November, 1917 
23 
It seems wonderful that such masses 
of luxuriant leaves and brilliant flow¬ 
ers grow on mere blocks, or in baskets 
containing little else save moss and 
broken charcoal; but remember the 
collector’s stories of how epiphytal 
orchids are found growing on rocks 
and branches of trees, deriving sus¬ 
tenance entirely from the air and from 
decaying leaves, which, in falling, are 
caught between their bulbs. All this 
indicates a light potting material. In 
America we use for potting material 
sphagnum moss, chopped fern-root, 
leaf-mold and fibrous loam (for ter¬ 
restrial orchids) instead of the peat 
lumps favored in England. These 
materials, with clean-washed broken 
crocks, or broken charcoal, beneath 
them, allow the free circulation of 
moist air through the potting material 
that orchids so delight in. Fresh, 
green, clean-picked sphagnum is sweet 
and orchid roots take to it kindly. As 
soon as it dies and begins to decay its 
acidity is repulsive to their roots. 
They either avoid it or die in it. So, 
in repotting orchids, every tiny frag¬ 
ment of the old dead moss clinging to 
the roots is carefully pulled away. 
How to Repot 
Epiphytal orchids are repotted just 
as they begin to form new growths. 
Newly established plants often need 
repotting at the end of the first year, 
but if they are doing well and the potting 
material seems good, do not disturb them. 
There is no reason to disturb a thrifty plant 
growing in good material except to give more 
room to the roots; the potting material is fre¬ 
quently good for two or three years. But 
should it seem dead and sodden, with roots 
decaying, quick repotting is in order. Cut 
away all dead roots even if this takes all there 
are, put the healthy remainder of the plant in 
as small a pot as possible, suspend it from the 
roof and spray every 
bright day. The atmos¬ 
phere above the benches 
is like a hospital for 
sick orchids of some 
sorts, notably the popu¬ 
lar cattleyas, and their 
recovery under such 
conditions is a revela¬ 
tion. The great point 
is to take them in hand 
in time. 
It is a good plan to 
water thoroughly any 
plant that needs repot¬ 
ting the day beforehand, 
so that its roots will slip 
One of the forms of Cattleya labiata. The species shows 
great color variation, but is generally characterized by a 
violet-purple tinge in the lip or tube 
more easily from the old pot. The new ma¬ 
terial and pot, pan or basket, should be placed 
ready, all being perfectly clean. Say that it 
is a cattleya you are repotting. The best ma¬ 
terial is wild fern-root, of the osmundas pref¬ 
erably. It must be chopped up roughly and 
every particle of fine soil which may be in it 
shaken or washed out. 
Good drainage is most important, so if you 
are using an ordinary instead of a perforated 
orchid pot, with chisel or hatchet corner chop 
the hole in the bottom to about twice 
its original size. Fill in enough per¬ 
fectly clean bits of broken pottery, 
charcoal, or soft, broken brick to use 
up two-thirds of the pot. Turn the 
cattleya out upon your hand and pull 
or wash away from the roots as much 
of the old material in which it grew 
as you can without injuring them. 
Then place the roots upon the drain¬ 
age in the new pot in such a way that 
the rootstock shall be 1" or so above 
the rim. Pack clean fern-root care¬ 
fully but quite firmly over the roots 
and trim it evenly and neatly around 
the pot edges with shears; then give 
your plant water. If the work is well 
done the plant will stand firm and 
erect, every eye and all the rootstock 
above the potting material, and water 
will run through the pot almost as 
rapidly as through a sieve. 
Odontoglossums, lycastes, and other 
favorites are potted in much the same 
way. For cypripediums and other ter¬ 
restrial orchids, with strong roots, one- 
third of the potting material may be 
of fibrous loam and only one-third of 
the pot is needed for drainage. If 
sphagnum is mixed with the fern-root 
it must be washed clean and all for¬ 
eign substances picked from it. There 
is a growing prejudice against sphag¬ 
num as a potting material. Snails 
infest it and they, also, are fond of 
orchids. To keep it alive more water 
is needed than is good for orchids; once it dies 
it must be removed. 
Orchid Blocks and Watering 
Blocks seem to be used less and less in 
orchid culture. Orchid cribs of teakwood, or 
perforated orchid pots and pans hold moisture 
better, so that syringing is not needed so often. 
In the hands of the unskillful a gentle orchid 
bound with moss and copper wire to a rough 
block soon takes on a Promethean aspect. 
Those who are apt to 
kill their plants with 
kindness in the line of 
over-watering favor the 
block system. It is in¬ 
teresting, too, to see the 
thick, white roots of a 
vigorous epiphyte for¬ 
aging in the air. Vari¬ 
ety in plant holders is 
as spicy as in other 
things. It was an Eng¬ 
lishman who, loving 
orchids, bewailed the 
stewpans he must view 
them in! 
(Continued on p. 82) 
™ To the left is 
the so-called 
seahorse orchid, 
an odd type 
In many cases the blossoms seem to 
personify the weird grotesqueness of 
the tropics from which they come. The 
flowers above are green and black 
Laliocattleya 
Dominiana is 
in shades of 
purple 
