HARDY ORCHIDS. 
299 
out in spring. \^ r e grow the Bee Orchid successfully in a 
grassy nook at the foot of a rockery. Increased by division 
after flowering. 
Orchis. — A genus of hardy orchidaceous plants of con- 
siderable beauty and interest, and well worth growing for 
their pretty and quaintly marked and shaped flowers. They 
should be in a bed composed of a compost of two parts loam 
and one part of equal proportions of leaf-mould and decayed 
cow manure. Plants procured in pots may be planted in 
spring, but those to be lifted from the pastures should be 
planted when the foliage has nearly decayed, about September. 
As the tubers are generally fairly deep, take care to get well 
below them and to lift a ball of earth with them. Never lift 
wild orchids in flower, as such plants rarely thrive. Give an 
annual mulching of rotten manure in autumn. A sheltered, 
sunny corner is the best position for the bed. The chief kinds 
are : O. foliosa, a native of Madeira, growing 3ft. high, and 
bearing purple or lilac flowers in July; O. latifolia, a native 
species, w'ith purple flowers borne in May, height ift. ; O. laxi- 
flora, a European species, growing 1 to 3ft. high, and bearing 
reddish-purple flowers in May ; O. maculata, a British species, 
with spoted leaves, pale purple or white, and much spotted 
flowers borne in June, height ift. ; O. pyramidalis, a native 
species, with rosy flowers borne in compact spikes in June; 
O. spectabilis, a N. American species, bearing pinkish-purple 
flowers in May ; O. purpurea, green, purple and rose, May ; 
and O. sambucina, yellow or purple, April, Europe. O. 
spectabilis will succeed better in a moist, shady position in peat 
and leaf -mould. Increased by division in September. 
Sera.pis.-~ Hardy terrestrial orchids from the Mediter- 
ranean region, belonging to the Nat. Ord. Orchidaceae. They 
have very curious and interesting flowers, and are well worth 
growing in a collection of hardy orchids by those who appre- 
ciate these plants. The two species worthy of culture are S. 
cordigera and S. lingua. The former has narrow mottled 
leaves, lilac sepals, streaked red, and a purple-brown lip. The 
spike is six-flowered and grows about a foot high. The latter 
has green leaves, a crimson lip, and brownish-purple sepals. 
Both bloom in May. Grow in a well-drained bed of loam, 
peat, and leaf-mould in a sheltered, shady position. Plant in 
spring. In winter cover with a handlight or small frame to 
prevent the soil being made too damp. Increased by division. 
