November, 1915.] 



Till'; ORCHID WORLD. 



ORCHID GROWING IN SOUTH 

 AUSTRALIA. 



THERE arc a number of Orchids native 

 to this State to be found chiefly in 

 our " Hills," but they are very difficult 

 to transplant, and no one here has made 

 much headway with their culture under glass, 

 or in the open air. The reason is not far to 

 seek : they are nearly all herbaceous, and if 

 uprooted while in bloom they usually die at 

 once. In these notes, therefore, Orchids such 

 as are met with in European gardens are 

 meant, and even so, there are very few 

 growers to be found in South Australia. 

 Messrs. Newman, of Houghton, have 

 probably done more than others in their 

 cultivation, but some years ago a disastrous 

 and quite unavoidable flood of water swe]it 

 away Ijoth houses and Orchids in one 

 common rum. Previously, Messrs. Newman 

 had grown Cattleyas, Dendrobiums and many 

 more with great skill and success, and the 

 buildmgs were in a picked spot near a 

 " creek," our name for the water courses 

 which in winter may be small torrents, but in 

 summer are sometimes quite dry. Mr. Henry 

 Sewell, of Payneham, at one time owned and 

 catalogued a great number of Cypripediums, 

 Cattleyas, Laelias, Dendrobiums, Renantheras, 

 .■Erides, and Vandas, but his enterprise in 

 importing the jilants was not rewarded by a 

 sufficient demand for them to induce him to 

 renew his supj^lies, and, at the present time, 

 the collection is very small. It was he, 

 however, who first suggested to me that the 

 growing of Orchids was an interesting 

 occupation, and with all its difficulty I have 

 found pleasure and satisfaction in this part of 

 gardening. 



As I have used the word " difficulty," it may 

 be as well to exjolain why Orchid growing is 

 not more po]3ular here. First, there is so 

 little expert knowledge available. In the 

 y\delaide Botanic Gardens there used to be 

 a fine display of the plants 1 have already 

 named, also of Angraecums, Ansellias, 

 Cymbidiums, etc. But popular taste has 

 inclined in recent years in the direction of 

 making these gardens a place of public 



pleasure rather than of botanical study. This 

 obliges all would-be Orchidists to rely u])on 

 books for tlicir information, and nearly all of 

 these are written for luiropcan conchtions 

 which cannot be copied here. 



Compost, for instance, is an initial trouble. 

 One reads of peat, polypodium fibre, osmunda 

 fibre and sphagnum moss. Practically all of 

 these must be imported if used. Heating is 

 another problem. South Australia is not so 

 far blessed with a large deposit of genuine 

 coal, though there are two known deposits of 

 lignite which hardly pay to work. Wood is 

 becoming costly and increasingly difficult to 

 obtain. Then horticultural appliances, such 

 as are advertised in any English garden 

 paper, are " conspicuous by their absence." 

 An engineering firm will, for a i:)ricc, usually 

 high, erect a "boiler" and affix pipes, but 

 they do it from the mechanic's rather than 

 the grower's point of view. Hence, most of 

 us amateurs make, or suiierintend the making 

 of, our apparatus. I am afraid these 

 contrivances would cause a smile in the eyes 



of Mr. , gardener to the Ducliess 



of . 



The last trouble with which we have to 

 contend is our climate. Naturally, one would 

 imagine from a study of the map that we 

 should be able to grow easily such Orchids as 

 are native to similar latitudes, but the air is 

 dry for weeks at a time, the rainfall is not 

 great at any time, and occasionally, as last 

 season, there is a drought so severe that even 

 the public supplies of water are seriously 

 curtailed. W'hen recently reading aliout 

 " damping the stages, floors, etc., so many 

 times a day," I wondered where the writer 

 would get the water from about this district. 

 There is almost no permanent surface water 

 around Adelaide, the excejitions being 

 artificially constructed lakes and dams. 



Now for the advantages which have made 

 me an enthusiast in the fascinating hobby. 

 We never have snowstorms, not a great deal 

 of hail, no prolonged and intense cold, and 

 usually but moderate frosts. Hence fireheat 

 IS very much less frequently needed, and the 

 quantity of fuel, pipes, and fittings is reduced. 

 Ventilation is easier, as there are few days in 



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