October  1,  1903. 
303 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
Cattleya  Schilleriana  Lowi. 
This  form  of  a  handsome  Orchid  was  certificated  in  1892, 
Messrs.  Low  and  Co.,  now  of  Bush  Hill  Park,  Enfield,  heinii;  the 
possessors.  The  sepals  and  petals  are  green,  and  are  thickly  fur¬ 
nished  with  brown  spots.  The  lip  is  pale  purple,  streaked  with 
Avhite.  The  throat  is  tinged  with  yellow.  It  is  a  pleasing  and 
desirable  variety. 
Rare  Orchids  at  Kew. 
The  editor  of  “  The  Orchid  Review  ”  remarks :  “  Several  very 
interesting  rarities  are  now  flowering  at  Kew.  Dipodium  pictum 
is  producing  another  spike  in  one  of  the  warm  houses,  whore  also 
may  be  .seen  a  fine  plant  of  the  remarkable  Bulbophyllum  grandi- 
florum  bearing  seven  flowers,  the  rare  B.  mandibulare,  the 
curious  little  B.  saltatorium,  with  a  feathery  lip,  like  a  miniature 
B.  barbigerum,  the  striking  Trias  disciflora,  Saccolabium  penan- 
gianum,  and  Liparis  disticha,  the  red  flowers  of  the  latter  being 
rather  unusual  in  the  genus.  Phalsenopsis  Esmeralda  is  repre- 
.sented  by  five  flowering  plants;  and  a  pan  of  Habenaria  carnea, 
containing  several  plants,  is  very  effective.  Among  plants  Avhich 
cannot  be  called  rare  may  be  mentioned  Paphiopedilum  Charles- 
worthi,  P.  Spicerianum,  P.  x  Maynardi,  Phragmopedilum  x 
Sedeni,  and  P.  x  calurum,  all  of  which  are  flowering  freely  and  are 
very  effective. 
“  xVmong  .showier  things  may  be  mentioned  a  nice  lot  of  Den- 
drobium  Phalsenopsis,  D.  formosum,  Lselio-Cattleya  x  Nysa, 
Vanda  Kimballiana,  Cattleya  Loddigesi,  C.  Aclandiaj,  C. 
Eldorado  Wallisi,  Miltonias,  &c.,  which  collectively  make  a  fine 
show.” 
The  Week’s  Cultural  Notes. 
Pleiones  will  by  now  have  finished  their  growth  in  most  cases, 
and  water  must  be  withheld  almost  entirely.  The  roots  usually 
die  off  naturally  as  the  foliage  falls,  consequently  the  water  will 
be  useless.  As  the  flowers  develop  in  the  young  growth  I'oots 
again  make  their  appearance,  and  no  time  should  be  lost  when 
once  the  flowers  are  past  before  giving  new  compost.  Some 
growers  use  large  flat  pans  for  their  Orchids,  but  they  are  even 
prettier  in  small  pots  or  baskets,  many  a  group  being  brightened 
through  November  and  December  by  pots  of  the  pretby  P. 
lagenaria  in  full  flower  around  the  edge. 
Fibry  loam  and  chopped  sphagnum,  with  a  liberal  sprinkling 
of  finely  broken  crocks  and  charcoal,  form  a  good  compost,  and 
the  .surface  of  this  must  be  kept  just  below  the  rim  of  the  pots. 
In  shaking  out  the  old  bulbs  and  repotting,  considerable  car©  is 
neces-sai'y  that  the  young  roots  just  .starting  are  not  injured, 
while  if  these-  can  be  anticipatecl  it  is  naturally  all  the  better. 
But  this  cannot  always  be,  as  they  sometimes  appear  before  the 
flowers  are  past.  Leave  a  little  of  the  old  roots  attached  to  the 
bulbs,  as  this  will  help  to  stay  them  in  position  and  allow  the 
base  of  the  bulb  to  just  rest  on  the  surface  of  the  compost. 
From  two  to  three  weeks  will  elapse  before  any  root  moisture 
is  necessary  after  repotting,  the  longer  time  being  in  case  of 
very  cold  weather.  In  no  case  must  it  be  given  until  the  roots 
are  stai'ting  freely.  Where  a  collection  is  grown,  the  time  for 
these  operations  will  vary  in  accordance  with  the  time  of  flower¬ 
ing,  but  the  procedure  is  practically  the  same  with  all  the  si^ecies. 
Miltonia  vexillaria  is  still  growing  strongly,  and  must  not  be 
checked  for  want  of  water  at  the  roots,  but  as  the  atmosphere  is 
now  moister  the  supply  will  not  need  to  be  .so  often  repeated. 
Other  species,  such  as  M.  spectabilis  and  its  varieties,  M.  t'lowesi 
and  M.  cuneata,  will  probably  be  finished,  and  very  little  root 
moisture  will  be  needed. 
