ff '6 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



CUTTING OFF LEAFLESS PSEUDOBULBS OF ORCHIDS. 



It has often been asked, should the old, leafless pseudobulbs of Orchids be 

 •cut off or not ? Gardeners generally seem to avoid being drawn into dis- 

 cussing this very moot point. Some very old growers of long standing do 

 mot cut them off, but will not say why. Others, who admire nice, healthy 

 looking plants, do cut them off, and say they cannot see what use they 

 serve if left on. Taking La;lias and Cattleyas (L. anceps excepted), for 

 ■example, I hope the following few words will cause others more capable 

 than I to give their experience. I think in their habitats nature intends 

 the old, leafless bulbs to remain, as a help to catch any falling leaves or 

 .other matter that is blown about, and as the nightly mists condense on 

 rthe trees, and run down and saturate the plants and fallen leaves, and 



■ even the old bulbs, they form a reserve of moisture for the daytime. 

 Coming back to artificial culture under glass, we find that some growers 

 ihold that these effete (?) bulbs help the younger or leafy part of the plant 

 iby giving off their life's blood, so to speak. But this is very doubtful, unless 

 :the plant is short of roots; then the leaves will draw nurture from all the 

 .bulbs. Others maintain that the leafless bulbs rob the younger part of the 

 plant of its due. But how can this be when such bulbs have no leaves to 

 pump to themselves moisture from the rest of the plant, or even from the 

 roots, which are generally in front of them? If we wish to increase 



■ or rather divide a plant into several pieces, and the plant has only one 

 lead, we cut through the rhizome in front of the bulbs with prominent 

 •eyes, and this we do even at leafless bulbs. This operation itself is 



proof that the grower knows that the leading part, with leaves, takes 

 •the lion's share of the plant's nourishment. Again I, for my part, say 

 .that a plant short of roots does draw upon those old bulbs, like a child 

 ffrom its parent, and more so with growers who persist in giving plenty of 

 top ventilation in the daytime. The best reason one sees for removing 

 ••those old bulbs is the large pots it takes to hold the plants when these old 

 bulbs are lefc on, causing so much more potting material to be used ; and 

 we are all agreed that the less peat used the Better it is, so long as the plant 

 holds firm in its place. Many growers, again, place the plant, in potting, 

 ■so as to bury these old bulbs ; showing by doing so that they believe the 

 plants will derive benefit from them, but often afterwards they find such 

 bulbs dried up, or more often rotten, the latter especially if too much peat is 

 used. With this latter method of potting we sometimes find that these 

 buried bulbs push up a new lead through some wound in the rhizome ; which 

 only shows how the plants will increase themselves. The old grooves are 

 not easily left, but to those who wish for nice looking plants I would say, 

 cut off those leafless, dry looking faggots. Jas. Hamilton. 



