14 



The Florists^ Review 





OCTOBEB 22, 1914. 





SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 



Dendrobium Fhalaenopsis. 



Dendrobium Phalaenopsis is a most 

 valuable early winter-flowering orchid. 

 Some flowers already are open and 

 many more will expand within another 

 month. We grow this orchid success- 

 fully by hanging it well up to the 

 glass in a warm, moist stove house, 

 removing the plants when in flower to 

 the cattleya house. It succeeds best in 

 small pans or baskets. As fifteen to 

 twenty flowers are sometimes carried 

 on a spike and several spikes are pro- 

 duced on strong bulbs, this is an in- 

 valuable orchid for groups, for table 

 decorations or for cutting. Do not 

 move it into a cool house as soon as 

 the first flower opens, or there will be 

 a probability that many of the buds 

 will turn yellow. 



Dendrobium Nobile. 



Dendrobium nobile, the late winter 

 flowering dendrobe, should now have 

 its pseudo-bulbs well made up. All 

 that have completed their growths 

 should be hung in a sunny house and 

 have their water supply much reduced; 

 an occasional dip and a spray overhead 

 on hot days will keep them plump. 

 Leave plants with soft, immature bulbs 

 a while longer in heat. Some of the 

 nobile hybrids, such as D. euosmum, will 

 soon be in flower. A few of the short- 

 bulbed hybrid dendrobes, such as D. 

 Juno, need a thorough baking to make 

 them flower. 



Dendrobium Wardianum. 



Already I notice nodes showing on 

 some of the earliest ripened of D. 

 "Wardianum. This is one of the largest 

 and most handsome of all dendrobes 

 and one which flowers profusely each 

 year. Unlike nobile, it loses all its 

 foliage before flowering, but the blooms 

 are so striking that the absence of 

 leaves is hardly noticed. Keep' the 



?lants dry at the root and fairly cool, 

 his is necessary to prevent the plants 

 from sending up a new lot of growths. 



Oalanthes. 



As the calanthes start to lose their 

 foliage, gradually reduce the water sup- 

 ply. Some growers imagine that no 

 more water is needed when once the 

 flowers are opening. As a matter of 

 fact, the spikes are much finer if water 

 is supplied in moderate quantities until 

 all the flowers are open. Guard, how- 

 ever, against wetting the bulbs any 

 more than is necessary. Liquid manure 

 need not be applied after this date. 



The plants, until the flowers start to 

 open, will succeed best in a minimum 

 temperature of 65 degrees. Give them 

 o degrees less heat and a drier house 

 later. sThe spikes should now be four 

 to six Inches highy at least; in this 

 case the' flbwers should be nicely open 

 for Christmas. 



Vanda Cserulea. 



Vanda cserulea, the glorious blue 

 orchid, delights in a position close to 

 the glass. Plants grown under ground 

 glass without any shade in summer are 

 flowering much better than others kept 

 in a shadier position, although the lat- 

 ter have beautiful dark green foliage. 

 Keep some fresh shagnum growing on 

 the surfaces of the pots; somehow 

 plants in the growing moss look health- 

 ier and flower better than those with- 

 out it. The cool end of the cattleya 

 house suits this vanda admirably. 



EUCHABia AMAZONICA. 



Will you please give me some infor- 

 mation as to the' proper handling of 

 Eucharis Amazonica for cut flowers and 

 as to the best varieties for this pur- 

 pose? What are the proper day and 

 night temperatures for themf 



W.M. 



This fine, warm-house bulbous plant 

 is seen here commercially only to a lim- 



ited extent. In Europe it is an impor- 

 tant flower and realizes high prices. 

 It is not grown here to the extent it 

 was twenty years ago; more's the pitv 

 as it is beautiful, of comparatively easy 

 culture and splendid for florists' u-^e. 

 If the plants are to be pot-grown, tie 

 soil should be coarse, with the fin r 

 particles screened out and some lum; y 

 charcoal, dried cow manure, sharp sa d 

 and bone meal added. Good draina-e 

 is necessary. A good water supply 

 should be afforded and the folia;>e 

 should be well syringed to keep down 

 mealy bug. The plants can be modrr- 

 ately dried oflP for a few weeks at ;il- 

 most any season. After watering is re- 

 sumed a good crop of spikes will soon 

 appear, especially where the plants can 

 have good bottom heat. In summer 

 eucharis does well in any ordinary 

 greenhouse, but is at its best in a trop- 

 ical house kept at 60 to 70 degrees nt 

 night. I have seen splendid plants 

 grown at the end of a rose house. Un- 

 der careful culture two crops of flowers 

 a year are easily to be had, and occa- 

 sionally even three. Their culture must 

 be well understood to get three, how- 

 ever. The finest spikes are produced 

 where a piece of bench can be devoted 

 to them. The compost must be coarse, 

 so that water passes through it freely, 

 and good bottom heat helps wonder- 

 fully. When planted out, eucharis is 

 far more vigorous, and needs dividing 

 once in three years to prevent over- 

 crowding. Mealy bug can be controlled 

 by spraying with clear water or a good 

 insecticide. C. W. 



Kansas City, Mo. — ^E. S. Brus, for- 

 merly in business at 4015 Benton boule- 

 vard, has quit the florists' trade. 



Milwaukee, Wis.— The Fox Point Flo- 

 ral Co., which specializes in cyclamen, 

 has installed a No. 7 Kroeschell boiler 

 in its new range of houses and Jacob 

 Freytag is preparing to install a No. 5 

 of the same ma^e. 



CRACKING UNDER THE BUD. 



Can you tell me the reason why some 

 of the buds on my Wm. Turner chrysan- 

 themums are cracking almost off the stem 

 just below where the bud and stem 

 joint I have been told it results from 

 overfeeding. The buds are first termi- 

 nal and are just beginning to show color 

 when the crack becomes noticeable. 



H. E. 



It is not- an uncommon thing for Tur- 

 ner to crack under the bud. This is 

 caused by overfeeding or heavy water- 

 ing after the plants have become quite 

 dry; as a result the sap rushes up to the 

 bud and cracks the stem. However, this 

 will not interfere with the finishing of 

 the blooms, as I have known of cases 

 where the flower grew perfectly hanging 

 to the stem by a shred. If H. E. will 

 discontinue feeding and keep his plants 

 a little on the dry side, he will not need 

 to worry about the development of the 

 flowers. Chas. H. Totty. 



EABLT MUMS IN LATH HOUSE. 



I am desirous of knowing whether the 

 early varieties of chrysanthemums, such 

 as Golden Glow and Smith's Advance, 

 could be successfully grown in a lath 

 house, for the market, in this Illinois 

 climate. If so, how far apart should 

 the laths bef W. H. B. 



There is no reason why you canno- 

 grow Golden Glow and Smith 's Advanc : 

 in a lath house if you so wish, thoug'' 

 these two varieties are not so satisfac- 

 tory as some other varieties under th>) 

 same conditions. Smith's Advance i^ 

 the better one of the two, as Golde < 

 Glow seems to harden up and throy 

 nothing but buds all summer and ,it i' 

 difficult to get any length of stem on it- 

 The early flowering mums of such type 

 as Normandie^ Cranford Yellow, Cfran 

 ford Pink, Jimmie, A. Barham an<^ 

 others are giving much better satisfac 

 tion in almost every section. 



The lath we have used with success 



