POTTING AND 



I consider it a very easy matter to pot or 

 repot a plant successfully, if one goes at it 

 in the right way. I do not believe in turning 

 a plant out of its old pot and shaking all the 

 soil from its roots, because no plant likes to 

 have its roots interfered with. I simply slip 

 the plant out of its old pot (this is easily done 

 by inverting the pot and tapping it against 

 something hard and firm while one hand is 

 spread over the soil with the plant between 

 the fingers) and put it into a new one a size or 

 two larger, and fill in about it with fresh soil, 

 which is made firm by crowding it down with 

 the fingers, or a blunt stick, if the fingers are 

 not long enough to reach to the bottom of the 

 pot, or by the application of enough water 

 to thoroughly settle the soil. In this way the 

 roots of the plant are not disturbed in the 

 least. The feeders among them, which will 

 be seen all over the outside of the ball of earth 

 as it comes from the old pot, will be brought 

 into direct contact with the fresh soil, and 

 development will go on without interruption. 

 But if all, or most, of the soil is shaken from 

 the roots, as some writers advise, the plant 

 receives a check from which it will take 

 some time to recover, and a check of any 



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