be given more shade than blooming-age plants. See 
preceding paragraph for suggestions to prevent small 
seedlings from drying out too rapidly. 
LOCATION 
Your plants should be in a location where they 
will get plenty of subdued light (but not heavy 
shade). If you have a location only where the direct 
rays of the sun will strike, you should shade the 
plants with a piece of curtain net, cheese cloth or 
several thicknesses of mosquito netting. If too much 
shade is provided, blooming is retarded. 
TEMPERATURE 
Your plants should be kept in a room where the 
night temperature does not fall below 50 or 60 de- 
erees. 
OTHER NOTES 
Your plants will come to you potted in osmunda 
fiber. The plants grow on this material. DO NOT 
PUT ANY SOIL AROUND THE ROOTS, even if 
the roots are exposed. Cattleya orchids and other 
epiphytes do not grow in soil. If the roots are grow- 
ing over the side of the pot, that is all right—it’s 
the plant’s natural habit. 
DON’T set the plants in water. NEVER set an 
orchid plant flat in a saucer as is commonly done 
with other house plants. ‘The plant should be set 
ABOVE the surface. A wooden or wire rack will 
give the slight elevation necessary to permit circula- 
tion of air under the pot. 
WHEN TO CUT FLOWERS 
An orchid bud usually opens very slowly. It 
takes about 3 or 4 days for the flowers to appear 
to be fully open. ‘They won’t be—wait another day 
or two before cutting if you want the flowers to last 
well after cutting. 
PESTS 
Fewer pests attack orchids than other plants. 
When growing outside, snails (slugs) or sow (pill) bugs 
may be attracted by the hiding place the pots offer. 
These can be controlled by use of the usual remedies 
for such garden pests. You may notice ants on your 
plants. ‘They are annoying but not harmful to the 
plants. Another pest which your plants may acquire 
in time is scale. It appears first as a bit of tiny 
white fluff and then takes on typical scale appear- 
ance. It appears usually in the axils of the leaves 
and at the points where the bulbs between the 
leaves and the roots connect to the rhizome. Use 
