August  6,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
119 
Cypripedium  leucorrhodum. 
This  is  one  of  the  many  hybrids  of  Messrs.  James  Veitch  and 
Sons,  of  Chelsea.  It  first  flowered  in  1885,  but  the  cross  had 
been  effected  some  ten  years  before,  between  C.  longifolium 
Hartwegi  (Roezl)  and  C.  Schlimi  albiflorum.  It  is  thus  described 
in  Messrs.  Veitch's  “  Manual  of  Orchidaceous  Plants  ”  ;  Upper 
sepal  white  tinted  with  pale  rose  in  the  ba.sal  area;  lower  sepal 
wholly  white ;  petals  spreading,  white  at  the  base  and  on  each 
side  of  the  median  vein,  pale  rose  at  the  margins  and  apex  ;  lip 
pale  rose  pink,  suffused  with  pink,  the  infolded  lobes  ivory  white. 
Staminode  ivory  white  fringed  with  purple  hairs  at  the  back. 
Tbe  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Vanda  Sanderiana  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  single 
stemmed  distichous  leaved  section  of  Orchids,  and  it  is  really 
much  more  easily  grown  than  it  appears,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  tyro  in  the  art  should  not  take  up  its  culture.  Where 
many  growers  have  gone  wrong  with  it  in  the  past  is  in  keeping 
it  constantly  in  sweltering  heat  and  moisture,  and  not  paying 
proper  attention  to  consolidating  the  tissues  in  autumn  and 
resting  it  in  winter. 
Rest,  as  applied  to  Orchids,  is  an  elastic  term.  A 
PHalsenopsis  re.sts  in  a  temiierature  and  atmo.sphere  that  would 
keep  tropical  Dendrobiums  in  constant  growth,  while  the  latter, 
if  properly  rested,  are  treated  in  a  manner  that  would  be  fatal 
to  the  former.  Vanda  Sanderiana  should  be  placed  during  winter 
in  a  temperature  similar  to  that  of  the  Cattlej'a  house,  and  should 
be  prepared  for  this  lowering  of  the  temperature  by  careful 
treatment  now.  Coming  as  it  does  from  one  or  more  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  sun  heat  is  absolutely  necessary  to  its  well 
being,  and  every  ray  of  light  should  be  admitted  to  it,  short 
only  of  scorching  the  foliage.  Being  less  .sensitive  than 
Phaleenopsis  this  can  easily  be  arranged,  and  the  foliage  will 
.soon  take  on  that  hard,  leathery  texture,  and  feel  that  augurs 
well  for  continued  health  and  free  flowering. 
The  roots  will  need' very  frequent  moistening  if  they  are,  as 
they  always  ought  to  be,  growing  close  together  in  smallish 
ba.skets  or  other  receptacles.  Like  V.  cserulea,  it  never  appears 
to  be  so  happy  as  when  its  roots  are  fighting  for  a  place,  growing 
over  and  over  each  other,  and  through  the  rods  of  the  basket  to 
the  congenial  air  of  the  Orchid  house.  Growers  who  are  not 
happy  without  pulling  the  roots  of  their  Orchids  about  continually 
should  keep  this  fact  in  mind. 
The  showy  Moth  Dendrobium,  D.  Phalaenopsis,  is  now  growing 
very  strong,  and  if  it  is  to  be  a  success  must  be  rushed  on,  so  to 
speak,  to  its  flowering.  Right  up  to  the  glass  in  a  light  house 
with  a  tropical  temperature  is  its  place,  and  the  colour  of  the 
blossoms  will  be  finer,  and  the  spikes  stronger  in  consequence. 
Its  companions  in  position  and  treatment,  such  as  D.  bigibbum, 
D.  streblooeras,  D.  Goldiei,  D.  superbiens,  D.  Johnsoni,  or 
Macfarlanei,  and  others  from  Australasia,  form  a  very  fine  group, 
flowering  after  the  last  of  the  ordinary  members  of  the  genus 
are  pa.st.  All  should  grow  a  few  of  them,  for  there  is  nothing 
so  showy  and  yet  refined  in  the  gireat  Orchid  family  at  the  com¬ 
paratively  dull  period  when  they  flower. — H.  R.  R. 
Cactus  Dahlias. 
