106 GARDENING INDOORS AND UNDER GLASS 
as that after they are in eight- or ten-inch pots, will 
be sufficient. The best time for repotting is late 
spring — May or June. Use a pot only one size 
larger than that in which the palm has been growing. 
Remove carefully, do not disturb the roots, and put 
into the new pot carefully, ramming the new earth 
in firmly about the old ball with a thin piece of 
wood (see directions for repotting, page 40). 
The soil for palms need not contain as much 
humus (leaf-mould or peat) as that for most other 
house plants. Good rich garden loam, with sharp 
sand added, and bone meal worked through it, will 
be right. 
Be sure the drainage is perfect. Crock the pots 
carefully (facing page 41). If any of the crocking 
from the old pot comes out with the ball of earth, 
remove it as carefully as possible and fill in the space 
with soil. After potting, keep shaded for several 
days. 
While palms require plenty of water, no plants 
are more fatally injured by overwatering. Above 
all must care be taken never to let water accumulate 
in saucers or jardinieres in which the pots are stand- 
ing. Water will soak up through a pot as well as 
down through it, and water-saturated soil will 
quickly become sour. When you do water, water 
thoroughly and then see that the pots are kept where 
they can drain out, and do not water again until 
they show a tendency to get too dry. Much water 
