270 



CULTURE OF THE CAMELLIA. 



the sun and air, until the grass is killed, 

 and the sods are sufficiently rotten for use, 

 which will be in about two months. The 

 sods are then removed under a shed, and 

 kept dry, so as to be fit for use at any sea- 

 son, I also procure, at the same time, some 

 leaf soil from the woods, well decomposed, 

 but light and " sweet." (I prefer the soil 

 taken from the surface, and from a part of 

 the woods where there is rising ground ; 

 as the leaf soil from a hollow is apt to be 

 sour and unfit for use.) This I place at 

 once under a shed, so as to keep it from 

 rains. These two soils constitute all the 

 materials for my Camellia compost, which 

 is as follows : equal parts of loam and leaf 

 soil for very young plants, (say from a mere 

 cutting-, up to six inches in height ;) and as 

 the plants increase in size, I increase also 

 the quantity of loajn, so that my largest 

 plants have two-thirds of loam and one-third 

 of leaf soil. I have formerly added to the 

 above f or y'^- of well rotted manure, with 

 good effect ; but finding that the manure 

 generated many worms in the pots, I re- 

 jected it. I now prefer, instead, guano- 

 water, used once a week, while the plants 

 are growing freely, say in April and May. 

 The proportion I employ, is one pound of 

 good guano to 15 gallons of water. 



I ought to have mentioned, that before 

 mixing the loam with the leaf soil, the sods 

 are chopped iip fine with a spade ; but this 

 you would, of course, infer from the nature 

 of the operation. I prefer the soil mode- 

 rately coarse to having it too fine. 



I have no particular rule for re-potting 

 my Camellias. Any intelligent amateur 

 or gardener will know, by the size of the 

 plants and roots, what sized pots they re- 

 quire. I re-pot my Camellias once a year, 

 except large plants, in very large pots or 

 tubs ; and the latter, once in two or three 

 years. I give them as much pot-room as 



I think the roots will be able to encompass 

 during that time. If too much pot-room is 

 given, the soil does not dry as freely as 

 it should, and is liable to become sour, 

 which will inevitably destroy the roots, and 

 of course the health of the plants. On the 

 other hand, if too little pot-room is allowed, 

 the plants will grow weak, the foliage will 

 turn yellow, and the flowers will be small. 

 Both extremes should be avoided. Camel- 

 lias having very tender roots, they are very 

 liable to be injured by over watering, or 

 being kept too wet for a long time. It is, 

 therefore, important to have the water pass 

 freely through the pots ; and for that, good 

 drainage, with pot-shreds, is indispensable. 



While I am yet on the subject of re-pot- 

 ting, I will add that I usually re-pot my 

 Camellias in the spring, just before they 

 begin to grow. I prefer the spring to the 

 fall for re-potting, for two reasons ; one is 

 that I have more leisure to devote to them 

 at this time ; and the other, and more im- 

 portant, is that when re-potted in the fall, 

 the buds are more liable to receive a check 

 and turn black, particularly on plants, the 

 balls of which require picking to extricate 

 the old soil. Plants that are well rooted 

 require no picking at the roots ; and so, can 

 be re-potted almost at any time without any 

 injury whatever. 



When Camellias are re-potted in the fall, 

 their roots will reach the side of the pots by 

 the following spring, and are more exposed 

 to injury from our hot summer; but when 

 re-potted in the spring, the roots, not reach- 

 ing the sides of the pots so soon, are not so 

 exposed to the injurious effect. After sta- 

 ting so much, I will still add, that the choice 

 of the two seasons for re-potting is of course 

 a matter of opinion and convenience ; if 

 the plants are well treated, they will do 

 well whether re-potted in the spring or au- 

 tumn. 



