DN EVERYONE who grows plants, at one 
time or another gets the urge to grow an 
orchid or two, and if they knew how easy it is to 
attain success in orchid culture there certainly would 
be many more persons growing the rather rugged 
plants both for pleasure (not any hobby holds as 
much interest) and for profit, since the initial cost 
is nearly the only expense. Some bloom twice a year 
and some of the florist’s type, the Cattleya ( pronounced 
“Catt'la-ya”), produce as many as seven flowers at one 
time. The plants, after attaining blooming size, with 
proper care will bloom at least once a year for many, 
many years and will increase in size as they grow 
older. Plants can be purchased as seedlings for as 
low as @ each for plants nearly two years old. You 
can also purchase divisions of large plants and, of 
course, a large plant or so for occasional flowers to 
keep the interest up. Upkeep is small, since the plants 
require water only about once a week and the material 
in which they are potted, usually osmunda fern root 
fibre, must be renewed only about every two years. 
The initial cost would be for a glass house of some 
sort with a heating arrangement, and some plants. 
The most generally accepted heat is gas which is 
thermostatically controlled and which is used to heat 
water piped under the benches in the greenhouse. 
All the orchids in our display will stand a minimum 
of about 50°, usually 55° at night. The temperature 
often rises to 100° in summer, when the heater can 
be turned off entirely. We usually turn the heater on 
about October 1st and turn it off in April or May. 
Some method of shading should be used so that 
the plants will receive from 40% to 60% of full 
sunlight. This can be attained by using roller blinds, 
lath or by white-washing the glass or painting the 
glass with a very light coat of a mixture of white 
lead and kerosene. | 
- The glass house should be provided with ventilation 
of some kind so that the plants are given fresh air 
but are not in a draft. This condition can be arrived 
at by placing a ventilator in the top of the house on 
the down-wind side or away from the prevailing wind. 
The humidity necessary for successful orchid grow- 
ing is usually arrived at by watering the plants when 
they dry out. Of course, this watering period would 
vary between localities on the coast where less water- 
ing is necessary. Because of the more arid condition 
in the inland areas, water will have to be given 
more often. 
Automatic controls can be installed to raise and 
lower the ventilators and to control the heater and 
fan, where it is necessary to install one for cooling 
the house. © 
The best way to learn about culture is by visiting a 
commercial grower. There you will pick up more in 
a short while than by reading all the books on culture, 
