JASUABV 10, 1911. 



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The Weekly Florists' Review, 



11 



SEASONABLE NOTES. 



Cattleyas. 



Cattleya Trianse will be the only va- 

 riety in season in quantity for soma 

 time yet. It is in some ways a fickle 

 and disappointing orchid, for even 

 when it makes up fine bulbs, which 

 would win our applause, they prove 

 trying to the grower when they pro- 

 duce a single flower per sheath, instead 

 of three or four, which have been ex- 

 pected. Keeping the plants too far 

 from the light is often the cause of 

 their flowering sparsely. Overshading 

 is also responsible in part. 



As soon as the flowering season is 

 over, do any necessary repotting. 

 Plants which have roots and growths 

 hanging over the sides of the pots 

 must be attended to. No cattleyas 

 which have quantities of roots running 

 into the atmosphere can be in as vig- 

 orous a condition as those whieh have 

 their roots inside the pots. The old 

 idea about these plants living on at- 

 mospheric moisture is the rankest 

 nonsense. 



Cattleya Schroederae. 



Cattleya Schroederse, which imme- 

 diately follows C. Trianaj in blooming, 

 has its buds showing in the sheaths. 

 This cattleya is rather high priced to 

 be extensively grown commercially. 

 Its color also, which is pale, is not as 

 popular as the deeper colored varieties. 

 It, however, comes in at a time when 

 cattleyas are unusually scarce. C. 

 MossisB now has its growths well made 

 up and a month hence it will be pos- 

 sible to see the colors of the buds in 

 the sheaths. 



Apply water rather sparingly at this 

 season to all cattleyas. Do not give 

 any shade at all as yet. Never mind 

 if the bulbs and leaves take on a 

 slightly saffron-like hue; they will be 

 harder and prove more florifcrous than 

 the softer dark green ones grown in 

 shade. 



Cattleya Fly. 



That terrible pest, the cattleya fly, 

 is the bane of cattleya growers. It 

 usually comes on newly imported stock 

 of C. labiata. Its presence is easily 

 told by the unusually swollen appear- 

 ance of the new growths. When these 

 growths appear examine them closely. 

 Such as are extra thick will probably 

 be found, when cut through the center 

 with a sharp knife, to contain about 

 half a dozen larva; or flies, which 

 should be destroyed at once. If the 

 growth is left a little too long, the flies 

 will be sometimes found winged and 

 ready for flight. If they have escaped, 

 it means that so many more young 

 growths will be stung and ruined. 

 Cutting off handfiils of young growths 



seems radical and cruel, but it is the 

 best remedy leading to extermination. 

 Any failure to cut off the growths will 

 result in the almost total ruination of 

 not only C. labiata, but all others of 

 the labiata section. The long bulbed 

 varieties, such as Harrisonia;, Bow- 

 ringeana, etc., are less affected; so are 

 the long bulbed Iselias, such as elegans 

 and purpurata. Strong fumigation 

 once a week during the spring season, 

 when the flies are most numerous, will 

 help in some measure to diminish their 

 numbers. 



Dendrobiums. 



Many of the plants of Dendrobium 

 nobile will now have reached sufficient 

 development so that the flower buds 

 can be counted. Those plants which 

 have nodes of sufficient size should be 

 moved into a warmer house, and just 

 as soon as it is seen that there is no 

 longer any danger of their becoming 

 growths instead of flowers, afford more 

 moisture at the root to assist in the 



development of the flowers. If the 

 plants are not wanted in flower until, 

 say, the end of March, they must be 

 kept cool and dry at the root for some 

 weeks longer. A temperature of 45 to 

 48 degrees will answer well, and if the 

 plants are sprayed over thrice a week 

 they will need no water at the root. 



D. Wardianum already, in some cases, 

 has buds showing color. This is a fine 

 commercial variety, its large, handsome 

 flowers making a grand show. Retail 

 florists who can hang a few baskets in 

 their window, allowing the pseudo-bulbs 

 to droop naturally, can produce a^'fl^ 

 effect. This dendrobe, unfortunately^ 

 runs out much earlier than those of 

 the nobile type. When fully expanded, 

 the dendrobiums can be hung or stood 

 in a house the temperature of which 

 averages 50 degrees at night, and if 

 shaded from direct sun will keep fresh 

 much longer than if held in a warm 

 house. 



Where it is wished to increase the 

 stock of dendrobiums, cut off a quan- 

 tity of the old pseudo-bulbs which have 

 flowered in preceding years. Cut these 

 in pieces four to six inches long and 

 lay on sphagnum moss in flats. Stand 

 these below a bench, where there is not 

 much drip nor bottom heat, and they 

 will soon start to root and make new 

 growths. These, if placed several to- 

 gether in pans or baskets, will make 

 nice plants a year later. On some of 

 the plants there are probably young 

 plants produced on the old flowering 

 bulbs. If these are cut off and placed 

 in pans or baskets in an equal mixture 

 of fern flber and sphagnum, they will 

 soon grow into good flowering plants. 



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Dahlias and Cannas. 



It is yet much too early to think 

 about starting roots of either dahlias 

 or cannas for spring sales, but there is 

 a possibility of rot starting among 

 them, and if they are looked over occa- 

 sionally and decaying portions carefully 

 removed, it may mean a considerable 

 saving of stock before spring. If you 

 want to try a few dahlias for spring 

 flowering under glass, they should be 

 started now. Select small clumps; lay 

 them on a bed of moss on a bench in 

 a warm house. Spray occasionally until 

 they break; then divide the clumps and 

 plant them out in a bed or bench where 

 they will have good head room and a 

 night temperature of 45 to 50 degrees. 

 Allow two feet between the plants and 

 thirty inches in the rows, and be sure 

 to use a stout stake for each plant. 

 Dahlias are still something of a novelty 

 in spring. There are always people 

 who are looking for something out of 

 the common, and dahlias in April and 

 May will be welcomed by them. 



Giganteum Lilies. 



Longiflorum lilies of the giganteum 

 type should now have the pots well 

 filled with roots and the tops two or 



three inches high. Plants in this condi- 

 tion want a night temperature of 60 to 

 65 degrees and they are then sure to 

 flower in ample time for Easter. Any 

 which are well rooted, but which have 

 not started to push their growths yet, 

 can also be placed in heat. It is a great 

 deal better to give a good heat right 

 along, increasing it if necessary after 

 the buds show, than to endeavor to 

 bring them on in a temperature of 50 

 to 55 degrees. Giganteums seem to par- 

 ticularly enjoy a brisk heat during 

 their whole growing season. It may 

 seem a far-away cry to Easter, but it is 

 better to take time by the forelock 

 now, rather than subject the plants to 

 violent heat in a frantic effort to bloom 

 them on time. — 



Lilium Candidum. 



Unlike the giganteums, Lilium candi- 

 dum is ruine^ by hard forcing. It 

 should never be grown warmer than 50 

 degrees at night, if large flowers with 

 plenty of substance are desired. If the 

 plants are now four to six inches high, 

 they are all right and will need no ex- 

 tra forcing to hurry them. When well 

 grown and of the true north of France 

 type, the old Madonna lily will take 

 second place to no other variety. Never 



