170 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 30, 1883. 
could meet very well, though they read disagreeably and 
raise doubts—make it difficult for a country gardener, who 
knows nothing of the inner workings of any of the London 
gardening societies, to make up his mind whether to enter 
this Society, which from its name ought to be his best friend, 
and that at a time when he may need friends the most. 
Will you come to my assistance by publishing this note ? as 
it may perhaps elicit a reply that will encourage other 
country gardeners to put their sayings into the Society.—P. 
[We readily publish this letter, and commend it to the 
notice of the Secretary of the Institution in question as the 
person best qualified to give an authoritative and explicit 
reply.] 
DENDROBIUM NOBILE. 
Much lias been written about Orchids of late years, and 
about none more than Dendrobium nobile. When thoroughly 
well done no Dendrobe is more beautiful, not even D. Wardi- 
anum, although for long many persisted in believing the latter 
to be the better of the two. If it did come to a question of 
having only one 1 certainly should prefer D. nobile. The lovely 
shading of claret that tips the segments of the perianth is want¬ 
ing in i). Wardianum. In size, too, when well grown it is not 
behind the latter. 
That question of growing it well has something mysterious 
in it apparently. First-rate Orchid-growers fail with it, or only 
partially succeed. Others, again, not claiming to have anything 
more than a partial acquaintance with Orchids in general, their 
knowledge practically being confined to a few dozen species 
gi'own for the value of their bloom for cut flowers, frequently 
find it easier grown than Potatoes or even Cabbages. Under 
certain conditions it grows and multiplies exceedingly, under 
other conditions it dwindles and disappears. 
Once I bought a few plants at a sale. A few months later 
they flowered. Some of the b’ooms were submitted to a well- 
known connoisseur and it was pronounced a poor variety. 
Two years later blooms were submitted to the same gentleman 
from the same plants : these were pronounced good, and the 
grower was advised to make away with the first lot. Yet one 
year more and other blooms were submitted. These caused 
raptures of delight. The possessor was assured he bad the 
finest nobile for many a mile, and an offer was made to ex¬ 
change a piece of D. Ainswortliii, then even dearer than now, 
for one! The same thing happened with Lycaste Skinneri, 
and, doubtless, many readers will recall how Odontoglossum 
Alexandra) improves as the plants strengthen. The only thing 
that caused the metamorphosis in the D. nobile was that when 
obtained they were leafless, almost lifeless ; at the end of three 
years they were strong and flourishing. So much for varieties. 
Rather than attempt to set up old half-dead plants with 
impaired constitution, or even to establish imported pieces, if 
immediate blooms were not an object I should greatly prefer 
the small growths that issue in spring from old flowering shoots. 
My first attempt at Orchid-growing was with one such, and 
as exceptional success followed the attempt the method of cul¬ 
tivation will be detailed. Considerable experience has been 
gained since then both in the way of succeeding and also of 
failing. The very fact that I “succeeded” in both ma y, per¬ 
haps, be not without use, for as different results followed different 
ways of treatment it points out what course to avoid as well as 
what course to follow. 
The piece in question, about 4 inches long and about as thick 
as an ordinary cedar pencil, was procured in spring. Four 
years later that small bit had developed into a plant with 
between twenty and thirty leading growths as thick as one’s 
thumb, and from 2 to 3 feet long. It was placed in the 
smallest sized pot among fresh charcoal and fresh sphagnum 
only. It was kept moist, and placed in an ordinary plant stove. 
It broke double, and the growths were twice as long at least as 
the first. The usual thing to do when growths of D. nobile are 
made is to first ripen them off by keeping them rather dry, 
then resting. In this case neither was done, and the conse¬ 
quence was the new pseudo-bulbs broke double before the first 
were full grown. When this happens it is supposed that the 
second growth must needs be weakly. With many Orchids, 
especially with Laelias and Cattleyas, as well as with some 
Dendrobiums, this is the case, but we never found it so with 
D. nobile unless an unsuccessful attempt at “ripening” by 
withholding water had been practised. The four growths in 
question were twice as strong as their predecessors, and all 
were covered with thick green leaves, while the pot was filled 
with healthy roots. By the succeeding spring each new stem 
bi'oke double, and the plant was shifted into a 5-incli pot, the 
same compost, fresh sphagnum and charcoal only, being used. 
