620 



Garden and Forest. 



[December 25, iH^g, 



say such a color does not exist — forms the ground color of 

 many flowers, but is very rarely seen absolutely pure. But 

 blue — real blue — is conspicuous by its absence. The number 

 of Orchids whose tiowers are of this tint would not take long 

 to enumerate. It is chiefly noticeable among such South 

 African plants as Herschelia coelestis, Disa longicornis, D. nia- 

 iiilafa, D. venusta, and perhaps a few others. Bright blue is 

 the cliaracteristic color of the Australian Caladenias, and light 

 and dark shades of the same color are found in the small- 

 flowered Burmese Vanda ccvrtilescens and the larger and more 

 beautiful V. coerulea, the latter forming the suijject of the 

 present note. 



It was named by its discoverer, Griffiths, who first found it 

 in 1837 near the River Borpanee, where, at an elevation of 

 2,500 feet, it was growing in forests of Pine and Oak on trees of 

 Gordonia, a Ternstroemiaceous genus. Hooker and Thomson, 

 when traveling in that region several years ago, met with it in 

 a wild state on the Khasya Hills at a height of 3,000 to 4,000 

 feet. It grew in such abundance that in a short time they 

 obtained no fewer than 360 spikes, each bearing from six to 

 twenty large flowers. 



The introduction of V. ccerulea to cultivation is due to 

 Messrs. Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea, who received plants of it 

 from their famous collector, Thomas Lobb, about forty years 

 ago. Owing to the unique color of its flowers, it caused at the 

 time a great sensation, and even nowadays a well grown speci- 

 men calls out many expressions of admiration. With the excep- 

 tion, perhaps, of the magnificent V. Hookeriana, noted at page 

 392 of Garden and Forest, and the gorgeous V. San- 

 deriana, it is perhaps the finest Vanda yet known. Well 

 grown specimens are from eighteen to thirty inches high, their 

 stems being furnished with distichous, oblong, leathery leaves, 

 about six mches long, and deeply bilobed at the apex. The 

 flexuose peduncle springs from the axil of a leaf about midway 

 on the stem, and bears a variable number of flowers, each 

 from three to four inches across, and supported on pale violet, 

 sharp-angled pedicels about three inches long. The sepals and 

 petals are moi^e or less oval in shape, and vary in color between 

 light and dark blue, handsomely reticulated with white veins, 

 giving to the flowers a mottled appearance. The small, 

 narrow, projecting lip is of a deep vnolet blue, and is furnished 

 behind with a short conical spur, at whose opening is a pure 

 white auricle on each side, and at the base of the short, thick, 

 white column are a pair of bright yellow crescent-shaped 

 blotches. 



Last September I saw two fine specimens of this Vanda in 

 flower in the Royal Gardens, Kevv. One plant had a spike of 

 fourteen tolerably deep blue flowers nearly four inches across. 

 At the same time a plant was blooming in this nursery with 

 twelve flowers on the spike. Each flower measured four and 

 a quarter inches across, and was of an intense blue, a shade 

 which is seldom seen in this species. 



When V. ccerulea was first introduced to cultivation, the fact 

 of its being a native of India was sufficifent reason in those 

 days for it to be regarded as a stove plant. The alfitude at 

 which it grows in its native haunts not having been taken into 

 consideration, the warm treatment which this species received 

 naturally produced such disastrous results — most of the plants 

 dying — that it remained a rare plant until it became more 

 common by the importations of later years. A cool, airy 

 house, with a temperature of sixty to sixty-five degrees Fahren- 

 heit, suits this species best in siimmer, although no harm will 

 result if the thermometer rises a few degrees inore with the 

 sun, from which the plants must be shaded when it 

 becomes too warm. The plants make their growth during 

 the spring and summer, and must then receive more or less 

 liberal supplies of water, according to the vigor of their growth. 

 When this is about to cease the flowers appear, usually in Sep- 

 tember and October, and if kept in a dry atmosphere they will 

 retain their freshness for six weeks or more. During the win- 

 ter months the plants should be rested, and only small quanti- 

 ties of water are occasionally required. Well drained pots, 

 baskets or cylinders are suitable for the cultivation of this spe- 

 cies, plants of which will thrive either simply in crocks and 

 charcoal, top dressed with fresh sphagnum, when more atten- 

 tion must be given to watering, or in a compost of rough peat, 

 sphagnum and charcoal, well mixed. _ , „^ , 



St. Albans, England. Jokn Weathers. 



