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Deckmbb'.u 9, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



\9 



An Ezcq)tionaIIy Fine Plant of Cattleya Labiata, That Best of Florists' Orchids. 



with this superb orchid in America, ow- 

 ing to our hot summers. In the future, 

 with artificial means of cooling houses in 

 the hot months, we may be able to grow 

 it better, but in the meantime it is a 

 rather uphill battle. All the odontoglos- 

 sums should now get plenty of sun. No 

 further shading should be necessary un- 

 til the middle of March. Potting may 

 still be done but October is the 

 bsst month in the year for overhauling 

 the bulk of the crispum and Pescatorei 

 section. Fern fiber, with a little moss, 

 makes a suitable compost. Where small 

 shell snails are numerous, it is better to 

 cut out the moss, as the snails will sim- 

 ply destroy every flower spike, unless 

 they are jealously guarded. 



A temperature of 55 degrees at night 

 is better than one lower for odontoglos- 

 sums. If we are ever to succeed with 

 these plants we must gradually accustom 

 them to higher winter temperatures; 48 

 to 50 degrees should be the absolute 

 minimum. The idea of giving them 40 

 degrees at night in winter is absurd. 

 Plants kept warmer suffer less when we 

 get our summer heat waves. A common 

 mistake has been to give too low winter 

 temperatures to many cool orchids. By 

 carrying them 5 to 8 degrees warmer, 

 experience has proved that they come 

 through the summer far better. 



Cypripediums and Miltonias. 



Cypripedium insigne is now in its 

 best season and, while an old variety, it 

 will not be ousted as a popular market 

 variety for many a day. It does not 

 seem to make much difference whether 

 the plants are grown cool or warm in 

 summer; one seems to bloom as early as 

 the other. The cooler plants, however, 

 always appear more rugged. It is easy 

 to advance or retard these cypripediums, 

 according to when the flowers are 

 wanted, but as they will keep fresh for 

 twelve weeks on the plants there would 

 seem to be no special need of holding 

 them back. These terrestrial orchids 

 must not be kept dry at the roots at any 

 time. The supply of water as the win- 

 ter advances should, however, be reduced, 

 ^^\}^ is too early to remove all the 

 Shading. Pale-leaved cypripediums do 

 not look well. Plants wanted for Christ- 

 mas sales should have the spikes well 

 developed by this date. Keep the atmos- 



phere moister than in the case of cat- 

 tleyas. 



Aliltonia vexillaria should have been 

 overhauled and potted some time ago. 

 If the plants can have suflScient sun to 

 give the leaves a reddish or bronzy hue, 

 they will flower better the following 

 sumrter. Watering must be carefully 

 attended to. Better keep the plants on 

 th« dry side for some time. Any soak- 

 ings at the root at this stage of growth 

 will be disastrous. An airy house kept 

 about 55 degrees at night, with 10 to 15 

 degrees advance in the daytime, will suit 

 M. vexillaria. The variety Roezlii suc- 

 ceeds better in a warm house, the cool 

 end of the cypripedium house evidently 

 being to its liking. 



Dendrobiums and Onddiums. 



Dendrobium nobile, D. Wardianum 

 and many hybrids now have their pseudo- 

 bulbs completed and well plumped up. 

 Such plants should now be moved to a 

 cooler and airier house, where they will 

 have only a light shade. Reduce the 

 water supply by degrees, not too sud- 

 denly. A spraying over about noon on 

 warm days will help to kep them plump. 

 Cooler and drier treatment should be 

 continued until the flower nodes are well 

 advanced. 



Autumn is the season when Oncidium 

 varicosum Rogersii makes a glorious show- 

 ing, with its gracefully drooping, many 

 branched spikes Of golden flowers. This 

 is so inexpensive and easily cultivated 

 that any florist can grow it. Shallow 

 pans or small pots, four inches to five 

 inches in diameter, make good recep- 

 tacles. Baskets are sometimes used, but 

 the roots are under better control in pots 

 or pans. A good compost is one of fern 

 root, sphagnum moss and a little lumpy 

 charcoal. While in flower give the 

 plants a rather cool, shady location and 

 do not leave the spikes on too long, as 

 it exhausts the plants' vitality severely. 



Orchidist. 



Greenfield, Mass. — P. E. Burtt has 

 moved into the new building on Davis 

 street, built specially for flower store 

 purposes. 



Muscatine, Ia. — Fred Kranz, of 

 George Kranz & Son, reports having a 

 fine variegated sport of Enchantress. The 

 firm has added two greenhouses to its 

 plant this fall. 



IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 



Washington is recognized as a city 

 with great floral possibilities. The en- 

 tertainments, official and private, are 

 given on a scale rarely attempted even in 

 the largest cities in the country. The 

 leading shops conceive and execute cre- 

 ations in floral art requiring the greatest 

 skill; flowers of quality, flowers in quan- 

 tity are freely used — yet Washington has 

 until recently depended largely on other 

 markets for flowers during the social 

 season. The reasons for this dependence 

 are clear : The market is dead from May 

 until November. The growers, among 

 them several of the principal retailers, 

 supply all the flowers needed during those 

 seven months at prices that forbid out- 

 side competition. During the social sea- 

 son the demand presents extraordinary 

 difficulties, requiring tact and judgment 

 on the part of those who are catering to 

 the most critical floral taste. 



With a view to improving conditions, 

 the Washington retailers have several 

 times tried to start enterprising young 

 men in the wholesale business, believing 

 that the time had come when a good 

 wholesale cut flower house would pros- 

 per. Nothing permanent, excepting a 

 small market which existed for many 

 years, came of these efforts until last 

 March, when the S. S. Pennock-Meehan 

 Co., of Philadelphia, opened a branch 

 house at 1212 New York avenue. The 

 place is attractively fitted up, the order 

 and cleanliness prevailing showing that 

 the Washington house standard is equal 

 to the best in the country. On the left 

 as you enter from the street level are 

 the telephones and icebox; on the right 

 the ribbon case and drawers of cycas 

 leaves, wheat sheaves and immortelles; 

 in the center the sorting tables, in the 

 rear the manager's desk. William J. 

 Moore, who has a life stirdy of the grad- 

 ing and selling of cut fldwers, is man- 

 ager. Mr. Moore pointed out some ex- 

 cellent local stock from nearby growers 

 and said that he wanted to make it worth 

 while for the growers near Washington 

 to send the company their flowers. What- 

 ever the neighborhood could not supply 

 would be brought from a distance, Mr. 

 Moore said. The Washington retailers 

 should have a j^ood assortment of *fine 

 flowers. 



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