted. Good 

 fibrous loam is better for this cypri- 



Iiulde the Flower Growen' Depot. 