Odontoglossum Sanderianiim. — This is a charming free- 

 flowering Orchid, its value being greatly enhanced by a 

 delightful Hawthorn fragrance. By many this plant is consid- 

 ered only a superior variety of O. constrictuni, but it is 

 more probably a hybrid between that species and O. glo- 

 riostttn. This is evident more especially in its larger and 

 more robust growth, and the erect character of the inflores- 



cence. The fragrance must also come from O. gloriosum, but 

 O. SanderianuJH is an extremely variable plant, and the good 

 varieties are by no means plentiful. Even the poor ones will be 

 found very useful for cutting, and a batch of plants will ensure 

 flowers almost every month in the year. They grow freely and 

 strong spikes will produce nearly a hundred blooms. 



Trichosma siiavis. — This pretty little plant is now in flower, 

 and greafly appreciated for its delicious fragrance. It is the 

 only species of the genus, and, though introduced fifty years 

 since from the Khasya Hills, has always been a very rare plant. 

 Recent importations, however, have brought it within the 

 reach of all. It thrives in the cool house potted in peat and 

 moss, and watered as if it were a bog plant. The reed-like 

 stems are clustered, about ten inches long, and terminated by 

 two lanceolate fleshy leaves, from between which spring the 

 short racemes of creamy white flowers, about an inch across. 

 The side lobes of the lip are prettily striped with crimson, 

 the wavy, recurved middle lobe bearing a yellow, crispy crest 

 on the disk. The flowers last quite a long time on the plant, 

 and, though not showy, they are very attractive and fragrant. 

 Altogether, this Orchid is a genuine acquisition, especially 

 since it may be grown in a cool house with greenhouse plants,^ 

 its greatest requirement being abundance of water. 

 Kenwood. ^ F. Goldring. 



Some Good Variegated Plants. — Prominent among variegated 

 plants of comparatively recent introduction is Ficus elastica 

 variegata, which will probably be largely used for decorative 

 purposes as it becomes more plentiful. Its growth seems to 

 be nearly as vigorous as that of the type, and the large leaves, 

 well marbled with light green and creamy white, make it a 

 pleasing contrast with the dark foliage of the species. Some 

 difficulty has been experienced in rooting cuttings of this 

 variegated Ficus, it being more shy in this respect than the 

 green form; but this trouble has been overcome to a great ex- 

 tent by gi-afting it on the latter. 



Draccetia indivisa variegata is another interesting addition 

 to this already numerous family. It is very similar in general 

 appearance to the type, having the same gracefully arched 

 foliage, with the additional charm of variegation in the form 

 of stripes of creamy white. This plant probably originated as 

 a chance seedling. 



Another introduction of considerable merit is Heliconia 

 aicreo-striata, which in form somewhat resembles the Hedy- 

 chiums, and has large, robust, Canna-like foliage from one to 

 two feet long. As its name indicates, this Heliconia is varie- 

 gated with fine stripes of yellow, the stripes to a greater or less 

 extent following the plan of the venation of the leaves from 

 midrib to margin. It has thus far been grown in stove tem- 

 perature, but it is quite possible that it may prove useful out- 

 doors in summer, and if so, its varied utility will give it greater 

 value. It may be propagated by division, and grows well in 

 light loam when given an abundance of water. 



Holmes burg. W. H. Taplin. 



Kniphofias. — When noting these plants in a letter to you 

 last year, I mentioned IVIr. Gumbleton, of Cork, as being a care- 

 ful collector and cultivator of Kniphofias. He has lately con- 

 tributed to the Gardeners' Chronicle a series of notes and 

 observations on the species and varieties which he cultivates, 

 and which have flowered during the past summer and 

 autumn. Mr. Gumbleton often falls foul of plants which many 

 of us consider handsome enough to cifltivate. To win his ad- 

 miration a plant must have undoubted merit. It follows, 

 therefore, that anything recommended by him may be taken 

 as deserving a place in the garden. The number of Knipho- 

 fias noted by Mr. Gumbleton in the communication referred 

 to is twenty-seven species and varieties, whilst he professes to 

 cultivate no less than forty. In English gardens these plants, 

 commonly known as "Red-hot Pokers," are used very effect- 

 ively both as masses on lawns or by the side of water, or as 

 border plants. Many of them flower late in the autumn, sev- 

 eral massive beds at Kew having been quite ablaze with flow- 

 ers until a few days ago. The hybrids are mostly of excep- 

 tional merit, being, as a rule, hardier and freer in flower than 

 the species. Mr. Max Leichtlin, of Baden-Baden, has been a 

 breeder of Kniphofias for some years, and he has this year 

 several which differ both in form and color from anything 

 hitherto seen. They are the result of crossing K. comosa and 

 K. Leichtlini, both Abyssinian species, with those which are 

 natives of the Cape. It is a remarkable fact that these plants, 

 which mostly come from tropical or semi-tropical Africa, are 

 hardy in the warmer parts of Great Britain, whilst many plants 

 from cooler parts of the same continent will bear only a mod- 

 erate amount of cold. 



Kew. W. Watson. 



