June 30, 1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Cattleya Mossiae Wagneri, Pure White, on Left; Other Plants C Mossiae Reineckiana. 



but, as from four to a m)zen are car- 

 ried on a sheath and the plant is a 

 vigorous grower and free bloomer, they 

 pay well at half the price of those of 

 the labiata section. The flowers are 

 usually produced during June and July, 

 sometimes as late as August, and are 

 of a pale, pinkish lilac color, the lip be- 

 ing tinged with yellow. Strong bulbs 

 attain a height of twenty-four inches. 



The cool end of the cattleya house 

 suits this variety well and it grows 

 equally well in either pots or baskets. 

 One large grower succeeds remarkably 

 well with it by hanging his baskets 

 near the ridge of a long house, where 

 they are close to the light and air and 

 not too heavily shaded, even in sum- 

 mer. For many purposes this cattleya 

 is much superior to the larger flowered 

 ones, and it is worthy the attention of 

 all who have a call for summer cat- 

 tleyas. 



Masdevallias. 



Masdevallias are but little seen now- 

 adays, the craze for the big and fancy 

 varieties causing these and other in- 

 teresting genera to be neglected. While 

 they will never become popular as com- 

 mercial orchids, they contain some 

 charming subjects, which, when nicely 

 flowered, interest and please all who 

 love orchids. At the present time the 

 various forms of M. Harryana, with 

 their rich colorings, are particularly at- 

 tractive in the cool orchid house and 

 the flowers have excellent lasting prop- 

 erties, either cut or on the plant. Treat- 

 ment which suits Odontoglossum 

 crispum answers well for masdevallias. 

 We find they do best in pots and pans, 

 and some sphagnum moss added to the 

 fern fiber seems to their liking, with 

 a few pieces, also, pricked into the 

 surface of the compost. 



Masdevallias, growing as they do in 



the cold ravines of the Andes in Peru 

 and Colombia, at elevations of 8,000 

 to 12,000 feet, do not take kindly to 

 our summer hot waves. From June to 

 September, therefore, they are better 

 grown in a north house or sunk pit, 

 where they can be kept cool and moist 

 and be shaded from the sun's rays. 

 Masdevallias, having no bulbs, are hard 

 orchids to transport from their native 

 habitats to either Europe or the United 

 States, and a large part of them are 

 usually dead on arrival. One of the 

 prettiest table centerpieces we ever 

 saw was a large, beautifully flowered 

 pan of the pure white Colombian 

 species, M. Tovarensis. This variety 

 blooms in midwinter, which makes it 

 useful. Masdevallias are free flower- 

 ing, and where even a dozen plants are 

 grown there is scarcely a day in the 

 year when they are without flowers. 



Dendrobimn Phalsenopsis. 



Dendrobium Phalsenopsis, a most use- 

 ful fall and winter blooming den- 

 drobe, of which the form Schrcederi- 

 anum is the one most in favor, suc- 

 ceeds best in small pans or baskets. 

 It is a big mistake to give it large 

 receptacles to grow in. The finest 

 pseudo-bulbs we ever saw were pro- 

 .duced in 6-inch baskets. The plants 

 are now suspended in a warm, moist 

 house, close to the glass. In common 

 with such sorts as formosum giganteum, 

 nobile and many hybrids, they are 

 freely syringed about the middle of the 

 afternoon and the house closed to 

 create a brisk, moist heat. These grow- 

 ing conditions suit most of the den- 

 drobes, and D. Phalsnopsis seems 

 specially to revel in it. For cutting, 

 this is by long odds the finest of all 

 dendrobiums, its long racemose in- 

 florescences carrying as many as fifteen 

 to twenty-five flowers and buds. 



CATTLEYA MOSSI^ ALBA. 



There are quite a number of white 

 forms of Cattleya Mossiee, which vary- 

 from such pure white varieties as C. 

 Mossia; Wagneri, without any color ex- 

 cept the yellow of the lips, to the 

 various Reineckianas, which have pure 

 white sepals and petals, but have slate 

 coloring on the lip in some cases and 

 at other times and more frequently an 

 orange disk and rays of violet lines and 

 dots towards the margin. As a general 

 rule, these white cattleyas, beautiful as 

 they undoubtedly are, lack the vigor of 

 the colored ones. The Reineckianas, 

 however, possess considerable vigor and 

 seem to thrive almost as well as the 

 ordinary type. 



In new importations of Mossiae now 

 arriving and purchasable at moderate 

 rates, there is always a likelihood of 

 one or more of these white forms ap- 

 pearing. In the illustration the plant 

 at the extreme left is Wagneri; the 

 others are Reineckianas. A beautiful 

 plant of the latter, carrying eleven 

 handsome flowers, secured for its owner 

 a silver medal for the best specimen 

 cattleya at the recent big orchid show 

 in Boston. W. N. C. 



DOUBLE CORNFLOWERS. 



Will you inform me as to the best 

 way to grow the double cornflower 

 for early spring? Can it be sown in 

 the fall, as the single varieties are 

 sown outdoors? H. K. 



The double cornflower can be treated 

 precisely the same as the single 

 varieties, either by sowing in fall or 

 in early spring. C. 



Spirit Lake, la. — Judson Klein is 

 erecting a good-sized greenhouse on hia^ 

 father's farm, east of town. 



