46 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



December 14, 1911. 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleya Labiata. 



The flowering season for Cattleya 

 labiata being now over, the plants 

 should be given the cooler end of the 

 cattleya house, plenty of sunlight and 

 a much reduced water supply. Any 

 necessary repotting can be attended to 

 now, if time permits, or a few weeks 

 later. It ia well to overhaul all the 

 plants. Some may not need repotting, 

 and it may suffice to remove some of 

 the compost nearest the surface and 

 replace it with fresh pieces of chopped 

 fern root. Where roots are running 

 over the sides of the pots or pans, it 

 ia best to take out such plants and 

 get the roots in the compost. Some 

 there are, whose orchid knowledge is 

 somewhat limited, who like to see 

 cattleya and la>lia roots running over 

 the pots or out into the atmosphere. 

 Such plants will always be found to 

 have weaker and more shriveled bulbs 

 than those having their roots inside 

 the pots. When cattleyaa are sending 

 out such quantities of these so-called 

 aerial roots, either the compost in the 

 pota is not to their liking, or more 

 probably the house is kept too moist 

 and stuffy. Cattleyas do not want any 

 such conditions, but must have air on 

 every possible opportunity. In fact, 

 there are few days in the year when 

 the ventilators can not be opened to 

 some extent. 



In potting cattleyas, or, for that 

 matter, any other orchids, always see 

 to it that the plants are thoroughly 

 firmed. Loosely potted orchids are not 

 more likely to thrive than similarly 

 planted trees and shrubs. Always use 

 a potting stick with a sharp point to 

 firm the compost thoroughly. This must 

 be of some hard wood, such as teak or 

 oak. 



Reference was made in a recent num- 

 •ber of The Review to the advance in 

 the price of C. labiata. Not long ago 

 $40 to $50 would have secured a good 

 case; now $65 to $70 is needed and the 

 plants are dwindling in size as the price 

 per case advances. Unless new loca- 

 tions, where C. labiata abounds, are 

 found, and this is not probable, the 

 time is not far distant when this beau- 

 tiful fall-flowering orchid will be as 

 expensive as Schroederse and Dowiana. 

 In fact, many good judges are of the 

 opinion that it will in five years be 

 the highest priced cattleya in com- 

 merce. If the forest supply is to be 

 soon practically exhausted, it behooves 

 specialists to raise seedlings from good 

 types. Of course, it will take four to 

 six years for these to reach flowering 

 size, but such plants will have more 

 vitality than the forest plants, need 

 little rest and will in all probability 



I give two crops of flowers a year, as do 

 many of our hybrids today. 



Shading. 



There should now be no shading on 

 the cattleya houses. The sun may still 

 shine on some few days with genial 

 warmth, but for a couple of months, 

 at least, all cattleyas, Iselias and Iselio- 

 cattleyas will be benefited by all they 

 can get of it. Of course, any in flower 

 should be slightly shaded or moved to 

 the cool end of the house, where they 

 can be protected from the sun's rays. 

 The plants, when "well sunned," to 

 use a grower's phrase, will take on 

 more of a yellowish hue, but will be- 

 come harder, break better, flower bet 

 ter and be less liable to attacks of that 

 bane of cattleya cultivators, the cat- 

 tleya fly. 



Deudrobium Nobile. 



The earliest ripened bulbs of nobile 

 and many of its hybrids, Wardianum 



The Kditor is pleased 

 ^^hen a Reader 

 presents bis ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



tV^ 



As experience is tbe best 

 teacher, so do we 

 learn fastest by an 

 exchange of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brought out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanship, spelling and 

 grammar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would tallc 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHALX, BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM TOU 



and some others of the dendrobe family 

 are now pushing out their nodes. The 

 water supply at the root must be given 

 in sparing quantities, or these nodes, 

 instead of carrying flowers, will de- 

 velop into growths. Occasional light 

 syringings usually suffice to keep the 

 pseudo-bulbs sufficiently plump. It is 

 better to keep them in a cool, sunny 

 house, in a night temperature of 45 to 

 50 degrees, until all the nodes have ap- 

 peared; then give them a temperature 

 15 degrees higher if they are wanted ' 



in bloom in January; if not, they are 

 easily retarded for a few weeks. It 

 pays to get a number of these den- 

 drobes open in January, as there is 

 generally an overplus of them at their 

 natural blooming time, which is March 

 and early April. 



Calanthes. 



What truly superb orchids the calan- 

 thes are in midwinter! For decorative 

 effects on dining tables, mantels, etc., 

 they are among the most graceful and 

 beautiful of all flowers. Cattleyas for 

 these purposes are painfully heavy and 

 clumsy looking; they have no grace, 

 like calanthes, which, when well grown, 

 have arching spikes, three to four feet 

 long, of pink, white, or pink and white 

 flowers. Veitchii and its several forms, 

 of a delightful pink color, are the finest 

 for decorative effects, although the old 

 vestita and its forms are not to be de- 

 spised. There are also some beautiful 

 hybrids now in cultivation. The won- 

 der is that these beautiful orchids are 

 not more appreciated commercially. 

 They last well when cut, and every 

 critical customer who once has a dec- 

 oration of them will want them again. 

 The calanthes are now in flower or soon 

 will be. They are deciduous when 

 flowering and ihe water supply should 

 be considerably reduced. Give the pots 

 or pans a mulch of fresh sphagnum, to 

 prevent the surface soil from drying 

 out so much. To open calanthes well, 

 give them a night temperature of 65 

 degrees. When well expanded they 

 can> stand 10 degrees less. 



Cypripedium Insigue. 



The old but valuable lady's slipper, 

 Cypripedium insigne, has been flower- 

 ing for some time. No other variety 

 has yet approached it in popularity and 

 general usefulness. It grows well in 

 either a cool or warm house and never 

 fails to give a liberal crop of flowers, 

 and if there is no sale for them one 

 week, they can easily be kept fresh on 

 the plant two weeks, or two months if 

 necessary. Where only one orchid is to 

 be grown, and it is likely to be sub- 

 jected to rather hard treatment, no 

 other variety will give as satisfactory 

 returns as C. insigne. The various yel- 

 low forms of C. insigne are becoming, 

 more abundant each year and will in a 

 few years be sufficiently numerous to 

 offer as cut flowers or blooming plants 

 commercially. Of the large number of 

 yellow forms there is as yet nothing 

 to beat the original C. insigne Sanderae. 

 It has been increased considerably of 

 late years by self-fertilization. Some 

 seedlings surpassed the parent, but 

 others showed considerable variation 

 in form, although all were yellow. 

 Laura Kimball is perhaps, next to 

 Sanderac, the finest of these forms. The 

 plant has more vigor than Sanderae. 

 Hybrids between these two are now on 

 the market. Ernestii is a vigorous 

 growing yellow form, heavily blotched 

 on the dorsal sepal. Sanderianum is 

 a uniform yellow throughout, except for 

 a few brown lines at the base of the 

 petals. I have grown a number of the 

 yellow forms, including Brightness, cit- 

 rinum, Golden Ring and others, and, 

 while all are beautiful, they are not 

 equal to Sanderae, Sanderianum and 

 Laura Kimball. Some day these va- 

 rieties, increased by self-fertilization, 

 will be popular market plants, and 

 anyone picking them up now from time 

 to time will find it to be money well 

 invested. 