Dahlias  should  now  be  growing  rajoidly  and  wdll  need  a 
good  deal  of  time  spent  in  thinning  and  tying.  Where  pos¬ 
sible  a  good  coat  of  rough  stable  manure  should  be  spread 
over  the  entire  ground.  In  doing  this,  shake  out  the  .short 
and  place  it  round  near  the  plants,  and  over  this  spread  the 
rough,  to  form  a  sort  of  barrier  to  the  birds,  wdiich  delight 
in  scratching  it  in  every  direction  but  wdiere  it  ought  to  be. 
Where  fine  blooms  ai’e  wanted  the  plants  will  require  feed¬ 
ing  if  at  all  dry  at  the  root,  and  this  should  be  done  in  a 
thorough  manner.  Sheep,  horse,  cow  or  chicken  manure 
are  all  good  things  for  the  Dahlia.  A  tub  holding  about 
forty  gallons  of  w'ater  should  be  filled,  a  good  mixture  made, 
and  not  less  than  two  gallons  given  to  each  plant  at  one 
time.  It  is  useless  to  give  a  little  at  a  time,  as  it  does  not 
soak  down  to  the  roots,  but  if  the  above  quantity  is  given, 
the  ground  is  w’ell  moistened  underneath  where  the  root 
fibres  are  at  work.  This  should  be  repeated  as  often  as  dry, 
and  usually  in  ordinary  dry  weather  twice  a  -week  wdll  be 
sufficient. 
All  -weakly  growth  must  be  cut  out,  especially  that  which 
runs  up  spindly  in  the  centre  of  the  plants,  and  a  few,  but 
not  many,  of  the  large  leaves  cut  out  as  well.  The  amount 
■wdiich  should  be  removed  from  each  plant  of  course  varies 
very  considerably  with  the  different  varieties,  some  of  spare 
upright  growth  needing  hardly  any,  ■while  another  of  a  bushy 
nature  will  want  to  be  thinned  continually  if  the  finest 
blooms  are  looked  for.  Strong,  young  growth  fx’om  the  bot¬ 
tom  parts  of  the  plant  should  be  carefully  tied  up,  as  fine 
blooms  usually  come  from  them  after  the  first  and  finest 
flowers  on  the  main  wood  are  over.  Disbudding  must  be 
practised  more  or  less.  Some  of  the  enthusiastic  ama¬ 
teurs  _  now  grow  Cactus  Dahlias  on  almost  the  same 
principle  as  a  Chrysanthemum  for  lax’ge  flowers  ;  that  is, 
when  they  get  the  buds  fairly  showing  on  the  main  stems. 
They  clear  off  everything  in  the  way  of  shoots  right  down  to 
the  bottom.  This,  of  course,  is  wrong,  as  the  plants,  apart 
from  not  producing  a  tithe  of  the  flowers  they  ought,  often 
become  stagnant  and  do  not  throw  half  such  fine  blooms  as 
plants  which  are  in  a  healthy  growing  state  with  enough 
growth  to  stimulate  root  action,  but  not  enough  to  over- 
stx’ain  the  plants.  As  a  rule  the  two  side  buds,  and  two  to 
three  joints  down,  is  enough  to  disbud  a  stem,  and  then  the 
lower  shoots  should  come  away  strong  and  flower  well  later, 
although  they  will  need  a  few  of  them  cut  out,  or  the  whole 
plant  will  be  too  thick. 
It  is  very  necessaxw  to  tie  the  plants  continually,  as  being 
so  succulexit  and  growing  rapidly  they  have  a  habit  of  being 
in  a  loose  state  whenever  the  wind  freshens  a  little,  arid  it  is 
no  easy  matter  to  get  a  plant  back  into  shape  once  it  gets 
blown  about,  and  in  tying  always  aixn  at  so  secuxung  the 
branches  that  they  will  not  break,  but  yet  give  to  the  wind, 
more  or  less.  It  is  almost  ixnpossible  to  x'esist  the  wind  as  a 
wall  does,  but  by  carefully  looping  up  each  branch  they  will 
turn  with  the  wind  and  spring  back  again  unhurt.  Earwigs 
and  caterpillars  must  be  hunted  in  the  evening,  or  many 
fine  flowers  ■will  be  lost.  After  a  short  time  theix*  number 
becomes  less  and  less  if  the  blooms  are^  looked  round  every 
night  and  tlie  marauders  picked  off.  Warm,  dewy  evenings 
are  the  best  for  sport  in  this  direction. — D. 
