1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



89 



ORCHIDS FOR THE PARLOR. 



In the early days of their culture, the nat- 

 ure of Orchids was little understood. As 

 they generally are natives of tropical 

 climates, it was supposed that they required 

 great heat, and as the epiphytal species 

 grow upon trees, the houses in which they 

 were grown were made vapor baths, so as to 

 afford the requisite moisture. The fact was 

 overlooked that a plant growing in the 

 tropics is not necessarily a heat-loving plant , 

 the temperature at which it thrives being- 

 regulated in its native state by the altitude 

 of its location, and none seemed to remem- 

 ber that the temperature of a United States 

 summer is far hotter than the weather under 

 the equator. No one knew — a fact too little 

 understood by Orchid 

 growers even now — that 

 Orchids never grow in 

 close, damp, pestilen- 

 tial localities, but al- 

 ways in free, fresh air. 



The result of all 

 these errors was that 

 a large proportion of 

 the Orchids imported 

 perished. Although ex- 

 perience and experi- 

 ment brought knowl- 

 edge, it is within a few 

 years only that ' ' cool 

 culture " has been rec- 

 ognized as a principle 

 of Orchid growing ; and 

 even now, in spite of 

 the magnificent results 

 which have been at- 

 tained, this system is 

 yet in its infancy. 



Outdoor culture in 

 summer has been found 

 to agree perfectly with 

 most Mexican and Cen- 

 tral American Orchids, 

 and any one who has 

 a grape arbor where 

 there is free air can 

 have all summer a 

 splendid show of bloom. 

 One of our oldest and 

 most learned orehiolo- 

 gists grows all his La- 

 lias, Stanliopcas, Lycas- 

 tes, Oncidiums, Cliysis, 

 Cattlcijas, and many 

 others out of doors 

 from June to October, 

 and the show of bloom 

 and vigor of growth is 

 astonishing. 



The winter culture is 

 simply to grow the plants with very little 

 water and heat in a cool greenhouse or con- 

 servatory. Let them rest as much as possi- 

 ble. All we have mentioned could be kept 

 in a small conservatory built off a parlor. 

 We are not sanguine enough to hope that 

 Phaltenopscs, Yandas, SaccolaMums, and 

 other beautiful East Indian Orchids can 

 ever be grown out of doors or in the parlor, 

 but there are some of the Indian Lady's- 

 slippers which are very hardy, and which 

 are good parlor plants. The oldest and 

 bes1 of these for this culture is Cypripedium 

 insigne. The foliage is ornamental, and the 

 flower is very showy and lasts many weeks 

 in beauty. C. venustum is of lower growth, 

 and though the flowers are not as hand- 



some, the foliage is beautifully marbled. 

 These two may be grown in a sunny win- 

 dow, requiring no more care than a Ger- 

 anium, and doubtless there are others of 

 the large Lady's-slipper family which would 

 succeed under the same culture. Lycaste 

 SMnneri is a very beautiful plant, with 

 great white and rosy flowers, which we have 

 grown beautifully in the house, and the 

 whole Lycaste and Maxillaria family are 

 cool Orchids of easiest culture, many of 

 which, by experiment, would doubtless be 

 found to succeed under the same culture. 

 The immense family of Epidendrum are 

 mostly cool Orchids, and many would grow 

 and bloom in the parlor. The first Orchid 



lad was 



BOUQUET OF 



from Cuba, and we grew it for years, tied 

 on to a branch in a southerly window, where 

 it bloomed every spring. 



We do not, however, advise house culture 

 upon blocks, for the air of rooms is usually 

 too dry. Let the plants be potted in sphag- 

 num, peat, and broken pots, and, while care 

 must be taken not to over-water, not allowed 

 to dry up. Oncidiums, which are among the 

 most showy of Orchids, do not require much 

 heat. Indeed, some species grow where, at 

 seasons, frost is found on the leaves, and 

 from the hardier species, doubtless, some 

 could be found which would produce their 

 bright flowers under house culture. Odon- 

 toglossums and Masdevallias are all cool Or- 

 chids; indeed, the trouble cultivators now 



find is that our summers are too hot for 

 them. Why should not some adapt them- 

 selves to the parlor ? Orchids are now very 

 cheap ; ten dollars will buy more than one 

 hundred could have bought a few years ago. 

 Any one can buy Orchids, and not poor 

 kinds, but very choice species, with little 

 expenditure. 



Who will be the first to grow Orchids in 

 the parlor, and, by repeating his experience, 

 to teach others how to do likewise ? 



E. S. Rand, Jr. 



GLOXINIAS. 



The Gloxinia is a native of South America, 

 so named in honor of the botanist Gloxin. 

 It is one of our handsomest summer-flower- 

 ing plants, attractive 

 and interesting from 

 the moment it starts 

 into growth. They may 

 be as easily wintered 

 as any of our summer 

 bulbs or tubers, requir- 

 ing but little attention, 

 and may be propagated 

 by division of tubers, 

 slips, leaves, or seeds. 

 Inexperienced hands 

 should not attempt 

 division, but rather 

 make slips of the extra 

 growth, taking them 

 off when about three 

 inches high. These 

 should be potted in 

 sandy soil, and kept 

 ?V > but moderately moist 



until growth com- 

 mences, when they 

 have to be transferred 

 into larger pots with 

 good, rich soil. Turfy 

 loam, leaf mold, and 

 a little well-rotted old 

 hotbed manure make a 

 good compost, but di- 

 rectly around the tu- 

 ber should be a hand- 

 ful of very sandy soil. 

 -v^N The seeds are very 



>m small, and to make 



them grow requires 

 great care. In a shal- 

 low pan, with fine, well 

 prepared soil, smooth- 

 ed down carefully, 

 scatter the little seeds 

 on the top and cover 

 lightly with finely pul- 

 verized moss, which 

 retains the moisture 

 and hastens germination. If allowed to be- 

 come very dry, or if kept too wet, the vitality 

 of the seed is injured. Unless the plants come 

 up too crowded they may be left in the pan 

 till the following spring, when they have to 

 be potted off singly. 



Gloxinias succeed best in partially shaded 

 places, protected from rains and strong 

 wind, and in watering care must be taken 

 not to wet the leaves. While growing, the 

 plants should be kept in warm, moist atmos- 

 phere, removing them to a cooler place as 

 soon as the flowers appear. After the 

 blossoming season they are gradually dried 

 off and kept dormant until the following 

 season. When growing, they require a tem- 

 perature of not less than 70°. Amateur. 



