14 



OECHIDS. 



Treatment of Plants previously to being taken to a 

 Flower Show, 



It is my practice to move them to a cool dry house or 

 room for a few days. If the plants are growing in the 

 hottest house, I move them to the cooler one. They 

 should not receive any water for two or three days, and 

 should be allowed just enough to keep them slightly moist. 

 "When it is probable that the plants will come into blossom 

 earlier than is wished, the time of flowering may be suc- 

 cessfully retarded by taking them to a cooler part of the 

 house, or even putting them in a greenhouse, keeping 

 them slightly shaded during the brightest part of the day. 

 Dendrobiums are very easy to keep back, if they are wanted 

 to bloom later in the season. Dendrobium nobile, D. 

 jyiilchellum, D. macroijhyllitm, D. densifionm, D. Farmerii, 

 D. Pierardii, these generally bloom during winter, but 

 I have kept them back until June ; and by having a 

 succession of plants you may have the Orchid-house gay 

 with Dendrobiums from January to June. All the Den- 

 drobiums will bear a cool treatment while at rest, and all 

 can be kept for late flowering. The treatment they require 

 in a warm greenhouse is to have but little water, only 

 enough to keep them from shrivelling ; the temperature 

 should not go below 40°, and the bulbs of the plants must 

 be kept dry, or the flower-buds are apt to rot. When the 

 plants are w^anted to flower, move them into the Orchid- 

 house, and keep them shaded from the sun. Phajus 

 Wallichii and grandifoliiis may be kept back in the same 

 way as the Dendrobiums. 



Pemarhs on preparing Orchids for travelling to a 

 Floiver-Shoiv, 



These plants require great care in packing and tying. 