No attempt w T as ever made at what was called ripening and 
resting, with the result of a huge plant in the time we have 
stated, with numerous small ones on the way. 
But, up till then, no flower had been produced. Instead of 
one crop of pseudo-bulbs and one crop of towers, there had been 
a double crop of pseudo-bulbs of increasing strength annually. 
But Orchids are grown for their flowers, and ripening is neces¬ 
sary to secure these. The usual way to succeed in this is secure 
a rest for the plants. This often occurs through w T eakness, as 
in the case with a very la ge majority of plants, whether through 
their being in a l-ootless condition, the result of improper soil, 
and often of improper watering, or by the withholding of water 
at a certain stage. In all such cases there is shrivelling, more or 
less, and when that occurs strong plants and flowers in anything 
like their proper character are an impossibility. 
The way I adopted of ripening the large plant in question 
■was to move it in September to a Melon pit and to expose 
it to the full sun. Water was not withheld, but only enough 
was given to keep every leaf and growth plump and fresh. 
Because of shady conditions under which the plant had been 
previously grown a few of the youngest leaves were scorched 
at their apex, but not to an extent calculated to be markedly 
injurious. The great majority remained fresh, only taking in a 
bronzy green and gaining in substance. Despite the very dry 
air and clear sunshine to which it was exposed it broke afresh, 
such was its vigour. Knowing that if the new growths were 
allowed to develope they would probably be weakly under such 
conditions, and that probably there w T ould still be no flowers, 
every one was i inched when 2 or 3 inches long. The stump 
healed and remained fresh, while the buds plumped up so 
strongly at their base that it was feared they would start aga n. 
They did not, possibly because of the now low temperature of 
the house in which they were grown. In the February following 
the plants flowered. A few on the recently formed shoots 
appeared, but the older shoots were perfectly covered. After 
flowering the plants broke from the pinched shoots strongly, 
and made up shoots fully equal to the strongest. Again it was 
ripened as before, and this time no attempt was made to start 
again. The flowering habit was now induced. 
All this appears very simple, yet after succeeding with dozens 
of such qdants and in the same manner, with appliances of what 
w T ould be pronounced of an inferior kind—only a small stove to 
grow Melons, raise Fines, and force flowering pflants, and a 
smaller Melon pit—yet with a couple of good Orchid houses, a 
warm and a cool, I failed and did much mischief to good plants. 
But both experiences are valuable, the failure most so, especially 
as I came to understand what was wrong. How the mischief 
happened, and how I determined its cause, would be a long 
story. Lately I have been visiting a good number of gardens, 
and have observed where and how failure occurs, and coupling 
my experience and observation, it may be better, rather than 
write any more histories, to point out what conditions are oest 
and what worst in the culture of Dendrobium nobile. The 
history already given will best explain how to produce a lot of 
fine healthy plants; the remarks to follow, how to avoid spoiling 
them. 
In the first place Dendrobium nobile is almost always grown 
too far from the glass and too shady, whereas the plants should 
be kept as near the glass as possible, and the shading should be 
thin and only put on during the hottest part of the day. The 
sun before ten and after four on a house facing south should 
not be kept off at all. The air should be warm, but not close, 
moist, and motionless, as is too often the case. These conditions 
bring on damping and destruction. By August no shading 
should be given at all, oi only for an hour at mid-day. By October 
the plants should be in a cool place, and should remain there till 
wanted for flower. 
The root conditions are also of importance. The first is to 
keep the plants in comparatively small pots. A quantity of 
material not crowded with roots very soon gets unhealthy and 
contaminates the whole mass, then the roots fail to thrive. I 
have never found anything so good as fresh sphagnum and fresh 
charcoal, but they must be fi’esh, otherwise the fibre of peat 
and clean new potsherds are the next best. If proper material 
and small pots are used there is no need for half filling the pots 
with crocks as is usual. Better have the pots who’ly full of 
roots, as when yearly potting is necessary to dispose of inert 
potting material the plants will certainly be in poor health and 
the flowers puny. 
The pseudo-bulbs should never on any account be embedded 
in the slightest degree. This almost unive sal practice among 
