44 



The Florists' Review 



Makcii 1,S, 1U15, 



continues to ilo so iiuw, year aftcn- 

 year. Tliore is tiic doulile ^aiii, in ad- 

 vortisiiiL; anil in ;,^at»' icceijits. IIcmc 

 tlio lanil>(a|ic j^aicicnor was able to aid 

 tlie llorist. 



At the Seattle Exposition. 



An instance illnst latinij l)ut one of 

 the many ways in wliirh tlie llorist 's 

 aid may lie (.'."ilU'd in tn hidp tlie land 

 scape j^ardener is to he seen at Han 

 Fraiiidsco dnriti^ 1lii> present exposi- 

 tion, n'liere (lowers aic an exti'emol\' 

 imjiorfant I'e.ature. At the Seattle ex 

 po>ition, several ye;irs a^ii. \\;is an ex- 

 (•(dient ilhistralion el' the v.alue oL' the 

 (loial decer.ation as an asstd of laiid- 

 sca|ie irardeiMii^. There, in tln^ (-(Mitral 

 parteri'e iMdow the c-cniial f'euntaiii, 

 were decoratisc lieds of lirilliant tlew- 

 ci'S, .as niiiidi a |iart nl' the ^icner.al de- 



sign as any arcliitecliiral features sur- 

 r.-undiny them. In the center lay a 

 lie(| (jf niesemhriant liemnm, tlie midday 

 llow'ei'; its wonderful color was, as it 

 seemed, the cynosiiic (d' all eyes. Tliou- 

 sands like mysidf icmemher, no douht, 

 the iu'.auly of th.at IkmI lon^f after the 

 he.autv of the rest (d' the desi<j^u h.as 

 f.aded'. 



And so, in the (dty its(df, hy flower 

 lioxes, liy ^alliens, and by floial decora- 

 tions also, mu(di more may be done to 

 li(dp conditions on e\('i\' hand. 'I'here 

 is, itidee(|, a lari^c (i(dd of coiiperation 

 between the art of the t^rowcM' of flow- 

 ers and that nl' the ]>l;inner of a ])art 

 (d the earth's suifat-e, a (diance which 

 we will all do wtdl to keep in mind, 

 as it (dfers oppoii mi i1 ies for ]iridit to 

 both of oiM prol'e'^sions, materially and 

 ideallv. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



The really busy sea-oii for orcdiid 

 specialists is now here. Tliose who 

 h.ave t.aken time by the foitdock ;uid 

 done all jios^ible rep(dtin^, rebask(din<^ 

 and top-dressiny' are to be comnuMided, 

 for, from this Wiuo on, witli the in- 

 creasing: ])ower of thi^ sun, growth will 

 be mm h moic lapid, more watering 

 will b(> necessary and many other de- 

 tails will 110(^(1 attention. If ovcrhaul- 

 iiil? is hd't until so late in the season, 

 there is irieat dan/^er ot' its liein^ done 

 either in a slipshod manner or not at 

 all. 



Plants of Cattleya Triana', whbh 

 now are mostly throuiih flowerinj;, 

 should lie re|>ott(>d when the roots and 

 bulbs are hanjjinjr over the sides of the 

 pots, for su(di l>nlbs will never prodm-c 

 good flowers. Keep the roots in the 

 pots for the best results. Be sure to 

 firm all plants thoroughly when rei)ot- 

 ting. This cannot be done with the 

 fingers: a pointed stiil\ of hard wood 

 must b(> useil. After jiotting, clip over 

 the ends hanging out from the fern 

 fiber, to gi\e 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. Schrocdera? is now blooming freely. 

 It is not a popular florists' cattleya, 

 as it lacks the rich coloring of Triana*. 