There  is  still  time  to  repot  late  plants  of  Cattleya  Dowiana 
aurea,  C.  gigas,  C.  Hardyana,  Lselio-Cattleya  Dominiana, 
and  nearly  related  kinds,  and,  of  course,  while  re-establish¬ 
ing  themselves  root  moi.sture  will  be  needed,  but  earlier  plants 
that  have  finished  their  growth  must  have  the  water  supply  much 
reduced.  C.  Warneri,  or  the  spring  flowering  labiata,  as  it  is 
called,  will  soon  be  starting  to  grow  again,  but  only  a  limited 
supply  of  water  is  necessary,  as  well  as  a  light,  sunny  position,  to 
induce  as  hard  and  vigorous  a  growth  as  pos.sible.  The  fact  of 
making  its  growth  at  the  dullest  period  of  the  year  militates  a 
good  deal  against  the  well-being  of  this  beautiful  and  distinct 
plant. — H.  R.  R. 
- - - 
The  Alpine  Garden. 
This  branch  of  English  flower  gardening,  which  throughout 
the  whole  year  never  loses  its  charms,  has  nevertheless  at  this 
season  lost"  that  brilliance  a’.'.d  effectiveness  which  are  charac- 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
teristic  of  it  throughout  the  spring  and  early  soimmer  months. 
It  would  be  well,  therefore,  now  that  the  autumn  is  advancing, 
to  lose  no  time  in  carrying  out  any  alterations  or  replanting 
that  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  done.  There  can  bo  no  question 
as  to  the  advantage  of  autumn  planting  over  that  of  spring,  for 
given  a  fine  autumn,  or  even  let  the  autumn  be  what  it  may,  the 
jilants  rapidly  make  new  roots,  and  by  the  advent  of  severe 
weather  are  well  established ;  which  is  an  immense  advantage 
when  the  season  of  growth  and  activity  returns.  It  is  true  a 
few  plants  may  be  lost  during  hard  winters,  but  this  is  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  progress  which  the  survivors  have  made. 
The  occupants  of  a  rock  garden  will  not,  as  many  have  found 
out,  continue  to  grow  and  flourish  in  the  same  position  for  an 
indefinite  period  w'ithout  soil  exhaustion  taking  place ;  conse¬ 
quently,  the  plants  become  wmak  and  gradually  dwindle  away, 
and  we  wonder  why  they  don’t  .succeed.  An  occasional  lifting  aiid 
manuring  or  renewing  of  soil  does  not  appear  to  enter  into  the 
calculations  of  many  people  ;  yet  it  is  essential  if  we  would  have 
the  best  results.  It  is  probably  owing  to  this  fact  that  there 
are  so  many  failures,  not  only  with  Alpines,  but  with  other 
plants  as  well,  which  are  put  into  a  given  position  and  expected 
for  an  unlimited  time  to  give  good  results  without  further 
trouble,  except  the  merest  routine.  As  soon  as  it  becomes  evi¬ 
dent  that  a  plant,  or  group  of  plants,  is  on  the  decline  they  should 
be  promptly  removed,  taking  out  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  18in, 
replacing  by  good  loam,  leaf  .soil,  peat,  and  grit,  as  the  needs  of 
the  plants  require,  with  the  addition  of  small  pieces  of  chalk  or 
limestone  for  those  that  need  it. 
In  order  to  meet  the  demand  for  young  plants  occasioned  by 
exhaustion,  change  of  plans,  and  other  causes,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  systematically  propagate  a  number  of  plants  each  year.  For 
.some  plants  division  will  offer  the  only  means  of  increase;  others 
which  are  known  to  come  true  may  be  raised  from  seed,  but  in 
.some  cases  this  is  a  slow  process.  For  the  greater  number  of 
plants,  however,  cuttings  will  form  the  best  means  of  increase, 
and  should  invariably  be  employed  for  varieties  of  the  same 
species;  by  so  doing  the  different  varieties  are  kept  true,  there 
being  no  variation  from  the  parent  plant,  as  is  often  the  case 
with  seedlings.  For  this  purpose  a  cool,  shallow  frame  will  be 
required,  into  which  should  be  put  a  few  inches  of  loam,  and  leaf 
.soil,  and  over  tliis  a  layer  of  2in  of  sand. 
The  cuttings  may  be  taken  as  procurable  from  April  until 
September,  inserting  them  2in  apart  and  carefully  shading.  As 
they  become  rooted  pot  them  up  into  small  pots,  and  plunge  in 
coal  ashes  until  such  times  as  they  are  required.  By  this  means  a 
supply  of  young  plants  will  be  forthcoming  each  autumn  to  re¬ 
place  those  that  it  has  become  desirable  to  remove.  It  is  only 
by  continuous  replanting  and  careful  attention  that  w©  can  keep 
our  rock  gardens  stocked  with  healthy  and  vigorous  plants,  which 
by  their  wealth  of  bloom  and  beauty  of  form  and  foliage,  will 
repay  us  for  our  care,  and  gladden  our  hearts  throughout  the  fc'ur 
seasons  of  the  year. — S.  P. 
