August  28,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
193 
green  habit,  and  it  is  wise  to  let  them  have  their  own  wAy  in 
this  respect.  None  of  them  like  a  great  body  of  compost,  the 
roots  preferring  to  cling  to  the  rods  of  a  basket,  or  a  rough 
cork  block  rather  than  lie  embedded  under  inches  of  peat  and 
moss.  All  like  abundant  atmospheric  moisture,  and  the  species 
must  be  allotted  their  proper  temperature  as  will  be  noted 
below,  while  thrips,  their  greatest  insect  enemy,  must  be  rigidly 
kept  down. — H.  R.  R. 
Stanhopea  Amesiana. 
Hybrid  Phaius  in  Belgian  Leaf  Mould. 
Dendrobiums : 
Their  Growth  and  Culture. 
Stanhopeas  as  named  hereunder,  will  flourish  if  kept  well  up 
to  the  glass  in  a  warm  house  in  the  summer,  and  they  should 
be  liberally  watered  both  at  the  roots  and  on  the  foliage  while 
growing.  In  the  winter  they  may  be  removed  to  cooler  and 
dryer  quarters,  which  will  rest  the  plants  and  tend  to  keep 
insects  in  check.  The  species  most  generally  grown  are  S.e bur- 
ilea,  Bucephalus,  insignis,  oculata,  tigrina,  Lowi,  and  YYardi. 
All  of  these,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  named,  have  flowers 
of  various  shades  of  yellow  more  or  less  spotted  oi  blotched 
with  purple  or  crimson,  while  the  flowers  of  S.  eburnea  are 
wholly  of  pure  white.  The  newer 
variety  of  S.  Loud  named  Amesiana, 
and  which  we  illustrate,  was  first 
exhibited  by  Hugh  Low  and  Co.,  of 
Bush  Hill  Park,  Middlesex,  in  1893. 
It  is  a  native  of  Colombia  (S. 
America),  and  flowers  in  summer. 
The  blossoms  are  deliciously  fra¬ 
grant,  porcelain  white,  the  inside 
of  the  hypochil  suffused  with  rose.” 
Much  has  been  written  of  leaf  mould  culture  for  all  kinds  of 
Orchids.  The  photo  sent  is  one  of  our  hybrid  Phaius,  writes 
A.  Dimmock  in  “  American  Gardening,”  of  which  we  now  have 
some  thousands.  The  plant  is  evidently  happy  and  the  roots 
in  perfect  health.  The  fresh  green  moss  and  the  robust  foliage 
demonstrate  that  the  compost  is  right.  Please  note  the 
decided  improvement  in  this  season’s  over  the  older  growth. 
The  plants  were  formerly  grown  in  loam  and  peat  :  the  present 
growth  is  the  result  of  changing  the  compost.  Many  of  the 
( Continued  from  2)a(le  169.) 
The  growths  push  in  spring,  and 
from  then,  onwards,  must  be 
encouraged.  In  autumn  they  must 
be  thoroughly  exposed  to  sun,  air 
and  light,  while  in  winter  a  com¬ 
plete  rest  is  necessary,  the  plants 
being  kept  almost  absolutely  dry  at 
the  roots — only  sufficient  moisture 
being  given  to  prevent  shrivelling — 
and  ini  a  cool  airy  and  compara¬ 
tively  dry  house.  They  should 
remain  here  until  the  flower  buds 
show  naturally  unless  wanted  early 
in  flower,  when  they  may  be  given 
a  little  extra  warmth,  but  without 
undue  moisture.  Kept  thus  to  an 
annual  cycle  of  growth  and  rest, 
they  will  usually  be  satisfactory  for 
a  number  of  years,  except  in  the 
case  of  a  few  species  difficult  to 
cultivate,  which  will  be  noticed  in 
due  course. 
The  evergreen  species  are  vei’y 
similar  in  their  requirements,  but 
like  a  more  regular  temperature 
winter  and  summer,  slightly  more 
room  in  the  pots,  and  sufficient 
moisture  to  keep  the  foliage  in  good 
order  in  winter.  If  room  is  short 
in  the  East  Indian  or  Dendrobiuni 
house,  these  may  be  easily  accom¬ 
modated  in  the  Cattleya  house,  or 
at  least  the  majority  of  them. 
The  black  and  mixed  group  are 
usually  found  to'  be  more  difficult  to 
grow  for  any  length  of  time.  For 
the  first  year  or  two  after  importa¬ 
tion  they  thrive  well  enough,  but 
usually  after  this  they  begin  to  go 
back,  and  when  once  this  backward 
tendency  has  set  in,  nothing  will 
stop  it.  It  is  true  there  are  in¬ 
stances  where  these  plants  have  gone  on  for  many  years  and 
increased  in  vigour  rather  than  declined,  but  they  are  in  the 
minority,  and  I  think  I  should  be  well  within  the  mark  in  say¬ 
ing  that  out  of  a  hundred  plants  imported,  less  than  ten  of 
them  live  ten  years  in  this  country. 
Doubtless  it  is  in  the  atmospheric  treatment  we  are  at  fault 
with  this  section.  Heat  and  moisture,  light  and  air  we  can 
give  them,  but  under  a  glass  roof  we  cannot  supply  the  ever- 
changing  atmosphere  of  their  native  habitat,  or  discover  what 
is  the  necessary  constituent  for  their  welfare.  In  a  wild  state 
a  good  many  of  these  are  doubtless  deciduous,  but  many  of 
them  when  introduced  to  cultivation  take  on  almost  an  ever¬ 
Stanhopea  Lowi,  var.  Amesiana. 
plants  cannot  be  removed  for  repotting  without  destroying  the 
present  pot  to  save  the  roots. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  Phaius  very  easy  to  cultivate, 
and  one  occasionally  meets  with  vigorous  plants,  but  in  this 
instance  such  difficult  growing  subjects  as  P.  Humbolti  and 
P.  tuberculosus  have  been  used  for  hybridising,  and  the  progeny 
orew  very  slowly  until  all  were  placed  in  leaf  mould.  I  hope  to 
send  you  shortly  a  photo  of  a  hybrid  Cattleya  rooting  in  a 
similar  way.  All  our  Cattleya  and  Lselia  hybrids — of  winch  we 
have  eighteen  houses  in  St.  Albans,  England,  and  Bulges, 
Belgium — are  now  grown  in  leaf  mould,  and  are  the  admiration 
of  all  who  see  them. 
