14 



The Florists^ Review 



Septembek 5, lOli' 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleya Labiata. 



Til is \vt>ll known and liighly ostoomoil 

 oicliiil now lias its growths well made 

 u|i; in I'act. huds are discernible in 

 some t)t' the more prominent sheaths, 

 and these should j^ise a iew flowers as 

 enrly as the latter i)art of Sejitember 

 or first ]iart of ()c'tol)er. 



Cattleya llowers are at the present 

 tiin(> as sciirce as at any time in the 

 year, and if any cdnsideralile onler for 

 them were j^JNcn. it would be hard to 

 till it. 



Tlie earliest labiatas slioubl be given 

 a little more warmth, not anytliing in 

 the way of fon-ing, but a li^'it place 

 where th(>y will be shielded from too 

 bright sunshine, a trifle warmer than 

 they ha\"e been growing. A few days' 

 difference in securing the first flowers 

 may mean (piite a little added to the 

 cash account. .\ good sujjply of water 

 should still be given ('. laV)iata, and on 

 (dear, warm clays a syringing will be 

 beneficial. P>e sure, howex'er. that the 

 foliage is dry before nightfall. This 

 cattleya is so productixe and su(di a 

 great favorite that it is to be regretted 

 that its price steadilv advances, and 

 unless fresh sources of supj)ly are dis- 

 covered it will, in a few years, be the 

 highest ]>riced of all the commercial cat 

 tleyas. i'lants arri\ing now are mostly 

 sniiill. The iarye masses of a lew years 

 ago are un|>rocurab!e. 



The Cattleya House. 



Wliile nearly ail cattlevas will still 

 reipiire a good water supjily, the arrival 

 of co(der nights, accom|i;inied with 

 hea\y dews, makes it necessary to 

 abstain to some extent from tlie damp- 



ing dowTi, whi(di could be done quite 

 late during duly and the first half of 

 -August. It is always safer to allow 

 plants of this genus to get quite dry 

 between waterings. Have you ever no- 

 ticed — but of course you have, if you 

 are an interested orchid grower — how 

 healthy a ])lant will look when it has 

 been overlooked for several days at a 

 rime, when you were soaking your other 

 plants around it? If you have not, try 

 the ex])erinient and it will teach you 

 that it is easy to overwater orchids, 

 even in the summer months. 



A\'hile we will still have considerable 

 hot weather, it is a good ])lan to rub 

 off some of the shading from the glass. 

 This is, of course, unnecessary where 

 movable blinds or lath shades are used. 

 Heavy shade makes green, soft plants. 

 More light means somewhat paler foli- 

 age, but increased floriferousness. 



When the bulbs are well made up and 

 buds ready to show in the sheaths, if 

 you are one of those practi(dng the feed- 

 ing of orchids, it is better to discontinue 

 it, or it may cause the buds t6 rot in the 

 sheaths. Continue, however, to feed in 

 weak doses until the bulbs are well 

 made out. Do not close the ventilators 

 at night if the nights get rather cool. 

 Never mind if the temperature drops 

 to 50 degrees; it will not hurt the plants 

 half so much as shutting up the house 

 and creating a stuffy atmosphere. Fire 

 heat for cattlevas is not needed yet 

 a while, .\lways keep the ventilators 

 open, as these orchids want air, and 

 the surest way to ruin them and make 

 them send out quantities of roots into 

 the air, rather than into the jiots, is to 

 kee|i them too close and stuffy. 



Mexican Laelias. 



Such \arieties as anceps, autumnalis. 



(iouldeana ami some others which 

 or should be, in a light, airy house, 

 l)e pushing their sjiikes freely. 'I 

 are better grown cooler than the 

 tleyas until about the middle of 

 tembcr, after which give them a ) 

 tion at the cool end of the cati 

 house. The warmer and more he;, 

 shaded these Mexican orchids 

 grown, the better they grow and 

 j)Oorer they flower. None of ti 

 should have much shade, even in n 

 summer, and a house with top vent 

 tors wide open is just what they en,, 

 Growths will not be by any means m; 

 uj) yet and good water supplies, w 

 spraying overhead on the mornings 

 (dear, warm days, should be given. 



iro, 



Mil 



:it- 



THE ASTER BEETLE. 



Ts there anything better than Par 

 green to spray asters with to kee, 

 down the blister beetle? The sepals ..^ 

 my plants have turned brown with it - 

 use. I try to avoid spraying when th. 

 sun shines, but that is hard to do, a- 

 the bugs come in large numbers durin- 

 the day and get in a lot of work befori 

 sunset. Could Paris green be niixei 

 with water strong enough to kill the 

 bugs and not hurt the plants? 



0. A. K. 



Paris green is the best remedy for 

 the black aster beetle which annually 

 destroys an immense number of flower- 

 over a wide stretch of territory. The 

 spray is best applied on a cloudy day. 

 or in the evening of a bright day. You 

 do not state how strong a spray yon 

 used. One ounce to fifteen gallons of 

 water will poison the beetles and not 

 injure the flowers in the least. Never 

 apjdy any stronger than one pound to 

 200 gallons of water or you are liable 

 to mark the flowers. A little lime 

 added to the water reduces the likeli- 

 hood of burning. Use a fine, misty 

 spray when applying the poison. 



.Arsenate of lead is less liable to dam- 

 age the flowers, but it whitens the foli- 

 age so much as to render the flowers 

 unsalable, and this will not wash oft' 

 as does the Paris green. C. W. 



SPIRuEA JAPONICA. 



We have bought at a low price some 

 sjiiraas which were forced last Easter. 

 Will it pay us to force them again this 

 winter, or would it pay better to buy 

 new? We have them plunged in a deep 

 coldframe. covered with a slat screen, 



The Canadian Horticultural As»ociation at Lady Clouston's During the Montreal Convention. 