 It is a free bloomer, however, and fills 

 in the season when cattleyas are some- 

 what scarce. C. ^rossia> will soon have 

 some flowers open, as buds are already 

 well up in the sheaths; so are those on 

 C. speciosiasima. These are splendid 



spring ami early summer cattleyas of 

 easy cult\ue. (J. MencWdii, wliicli f(d- 

 lows C. Alossia', is now imported only 

 n limited numbers, and the ])laTits 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 Imlbs and foliage 

 by using heavy shade, but such plants 

 will flower disappointingly. Some of 

 the finest cattleyas I ever saw were 

 growji suspended near the ridge of an 

 old carnation house, where no summer 

 shade was gi\eTi at all. Where mov- 

 able lath shadings can Ik; afforded, 

 they give the finest ])Ossiblc shade for 

 orciiids. They cost money, however, 

 and commercial growers cannot afford 

 the time to do more than syringe or 

 l;rusl. some shading on the glass. 



Continue to air freely. Remember 

 that cattl(\vas cannot tolerate coddling. 

 Never mind if on a severe night the 

 minimum temperature may drop to HO 

 degrees. That is far better for them 

 than 00 degrees with a dry, stuffy 

 he.at. On warm days spray the plants 

 o\ er in the morjiing, but be sure they 

 .are dry before nightf.all. 



There are wide differences of opinion 

 regar<HTig the feeding of cattleyas. I 

 lia' e seen splendid [>lants wliiih the 

 growers saiil w(>re ufncr f <*<1 ; others 

 ef|ual!y fine were systematically fed. 

 These or(diids in their native habitat 

 are seen in the bt>st condition where 

 tlu' loi ts can feed on decaying veg(*ta- 

 tion, insects and lurds, and it seems 

 reasonable that under artificial condi- 

 tions they would appreciate a little 

 feeding. The Cookson formula, lion 

 Arbor, cow manure, sheep manure and 

 even nightsoil have lieen 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 p 

 can be watered through a Kii 

 l>um[), the water being in a barrel 

 barrels, or in a tank if the house . 

 t.ains one. A change of food seems 

 sirable and feeding once in ten , 

 is sufficient. Witli the Cookson i 

 inula some growers a])ply these salt 

 weak form all the time and fiiui t 

 the j)lants appreciate them. For th 

 ]ilanning to feed in a small wa\ 

 would suggest trying five pounds 

 Hon Arbor in fifty gallons of w.-n 

 Stir thoroughly ;ind allow it to st-i 

 a fe.»' days bid'orc using. 



Dendro'biums. 



The \arious forms of Dendrobii 

 nobilc now make .a glorious show. T! 

 old or(diid is still hard to beat. It 

 a good grower and a profuse Idoonn 

 lasting several weeks in bloom. Win 

 the plants are in flower, keep 1 Ik 

 fairly dry and in a dry house. To i 

 crease D. nobile, cut off any of tl 

 small matured bulbs, with roots inta. : 

 which have been jirodiiced from noil< 

 on the mature pseudo-bulbs. Put 1 Ik - 

 in small pots or pans in ;i mixture n 

 spijagnum and fei-n fib(M' and gi-ow thei 

 in a warm, moist house. In two o 

 three years they will make fine j)lan1 



D. Wardianum, wliii h will so(m pa- 

 out of flower, will be making j)leni 

 of new growths. Place the jilants aftc 

 flowering in :\ warm, moist house I 

 make up th(Mr growths; the same ludd 

 true of 1). nobile and its many forin 

 and hybrids. 0. tliyrsiflorum and \< 

 densifloiiim .are now showing theii 

 racemes. Tlies(* are beautiful an' 

 graceful dendrobes, but the flowers di 

 not possess great hasting propertie-i 

 They succeed well when hung up (do-' 

 to the gl.ass without any shade throu:^! 

 the winter. A temjxM'ature of .'lO to ■",. 

 degrees .at night and comparative dry 

 ness at the root will tend tow.arcl lloiii 

 erousness. 



Cypripediiim Insigne. 



The flowers of that good old stand 

 by, ('ypri|iedium insigne, .are now .all cu: 

 and plants whi(h bloomed sparsely, dn. 

 to an o\ crcrowding of growths, slioub 

 be jmllecl .apart and repotted. Goo.; 

 fibrous loam is better for this cypri 



Inside the Flower Growers* Depot. 



