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OCTOBBB 15, 1914. 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



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An Orchid Group at the Chelsea Show, One of Frequent Displays that make the Flowers Popular in England. 



pensable at exhibitions, and every flo- 

 rist who has room for a few orchids 

 should secure some. It is a free bloom- 

 er and a good grower; even unpromis- 

 ing looking plants will give a surpris- 

 ing crop of flowers. Keep the plants 

 which are in flower somewhat drier at 

 the root and stand them in a cool, well- 

 shaded position. However, it is not 

 good policy to leave the flowers of this, 

 or, for that matter, any other orchid, 

 too long on the plant, as it has a 

 weakening effect. 



Cattleya Percivaliana. 



Compared with C. labiata and C. 

 Trianse, C. Percivaliana is a small va- 

 riety, but it blooms immediately after 

 labiata and is usually in nice flower for 

 Christmas; this makes it specially use- 

 ful. The sheaths on the plants will 

 now be quite prominent. If the plants 

 are standing some distance from the 

 light, move them close to the glass. 



Cattleya TriaiUB. 



Cattleya Trianee is the standard win- 

 ter cattleya. It is a robust grower, 

 more so than C. labiata, but the flowers, 

 on the whole, ate hardly equal to those 

 of the latter variety; nor is it so free 

 flowering unless the plants are properly 

 treated. I have seen many large, beau- 

 tiful looking plants, with dark green 

 DUlbs and leaves, which would give only 

 one or two flowers to the sheath, all 

 because the cultivator persisted in keep- 

 in?; his plants too much shaded. No 

 cattleya suffers so much from over- 

 sha-ling as C. Trianse. The growths are 

 now well made up and the plants should 

 n^\i! good light from now on. Do not 

 Wish off all the shading and give full 

 su;) at once, or the results will be dis- 

 d r. oug to the plants; they must be 

 "" 'fid to the light by degrees. 



The Cattleya House. 



tr.'.'l x?^^ "^^*s there is always a 

 'iptation to shut the ventilators tight- 



^. nut this is not a good policy. Cat- 



. as love fresh air and there is no 



U ni,,v!.^^°° ^^7 they should not have 



W(.^th2i *°T^ ^^^* except during severe 



tl 



are provided below the front 



benches, they can be left open, except 

 on extremely cold nights. Just as soon 

 as cattleyas are subjected to a close, 

 warm atmosphere, they start sending 

 roots outside the pots or pans. Some 

 growers believe this is a sign of vigor. 

 As a matter of fact, it is one of the 

 worst possible signs in cattleyas and 

 Iselias, as the bulbs on such plants will 

 always be more or less starved and 

 miserable. Keep the roots inside the 

 receptacles, water with care, air freely 

 and never coddle, and nearly all cat- 

 tleyas will do well. Do the watering 

 early in the morning. On bright days 

 a spraying overhead will still be found 

 beneficial. 



Laelia Perrinii. 

 Lselia Perrinii, a Brazilian variety, 

 now is coming into flower. It is a good 

 grower. The bulbs carry solitary leaves 

 and two or three of the deep crimson 

 flowers are usually carried on each 

 scape. This orchid is showy, of easy 

 culture, and succeeds particularly well 

 at the warm end of the cattleya house. 

 It will be found valuable for use in 

 fall orchid groups. It is inexpensive 

 and anyone ^.^who can , grow cattleyas 

 will have no troubfe with it. 



Laelia Autumnalis. 



Lffilia autumnalis is one of the most 

 beautiful of all Mexican Iselias. In its 

 native habitat it is found growing on 

 bare rocks and on stunted trees in the 

 full sun; in such positions it grows well 

 and flowers amazingly. Many growers 

 complain of their autumnalis running 

 out in a few years. This is due to rad- 

 ically wrong treatment, and not to any 

 inherent weakness of the species. Give 

 it plenty of sun and it will even last as 

 long as anceps, and flower just as freely. 

 The flowers are even more beautiful 

 than those of anceps. Owing to con- 

 tinued hostilities in Mexico, few of 

 these orchids are how arriving in 

 America. L. autumnalis is a fall bloom- 

 er; frequently its flowers are in good 

 condition for Christmas. 



Lsslia Anceps. 



If the plants of Laelia anceps have 

 been grown in a light, airy structure 

 through the summer, they should now 



be bristling with flower spikes. The 

 cool end of the cattleya house is now 

 a good place for these and other Mexi- 

 can Iselias. L. Gouldiana, supposed to 

 be a natural hybrid between L. anceps 

 and L. autumnalis, is a variety well 

 worthy of culture. As many as eight 

 or ten flowers are often carried on a 

 stalk. The flowers are deep rose-purple 

 and possess a delightful odor. 



THE STATE OF THE AET. 



Orchid growing in America is an in- 

 fant industry compared to England, but 

 of late there has been a wonderful in- 

 crease. It has been a commercial de- 

 velopment, however, as the increase in 

 the number of plants grown for cut 

 blooms for the market, has far out- 

 stripped the number grown in the pri- 

 vate greenhouses of the wealthy. Only 

 one or two flrms in America are able 

 to put up displays of orchids in any 

 way comparable to what the big Eng- 

 lish trade exhibitors do, possibly largely 

 for the reason that the greater part of 

 the demand in this country is lor the 

 few varieties of cattleyas used for cut- 

 ting. What the TIhglish do in the way 

 of staging quantity and variety is 

 shown by the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, in which can be seen only a part 

 of the group of Sander & Sons, of St. 

 Albans, at the 1914 Chelsea show. But 

 the appreciation of orchids in America 

 was never so wide as now, and the fu- 

 ture seems bright. 



Medina, O. — All hands have been 

 kept busy at Hammerschmidt & Clark 's 

 range. Half of the houses have been 

 painted inside and out, new cypress 

 benches have been put in and concrete 

 cistern tops made. A new Giblin boiler 

 has been installed in the boiler room, a 

 Skinner irrigating system in the gar- 

 dens and a National cash register in 

 the office. This firm makes a specialty 

 of plants in 2i4-inch pots, and relies on 

 The Review's classified ads to move the 

 stock. The greenhouses are now filled 

 with stocks and snapdragons for bench- 

 ing after the mums are cut. This is 

 their thirteenth year in business, the 

 members of the firm having begun at 

 the respective ages of 16 and 17. 



