Febrcari- 17, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



G}eIoKyne Cristata. 



Coelogyne cristata is one of the most 

 tjoiierally useful florists' orfehids, flower- 

 iag in February and March. It enjoys 

 ;; moderately cool house at all times and 

 ,. winter minimum of 50 to 54 degrees 

 s suflSciently high. It does not pay to 

 orce it. The flowers seem to hang fire 

 nd open just as quickly and of much 

 nier quality in a cold house. The plants 

 hoiild be kept moderately dry while in 

 ;ower. There is suflScient energy stored 

 p' in the bulbs to keep the flowers fresh. 

 ' or design work C. cristata is invaluable. 

 )f the several forms grown, the old type 

 ith round bulbs is the least worth grow- 

 ng. The variety Chatsworthi, with 

 mger, oval-shaped bulbs, is fine. The 

 ure white variety, alba, flowers later. 

 \Iaxima has large flowers, a sort of im- 

 iroved Chatsworthi. There is also a 

 jiretty form named Lemoniana, with a 

 j)ale lemon lip. Many consider this the 

 j;em of the family. Wheij well estab- 

 lished, coelogynes enjoy an abundant 

 water supply in the growing season and, 

 next to calanthes and phaius, will take 

 as much liquid manure as any orchid. 



Phaius grandifolius now has its strong 

 spikes well developed, and occasional 

 weak doses of cow manure water will 

 strengthen them and improve the quality 

 of the flowers. Although an old orchid, 

 this is quite a decorative one. We find 

 fibrous loam, with a little cow manure, 

 sphagnum and pieces of sandstone, grows 

 this orchid to perfection. A winter tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees answers well for 

 it, although it can be successfullj* grown 

 10 degrees cooler. 



Dendrobiums. 



Dendrobiuni nobile is now coming into 

 flower. While an old orchid, it is still 

 hard to beat when well flowered. When 

 it comes to a choice between a well 

 bloomed specimen cattleya and a speci- 

 men of this dendrobe, carrying 500 to 

 1,000 flowers, the weight of popular 

 opinion will invariably be with the latter. 

 Where many growers fail with dendrobes 

 of the nobile section is in affording too 

 much moisture after the nodes appear, 

 causing these to form bulbs in lieu of 

 flowers. Light syringings overhead will 

 suffice for moisture until it can be told 

 with certainty that flower buds are really 

 formed. With D. Wardianum, D. Phalse- 

 nopsis, D. formosum and other varieties, 

 a little extra moisture in no way affects 

 the flowering. 



These dendrobes will last a long time 

 if hung in a shaded and slightly cooler 

 house while in bloom. They are inex- 

 pensive, and when purchasing newly im- 

 ported stock there is a likelihood of se- 

 suring a wide range of types from a 

 small number of plants. Newly imported 

 plants look a little shabby on arrival, but 

 there is always a probability of a fine 

 white cattleya or heavily spotted Odonto- 

 glossum crispum, any one of which will 

 recoup the grower for his entire pur- 

 chase, and in addition the pleasant 

 anticipations as the flowering season ap- 

 proaches must be experienced to be 

 rightly understood. Orchidist. 



BURKl ON ORCHIDS. 



Immense quantities of orchid flowers 

 are sold in Pittsburg, and all are shipped 

 in froln distant cities. But Fred Burki, 

 of th^ Pittsburg Cut Flower Co., is tak- 

 ing the bull by the horns. "If those 

 eastern men can grow orchids and ship 

 them here and male money out of them, 

 why can 't we at home have a finger in 



Laelio-Cattleya Digbyano-Motiiae. 



the pie?" That is the way he puts it 

 and this is why he has an end of a large 

 greenhouse filled with recently imported 

 Cattleya Trianse. "Oh, yes. We'll have 

 to get a lot more; we'll have to get 

 enough to keep a man busy with them all 

 tae time. You see it isn 't every man who 

 understands orchids, and the man to grow 

 them had better have nothing else to do. 

 The orchid fly has given us some trouble; 

 the gouty young growths indicate their 

 presence. Now, a man who doesn 't know 

 orchids is apt to mistake the work of 

 these flies as proifiises of extra strong 

 shoots. Yes, we must get an orchid man." 



Wm. Falconer. 



A HNE LAELip-CATTLEYA, 



Laelio-Cattleya Digbyano-Mossiae was 

 originally raised by John Seden, the 

 noted hybridist for James Veitch & Sons, 

 London, and was the result of a cross 

 between Lselia Digbyana and Cattleya 

 Mossiffi. From seed sown in 1882, the 

 first of the two plants raised bloomed 

 in 1889 and received a first-class certifi- 

 cate from the Royal Horticultural Soci- 

 ety. One of the two plants passed into 

 the collection of the late F. L. Ames, at 

 North Easton, Mass., and a number of 

 plants taken from the original are now 

 in that collection. 



Flotrering, as it does, in December, 



January and February, this lajlio-cat- 

 tleya is particularly useful. The large, 

 beautifully fringed flowers are usually 

 carried two and three on a sheath, but 

 require some support, as they do not hold 

 up their heads like the cattleyas. The 

 flowers, however, will keep fresh even 

 longer than any of the cattleyas. They 

 grow well in pots of osmunda fiber at 

 the warmest end of the cattleya house 

 and, like some other hybrids, will make 

 two growths and give two crops of 

 flowers a year in some seasons. 



This was the first of the crosses in 

 which Lfplia Digbyana was one of the 

 parents. Quite a number of other crosses 

 have since been made, all of which are 

 showy. The leading European com- 

 mercial growers who make a specialty of 

 hybridizing offer many of these crosses 

 in an unflowered state. C. 



Farmer City, III. — John McDonald, 

 of the Farmer City Greenhouse, has had 

 a better trade this winter than ever be- 

 fore and sees indications of a most satis- 

 factory business in the coming spring. 



South Weymouth, Mass. — J. Strei- 

 ferd & Son have an unusually fine lot 

 of ' genistas in excellent shape for 

 Easter. This firm grows genistas large- 

 ly and their produce is now so well 

 known that it sells quickly. 



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