Nearly every book on orchids contains the emphatic assertion that no orchid collection can be complete without a few phalaenopsis plants—they are so wonderfully beautiful and prolific. Historically, phalaenopsis once were intractable orchids, but today, though sometimes difficult, they are no longer unmanageable. It was their beauty that kept them in cultivation long enough for orchidists to solve their cultural requirements. Phalaenopsis plants are plain, downright tropical. This will help to explain any failures you may have, for they are accustomed to warm, humid climates and demand the same conditions in cultivation.

The unique form of the flowers distinguishes phalaenopsis from all other orchids. Closely resembling a tropical moth in flight, they are known as "Moth Orchids." The plants are small in stature, take up little room. The leaves, thin, flat, and elliptical, have no pseudobulbs. Though generally green, the leaves of Phalaenopsis Schilleriana are richly mottled with purple and are highly decorative. While most phalaenopsis limit themselves to sprays of twenty or thirty flowers, some plants may have as many as 170 flowers.

A few rose, green, and red-spotted flowers are to be found in the genus, but white is the common color in cultivation. The flowers last a long time on or off the plants; some open at Christmastime, and others in June when they make elegant bridal bouquets. The blooming season may be extended indefinitely by leaving five or six inches of the old flower stems on the plants and thereby inducing lateral inflores-censes from the lower nodes.

Phalaenopsis are primarily insular; the fifty species which make up the genus come largely from islands in and around the East Indies. They spread northward to the Philippines, where the finest specimens are found, and southward to New Guinea. Two species are found along the seacoasts of Burma and Malaya, and other than their interesting habit of growing in fresh-water swamps on banyan trees a few feet above the water level, they have no further attraction for hobbyists. Most phalaenopsis plants attach themselves to shady sections of trees. They are nearly always close to streams, river deltas, marshes, or seacoasts where some may be drenched by the salty spray. In spite of being monopodi-als and easily injured by harsh climates, Phalaenopsis lowii and several other botanicals are deciduous. They grow on limestone rock formations in full sun. During the few weeks' dry season the sun burns off their foliage, leaving only a mass of clinging, flattened roots. As soon as the heavy rains return, a tiny crown in the midst of the roots suddenly puts out several leaves and the plants burst into bloom. Unfortunately, the deciduous species are not in cultivation; their flowers are not good enough to make even their odd deciduous qualities valuable to hybridizers.

The climate in which phalaenopsis grows is remarkable for uniformity in temperature and rain. It would be extremely cold weather if the temperature dropped to 70○; it is usually nearer 90○. The annual rainfall is about ninety inches—a lot of water. The so-called dry season, which lasts all of several weeks, still has enough light, misty rain, and heavy dews to keep the plants plentifully supplied with moisture.

Bearing in mind these climatic facts you can reduce the culture of phalaenopsis to a few simple rules. Most important, because the other conditions are predicated on it, you must have a place for them alone. Furthermore, it must be completely enclosed: such as a Wardian case, a tight bay window, or a standard greenhouse where you can maintain a high humidity. You cannot take phalaenopsis outdoors in North America, except in tropical Key West, and even then it is frequently impracticable. In open windows or living rooms enough humidity cannot be supplied. Humidity must be carried at near saturation in summer, somewhat less in winter, but never under 70 per cent during daytime with a drop to about 40 per cent at night, unless the greenhouse or case is being heated—then the humidity must be increased. You may have to hose down the floors of greenhouses as much as twice a day, or keep copious amounts of water in the bottom trays of Wardian cases and closed-in windows. Syringing doesn't do much good; when excess water drops into the leaf axils or the growing tips of the plants it is likely to rot them. In nature phalaenopsis hang on the sides of tree limbs so that rain runs off the back of their leaves. Some growers, however, have used fine mist sprays that drift the water gently over the leaves without accumulating a dangerous excess—but only on very hot days, or when weak plants need a boost.

Watch and control the temperature. This isn't too important in summer, but anything below 60° in winter may be fatal; a minimum of 65○ is better. Some amateur orchidists have succeeded in carrying phalaenopsis at temperatures as low as 40○, but blooming is delayed or inhibited.

Watch your watering technique. Be sure you apply water to the compost, not to the plants. They relish moisture about their roots, but never give them enough water to saturate the compost, only sufficient to wet it thoroughly. Allow the compost to become nearly dry—but not dangerously so— before watering again; that is, the top of the osmunda will be dry, the middle and bottom will be slightly moist.

Nutrient gravel culture studies indicate that phalaenop-sis may not be quite so much in need of continuous moisture as was once believed. In gravel the plants have gone consistently without water for days at a time without injurious effects. The practice is to water them twice a week, leaving several days for the gravel to dry out, a process which usually occurs by the evening of the first day. Root action in such a medium is vigorous; the leaves are hard and leathery to the touch—which is exactly what they should be. They must not be soft, flabby, and succulent; soft plants don't bloom.

