ORCHIDS. 



563 



pots or baskets, but in no case should a plant 

 be repotted unless it is needed. September and 

 February are favourable times for a general 

 overhauling of the collection. Cattleyas and 

 Lselias, such of them as require it, may be shifted 

 at any time in the summer, good fibry peat 

 and crocks only being used. The Brazilian 

 species should be kept rather dry after repot- 



Fig. 685.— Section through potted Cattleya, showing: 1, crocks; 

 2, sphagnum or coarse fibre ; 3, compost. 



ting until they are seen to be starting new 

 growths ; thus treated they root better if kept 

 in a moist atmosphere after potting. The end 

 of September is a good time for overhauling 

 Odontoglossums, Masdevallias, and other cool- 

 house plants. Pots half -filled with crocks 

 should be used, and for potting material equal 

 parts of fibrous peat and sphagnum, without 

 admixture of sand or anything else. The con- 

 tents of the warm or East Indian house, 

 Aerides, Saccolabiums, Vandas, &c, should be 

 gone through at the end of February, or early 

 in March; those that require to be repotted, if 

 in pots, should have the pots filled two-thirds 

 with clean crocks, the older roots to be placed 

 among the crocks. The potting material should 

 be living sphagnum only. All the species in 

 the warm house, and any of the other epiphytal 

 species in the intermediate house, may be grown 

 in baskets, and in the case of the East Indian 

 species it is doubtful whether this is not the 

 best way to grow them, for their roots require 

 almost as much air as their leaves, and it is not 

 so easy to get air to them in pots as it is in 

 baskets. Equally good specimens have, how- 



ever, been grown in pots as in baskets, so that 

 it becomes more a matter of choice than neces- 

 sity. Small plants which enjoy a position near 

 the roof-glass are best in baskets or pans. An 

 Orchid should never be repotted unless it really 

 requires it, and then, no matter what the season 

 may be, the operation should be performed. 

 Large pots should be avoided, pots relatively 

 small for the size of the plants being suitable, 

 overpotting being a source of much mischief. 

 A good time to repot any Orchid is when it 

 has flowered and is seen to be sending forth 

 new growth, and to be making fresh roots. 

 Those species which flower with the young 

 growth should be repotted after the flowers are 

 over. 



Potting Terrestrial Orchids. — By "terrestrial" is 

 meant those species which grow on the ground, 

 and by " epiphytal " those which grow on trees. 

 These terms, although somewhat arbitrary, have 

 for gardeners a useful significance, for they indi- 

 cate whether the plant obtains its food chiefly 

 from the soil (terrestrial) or from the atmosphere 

 (epiphytal), these latter requiring good holding 

 open material in which to grow. Potting 

 material for terrestrial Orchids is of various 

 combinations. For Calanthe, Phaius, and most 

 of the strong-growing kinds many use with 

 success three-fourths good turfy yellow loam 

 broken up by hand, and one-fourth Orchid 

 peat and silver sand, the pots used being crocked 

 one-third the way up. Where really good loam 

 can be got this is excellent. A useful mixture 

 for most terrestrial Orchids consists of one-third 

 turfy yellow loam broken by hand, one -third 

 brown peat, and one-third sphagnum moss and 

 silver sand. Or a useful and economical mixture 

 may be made of one-half turfy yellow loam, and 

 the other half composed of the best of the old 

 stuff taken from the epiphytal Orchids when 

 they were repotted, with a little sand added. 

 Some cultivators use dried cow-manure in the 

 soil for such plants, but it is better to rely 

 on the application of a little weak liquid 

 manure at the proper time. For some of the 

 stronger species a slight sprinkling of J-inch or 

 J-inch bones, or a thin layer of the same placed 

 over the crocks is good, especially for Cypri- 

 pediums. Terrestrial Orchids should not be 

 raised much above the rim of the pot, as for 

 the epiphytal species. 



The time for repotting terrestrial evergreen 

 Orchids is soon after the flowering is over. 

 These require to be kept moist all the year. 

 Deciduous terrestrial Orchids which lose their 

 leaves, and therefore require a dry period of 



