AVATERING PLANTS IN POTS. 



ing; and syringing over head will be found daily beneficial to this, and all similar classes 

 of''plants at this stage of their growth. In the hot summer months, they will require 

 water morning and evening. In autumn, the quantity of water must be materiiilly 

 lessened; and from the setting in of winter until tlie middle of February, it is scarcely 

 possible (if they are kept during that time in a place no warmer than is sufficient just to 

 exclude frost,) to keep them too dry. If succulent plants are found to turn black and 

 mouldy, either in the stem or leaf, that is evidence that they have had too much water, 

 with reference to the tempeiature at which they have been kept. The principal things, 

 for geraniums and other succulents of similar growth, in the winter months, are light and 

 sun, with all the air that can be given them without exposure to frost. The only chance 

 of saving a plant that has partially become black and mouldy in the leaf from over- water- 

 ing, is to place it in a warm room for a week, where the air is dry, so that the water con- 

 tained in the soil of its pot may evaporate as speedily as possible. If these kinds of plants 

 are kept too short of water in winter, their leaves will, many of them, turn yellow, and drop 

 off. But of the two extremes, (excess of water or the want of it,) this one is compara- 

 tively of little moment, because in the spring, presuming the stems and roots to be sound, 

 new shoots clothed with luxuriant foliage will come forth; but on the contrary, if the 

 plant be over-watered, the succulent stem being saturated with moisture, which alow 

 temperature prevents it from throwing off by evaporation, the fibres of the stem decay, 

 and its texture is destroyed. These observations apply to all succulent evergreens. 



With respect to the ligneous class of Evergreens, they do not require so large a quan- 

 tity of water during summer, t?i proportion to their size, as the succulent; although they 

 also at that season, must be liberally supplied; but in winter, they require more in pro- 

 portion than the succulent. The great point in ligneous evergreens, is to have a good 

 drainage at the bottom of the pot; and to plant them in a soil of open texture, so that 

 the water may pass freely through it, as soon as it is given to the plant. In winter, these 

 plants will require water in a moderate quantity, perhaps once a week or ten days; but 

 much must depend on the size of the pots. The larger the pot the less frequently will it 

 require water. The camellia, the acacia arnata, corneas and epacris, may be instanced as 

 families to which these remarks apply. 



Evergreens should never be allowed to stand in feeders or pans to catch the surplus 

 water, so as to keep the soil in a saturated state. 



2d. Dfxiduous Plants.— From the time that this class of plants lose their leaves, 

 until they shoot again, they require but very little water; many will do without it alto- 

 gether if their pots are of tolerable size, as the moisture contained in the pot when their 

 leaves fall is often enough to keep the roots in a healthy state. Others, and such as are 

 in small pots, will require a moderate supply occasionally, but only just to prevent the 

 soil becoming dust dry. As soon as they show signs of growth, and commence shooting 

 into leaf, water should be very gradually supplied to them, and the quantity increased as 

 their shoots grow and their leaves become developed. As soon as they have acquired a 

 " new coat" of foliage, they should be treated as ligneous evergreens during the summer 

 months. Many deciduous plants are among the most beautiful we have, and as they do not 

 require much light in their dormant state, they may then be placed in any convenient situ- 

 ation, where they are out of the reach of frost. 



3d. Herbaceous Plants. — This class require to be watered much on the same system 

 as the succulent evergreens; but in the fall and winter months, particular care should be 

 not to allow water to get into the centre of the plants, or into the socket at th 

 their leaves; because, unless it quickly evaporates, the water will there become stagnan 