Shading is important to phalaenopsis: the leaves are sun-sensitive, and easily burned. Black, soft streaks suddenly appear on the leaves and act as a breeding ground for bacterial rots. In the far northern areas little or no shade may be needed in winter, but elsewhere at all seasons of the year there must be shade.

Generally a medium coat of whiting on the greenhouse roof and sides is sufficient in winter; a bit heavier coat should be used in summer. The best all round shading is butter muslin. Phalaenopsis need plenty of luminous indirect light and thin muslin provides it effectively. In warm regions where summer light is harsh, muslin may be improved by placing laths or roller blinds over the house during periods of critically intense sunlight.

Owing to the necessity of warmth and humidity, ventilation becomes a problem. Ventilation should be continuous, if possible day and night, winter and summer; yet too much fresh air lowers the humidity and temperature often fatally. A little air admitted slowly to Wardian cases and greenhouses to keep the atmosphere barely fresh is better than a lot given suddenly. Cold air, no matter how briefly introduced, is injurious.

Many formulas have been devised for a compost to meet the requirements of phalaenopsis, but you still can't improve on osmunda if you use limited quantities. The only superior compost is gravel in which the plants are fed a nutrient solution. Their response to this modern technique is nothing short of remarkable. Nevertheless, osmunda, for beginners, is the wisest choice.

Clay pots are often used, but wood orchid baskets are considered superior since the osmunda doesn't stay damp long and permits phalaenopsis roots to ramble about as they must. Most baskets are about six inches square and four inches deep. They are made up of three-quarter-inch-square pieces of wood set their own width apart. If you don't want to make baskets, most nurseries carry them at reasonable prices. Sometimes the baskets are filled with osmunda first —not packed too tightly—and the plants set on top, their roots tucked in as gently as possible. The roots are quite brittle and care is needed in handling them. It is a good idça, though, to confine the roots as much as possible within the osmunda. This is done in much the same manner as in regular potting; the roots are covered carefully with the fiber, the plant slipped into the basket, and extra pieces of osmunda packed in around the edges of the basket.

Pot culture of phalaenopsis doesn't differ materially from the standard for other orchids, except in two things. The pots are two-thirds filled with coarse gravel, or other drainage materials, and the top third contains as little osmunda as possible. The base of the plants must be well above the rim of the pots, since standing water or excessive moisture causes rots along the stems. Phalaenopsis are rather sensitive to alkaline composts, and owing to the large amount of water normally given them they can be repotted as often as once a year to maintain a favorable acidity.

Phalaenopsis are propagated most often by seed, not by division. They set seed in about nine months and bloom in two or three years from germination. That's rapid enough to make up for their reluctance to be propagated vegeta-tively. Their stems are too short to be air layered; they are monopodial in habit and cannot be divided. Some species do go in for what is called proliferation; that is, they may produce adventitious plants from either roots or flower stems. Proliferation, though, is an unsatisfactory method of propagation since only a few species produce adventitious plants in culture and these do so sporadically. Moreover, the plantlets are small and rather slow in developing.

However, you may encounter proliferation to some extent and here is what to do about it if you are so inclined. Root proliferation occurs most frequently in Phalaenopsis stuartiana, in which species it was first observed fifty years ago. The plantlets are initiated on the plantward side of roots near cuts, bruises, or detached sections. When large enough the plantlets are cut off and potted. The hybrids of Phalaenopsis stuartiana and Phalaenopsis schilleriana occasionally produce root proliferations, but more often seem to lose the tendency. Root proliferation is not a common enough habit to be important unless you like to experiment and want to add to your knowledge of orchidology.

Flower-stem proliferation is more common, and with Phalaenopsis luedemanniana, is a convenient method of increase. The plantlets are produced below the lowest flowers—after they wither—on the nodes of the stem. Most growers cut off the old stems to prevent proliferation or further blooming, believing both to be a drain on the parent plants. This is likely to be true since osmunda does not contain enough food for phalaenopsis; but if fed a nutrient solution the chances are that plants easily could support adventitious growths. Wait until the plantlets have two small leaves and good roots before cutting them off. Young plants require more shade and higher humidity and temperature during the first few months of starting life on their own.

It is unlikely that you will grow phalaenopsis species-pretty and floriferous as they are—if you can obtain modern hybrids. The latter are so far superior to their parents as to be a race apart. The French orchidist M. Vacherot, at his Saint Léger nursery outside of Paris, developed the first hybrids which lifted the family out of comparative obscurity. Since then several American growers have improved the hybrids and increased the flower size to four and five inches. A greenhouse packed with them in full bloom is a sight that leaves everyone breathless for days on end.

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