THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 135 



the different habitats of the various species is essential to the care- 

 ful grower, so that he may, as far as his means permit, imitate their 

 natural mode of growth ; and it is, perhaps, to some inattention to 

 this point that the want of success in the culture of some of the 

 orchidaceous plants, by even the most successful of our cultivators, 

 is to be attributed. 



When the season of rest is over, many kinds will require re- 

 potting, but I have not confined my practice to that time only ; no 

 season can be determined on absolutely as the proper one for tlnV 

 operation. The months of February and March are the best time to 

 pot some of them ; that is, after the resting season. Those that do 

 not need potting should be top dressed with good fibrous peat, 

 removing the old soil from the top without breaking the root of the 

 plants. This also affords the means of getting rid of many insects 

 which harbour in the old soil. The pots should be thoroughly 

 cleansed from the mould, moss, and dirt too often seen covering 

 those in which orchids are growing. Previously to potting the 

 ■plants, they should not receive any water for four or five days. 

 Some, however, should be potted at a period somewhat later, viz., 

 just as they begin to grow. All the species of the genera, Phaius, 

 Calanthe, Dendrobium, Stanhopea, Oyrtopodium, Brassia, Miltonia, 

 Sobralia, Bletia, Oncidium, and many others, require this treatment. 

 Lselias, Cattleyas, Saccolabiums, Aerides, Vandas, and similar plants, 

 should be potted just before the commencement of their growing 

 season. The chief point to be attended to in all potting is that the 

 pots be well drained ; the best material for drainage is potsherds or 

 charcoal. Before potting, be particular to have the pots perfectly 

 clean inside and out, and the broken potsherds should be washed. 

 After this is done, select a pot according to the size of the plant ; 

 do not give them too much pot-room. 



Some plants will require shifting once a year ; others it will not 

 be necessary to shift oftener than once in two or three years ; but if 

 a plant becomes sickly or soddened with wet, the best way to bring it 

 into a healthy state is to turn it out of the pot or basket, and wash 

 the roots carefully with some clean water, cutting off such of the 

 fibres as are dead ; then to repot it, not giving it much water till 

 the plant begins to make fresh roots. The best pots are those in 

 ordinary use. Some employ slate pots, but they are not, in my 

 opinion, so good for orchids as those made of clay. In potting large 

 plants, there should be a small pot put in the bottom of the large 

 one. Then fill in with potsherds or charcoal broken up into pieces 

 about two inches square for large plants ; smaller plants should not 

 have pieces so large. Then introduce potsherds till within three or 

 four inches of the rim, and afterwards put in a layer of moss to pre- 

 vent the peat from impeding the drainage, and to let the water 

 pass off quickly. This is of great importance, and if it is not 

 attended to, the water will become stagnant, and the soil sodden, 

 which is fatal to the growth of the plant. The grand point to be ob- 

 served in the successful culture of orchids, as well as of other plants, 

 is good drainage ; without that, it is hopeless to keep the plants 

 long in a healthy condition. The best material for potting the 



May. 



