Page 2 
PENNELD'S ORCHID NEWS 
From The Orchid Jungle 
Published By 
FENNELL ORCHID CO. 
Homestead, Florida 
CULTURAL HINTS 
GIVE ‘EM SUN 
Cattleyas need sun and plenty of it, 
this is particularly so while they are 
in active growth so watch to see that 
they get planty of sunlight during the 
summer months. In nature they grow 
in the upper third of light, sparsely 
leaved trees where there’s an abund- 
ance of tropical sunlight and air. 
If possible in the summer hang your 
plants in trees but place them so that 
they get at least 50% sunlight. ONLY 
the midday sun is dangerous—they 
can take full sun before nine and after 
three. The new growths on your plants 
should be strong, light green, heavy 
and upright. Like this 
BULB SHEATA \ | 
\ \ 
NEW GROWTH SY) 
ER 
Se 
A They should not_be dark green, 
long, thin, and down curving like this 
A If they're like the above sketch give 
them more sun NOW. 
LET ‘EM DRY_OUT FREQUENTLY 
Cattleyas have thick, heavy stems 
and heavy, leathery leaves in which 
they store water. They are used to go- 
ing days and sometimes months with- 
out water. They must dry out between 
waterings and if you keep them wet 
constantly they lose their roots and die. 
GROWING 
INSTRUCTIONS 
YOU CAN GROW ORCHIDS 
No Matter Where You Live 
Simply read and carefully follow 
these instructions: 
1—TEMPERATURE — The tempera- 
ture you keep in your home is fing 
for growing orchids. They like tem- 
peratures between 55° and 85° F. No 
damage is done by occasional drops 
in temperature into the 30’s for short 
periods of time as long as no frost 
settles on the leaves. 
2—SUN—Give your orchid plants all 
the sun you can without burning 
them. During the winter months this 
usually means all the sun they can 
get. In the summer months, light 
shade during the middle of the day is 
advisable, but full early morning sun 
and full late afternoon sun is ideal. If 
you want to, you can hang your plants 
outside under a tree during the warm 
months of the year when the tempera- 
ture is above 50°F. Be sure you pick 
a tree or spot where the plants will 
get at least 50% sunlight. The more 
sun you can give your plants without 
burning them, the stronger the growth 
and the heavier the flowering. 
3—WATER—Orchid plants must dry 
out completely between waterings. 
Once a week with a good, heavy 
watering is usually sufficient. Natur- 
ally, a plant in a small pot will dry out 
more quickly than one in a larger pot. 
To tell if your plant needs water—feel 
the pot. If the pot feels coal the plant 
does not need water. If the pot feels 
warm, or room temperature, the plant 
needs water. When you do water, 
really water the plants heavily—then 
don’t water again until the pots are 
absolutely bone dry. 
To water—Take your plants to the 
sink or laundry tub. Mix one tea- 
spoon of Fenorco Plant Food to a gal- 
lon of tepid water. Pour this mixture 
over the plant. The water will run 
directly through the pot and it will 
take approximately 4 gallon of water 
to give a plant in a 5” pot a heavy 
watering. Always water in the morn- 
ing. To wash out any accumulation of 
plant food that might occur . water 
once monthly with clear water at the 
regular watering time. 
4—FOOD-—All living things require 
food. Orchid plants cannot live in- 
definitely on air and water alone, so 
for strong growth and lovely flowers 
be sure to feed your plants regularly 
with Fenorco Plant Food. This food 
was developed by us for bloom and 
FENNELL’S ORCHID NEWS 
pees RI wero caeas ae 
A C. TRIANAEI var. MARY FENNELL 
A large specimen plant of our finest Catt- 
leya trianaei. We use this plant as a parent. 
strong growth and it can be used on 
all your house plants, such as Philo- 
dendron, African violets, Begonias, 
Gardenias, Anthuriums, Amaryllis, and 
Christmas cactus. In fact, any plant 
you grow. 
5—HUMIDITY—No expensive equip- 
ment is necessary or advisable to pro- 
vide humidity for your orchid plants. 
Any pan large enough to hold your 
plants is all right. Fill the pan with 
tiny stones, gravel, shells, or brightly 
colored aquarium stones. Next fill the 
pan about 14 full of water. Place the 
pan in a sunny window and arrange 
your pots on top of the gravel or 
stones. Be sure the pots sit_above the 
level of the water—never let the pots 
sit in the water. 
6—CLEANLINESS—The easiest way 
to keep a few plants healthy and clean 
is to wipe them down occasionally 
with a wet cloth or sponge and mild 
soap such as Ivory. If you leave a little 
suds on the plants, it won’t hurt them. 
If you have a large collection of plants 
use Fenorco Plant Spray. 
7—AIR—Orchid plants like the same 
kind of atmosphere you do. It makes 
no difference what kind of heating 
system you have, gas, oil, coal, or 
radiant heat. If the air in your house 
is good for you to breathe, your orchid 
plants will like it too. 
Collecting Orchids 
In South America 
(Continued from Page 1) 
me to feed my orchids. Incidentally 
we later imported some C. gigas in 
large, many branched clumps and I 
was not surprised to find small peb- 
bles among some of the inter-lacing 
roots indicating that they doubtless 
came from some such rocky cliff as I 
had seen in the Cauca Valley. 
(Continued on Page 8) 
FENNELL ORCHID COMPANY. HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA 
