September 4.1 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
357 
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open; pots to be well drained; more loam may be I 
used as the plants get older. 
Temperature. —This in winter should seldom be below 
40° ; 40° to 45° may be considered the lowest range of 
the thermometer. In summer they will do better in 
cold pits of brick, or turf, or any means that will pro¬ 
tect them a little from the sun’s rays, which act more 
injuriously upon the roots than upon the tops. In an 
open place plunging could be resorted to. 
Insects. —The white scale is their great pest, and must 
be removed by washing, or covering it with gum, &c. 
Callistachys. —The species are chiefly New Hol¬ 
land plants, and of these ovata (egg-shaped-leaved), 
retusa (jagged-ended-leaved), cuneata (wedge-leaved), 
and lanceolata (spear-head-leaved), are nice little shrubs, 
of rather upright habit, growing to the height of from 
two to four feet, and producing beautiful spikes of large 
yellow flowers. Main features of management similar 
to the above; the soil should be rather better than two 
parts peat to one of loam, light, rough, and sandy ; pots 
well drained; plants carefully watered; pruned when 
done flowering; encouraged to grow before taking them 
out of the house, and kept, if possible, in a brick or turf 
pit during the summer, if they cannot well remain in 
an airy part of the greenhouse. Where such conveni¬ 
ences can be got, the latter, namely the turf-pit, is the 
best, as there is less reflection of heat. Forty-five de¬ 
grees must be looked upon as the medium lowest winter 
temperature for these plants. I am not aware that they 
are particularly subject to insects. 
I had intended to have mentioned some of the peculiar 
features in the management of some other yellow, pea- 
blossomed plants, such as Oxylobiums, Patolobiums, 
and other “ lobiums,” but must defer them for the pre¬ 
sent. Those I have mentioned may be considered next 
in hardiness to the Genista and Cytisus, formerly alluded 
to, and the first-mentioned to-day are the easiest grown. 
R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACEiE. 
plants that thrive best in pots —(Continued from 
page 321). 
Phaips Culture. —This fine genus of orchids are all 
terrestrial, that is, they are found in their native habitats 
growing on terrafinna (the ground); and the term ter¬ 
restrial is used technically, to distinguish them from 
such as grow on trees, or on bare rocks, these being 
named epiphytal, growing in the air. It follows, that a 
plant found growing on the ground requires, in artificial 
culture, a soil approximating' to that from which it has 
been brought. The soil, in woody dells, in the Mauri¬ 
tius, China, Nepaul, and other places where they are 
found, is generally of a loamy texture, but the surface 
is composed of the debris of the trees of the forest for j 
generations, consisting chiefly of leaves, twigs, and 
branches in a decaying state. In order to imitate such 
a soil, we have used always for these plants a compost of 
loam and leaf-mould, not too much decayed, and sand 
sufficient to keep it open, with perfect success. 
Drainage is a point of considerable importance in the 
culture of Pliaii. As on account of their rapid large 
growth, they require generally large pots, the drainage 
should be in proportion. Cover the hole or holes at the 
bottom of each pot with one large piece of broken pot 
sherd, or an oyster-shell; prop this up with a small piece 
of pot, thick enough to allow a free passage for the 
superfluous water; then place over them a layer, one 
inch thick, of smaller broken potsherds, and over them 
a layer, lialf-an-inch thick, of the smallest size, without 
any dust amongst them (this should be sifted out with 
a very fine-meshed sieve, and will be useful to mix with 
the compost for dry stove or succulent plants); cover 
these finally with some bog moss, not too thick, and 
then the drainage will be perfect. 
Potting. —The season for this operation depends upon 
the state of the plants. If properly managed with regard 
to the season of rest, they should begin to grow about 
the middle of February, and then is the time to set 
about potting. Take the plant or plants to the potting 
bench, turn the pot upside down, catch the ball with 
one hand, and remove the pot with the other. Give 
the ball a gentle tap on the edge of the bench to loosen 
the soil from amongst the roots, and then dress the 
plant all over; trim off all dead or decaying roots, 
cleanse the pseudo-bulbs from old sheaths, insects, &c.; 
dead or decaying leaves cut off at once, and sponge the 
fresh living ones with tepid water, cleaning off and 
destroying scale, bug, or any other vermin infesting 
them. If it is desired, now is the time to divide the 
plants for increase; one or more of the back or oldest 
pseudo bulbs may be cut off just at the connecting joint, 
these should be potted into small pots, and have no 
water till fresh shoots are made. Should very large 
specimens be desired, these divisions may all be put in 
the same pot together, and allowed to grow together till 
they flower, and thus form one large, fine specimen. 
To return to potting; after the plant is well cleansed 
and divested of all dead and decaying matters, proceed 
to pot it; first, put in the new pot a slight layer of 
earth upon the drainage, then work in the long wiry 
roots equally all round and in the pot, then hold the 
plant in the centre of the pot with one hand, and gra¬ 
dually mix the earth amongst the roots with the other; 
this will take a little time and care to do it well, without 
injuring the roots or thrusting them together in bun¬ 
dles,—the endeavour and aim should be to leave the 
roots equally spread out amongst the new soil. Finish 
by leaving the plants level with the rim of the pot, 
press down the soil at the sides next the rim to hold a 
fair supply of water, and the operation is finished. 
Position after Potting. —The best position is a mildly- 
heated bed of tanner’s bark, either in a pit or in a 
common pine stove. The nearer they arc to the glass, 
so as not actually to touch it, the better. They should 
be well shaded with a canvass shade, that will shelter 
them from the rays of the sun in summer, but remove it 
in winter; tbe leaves are thin, and are easily disfigured 
if exposed during summer to its rays. Give air mode¬ 
rately on all fine days, but not too much at once. 
Heat. —Excepting Phaius grandifolius, they all re¬ 
quire a high temperature when growing, 75° to 85° by 
day, and (55° to 70° by night. In winter, the heat 
should be very moderate, because then the plants are at 
rest. 
Water. —If the plants are plunged in a bark-bed, they 
will not require so much water as they would if grown 
on a platform over the pipes, or on a stage in the centre 
of the house. Water, then, according to the position 
the plants occupy, only take notice that too much 
water at any time is highly injurious, and will cause 
the roots to perish very suddenly. In the resting 
season, scarcely any water will be required, only enough 
to keep the leaves from flagging too much. Some 
lose their leaves entirely once a-year, Phaius albus for 
instance; such will bear scarcely any water when at 
rest. The syringe may be used freely when the plants 
are growing. Allow the water to fall upon the leaves 
like a gentle Scotch mist or drizzling rain; but when 
using it to the underside of the leaves, give a little more 
force to wash off the red spider, should lie have founded 
a colony there. 
The Season of Flowering. — As the flowers of the 
greater part of the genus appear at the same time as 
the new growths, it follows that they will flower in 
the early part of the year, generally about the end of 
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