BASKETS AND POTS
It is more in accordance with nature to grow epiphytal Orchids of convenient size in baskets to be suspended from the roof of the Orchid house, and in the case of subjects reputedly difficult to grow the best results are often attained in this way. At the same time, this is due as much to the plants being placed near to the glass of the roof, as to the fact that the air has better access to the roots than when the plants are in pots. Hence it is that for suspending plants of small and medium growth, Orchid pans made in the same way as the flower-pot are found to be a convenient substitute for baskets, as they are not so liable to decay as wood-baskets.
Stanhopeas, Lueddemannias, Acinetas, and some other Orchids which produce their flower spikes directly from the base of the growth, must be grown in baskets to admit of the proper production of their flowers, which, if grown in pots, are sent down into the compost and lost. Gongoras, Cirrhæas, and similar genera, which produce slender spikes of flowers of drooping habit, are also best in baskets, as they produce their flowers much more freely when the plants are suspended.
The Orchid pan, for suspending, is also equally good for Masdevallias of the Chimæra section, a large number of Bulbophyllums and Cirrhopetalums, and generally for plants of small stature which would be too far away from the glass if placed on the stage. For the bulk of the collection the grower has to use the ordinary flower-pots, which are still unsurpassed for general purposes. The elaborately designed pots, perforated with holes or slits, which were used for Orchids years ago, are not necessary, for there is no defect in the ordinary flower-pot which cannot be overcome by the careful and skilful practitioner.
Rafts and cylinders of teak-wood made in the same manner as baskets are useful for some species, but it has to be remembered that plants on rafts are liable to suffer from lack of sufficient moisture-holding material around them. Broughtonia sanguinea, however, is never so happy as when grown on a horizontally suspended raft without the least potting material.
The great trouble with suspended Orchids, and one which precludes the cultivator employing this culture for so many plants as he could wish, is the drip they cause to the plants on the stages. No Orchid should have another plant suspended above it; if it is not possible to avoid this, the relative positions of the suspended plants should be changed as often as possible; water should only be given them by "dipping" the plants, and they should be allowed to drain thoroughly before being again suspended. As many of the suspended plants as possible should be arranged on each side of the path, and in other situations where there are no plants immediately under them.
Narrow rafts 4 inches wide and 1 foot or so in height are suitable for Angræcum infundibulare, A. imbricatum, and other scandent Angræcums of similar growth. These should be fastened to the rafts with some good Sphagnum-moss between the plant and the raft on the lower half, the base of the plant and the raft being afterwards fastened in a flower-pot with Sphagnum-moss, the raft leaning at a slight angle. Sphagnum-moss can be added on the upper part as the plant grows, and, when sufficiently rooted up the stem, it can be severed half-way up when the base will produce new growths.