PRUNING OF FLOVVRkING SHRUBS. 



N the winter season much of the 

 pruning of flowering shrubs is per- 

 formed, and usually the operation 

 takes with it all the flower buds 

 that should clothe the plant with a mass 

 of bloom during the spring and early 

 summer. This is because gardeners 

 do not consider the flowering habit of 

 the various shrubs with which they have 

 to deal. To prune away in winter the 

 young wood from a weigela, deutzia, 

 mock orange, lilac or bush honeysuckle, 

 takes with it all the bloom of the follow- 

 ing spring. This is usually the case, 

 however, when indiscriminate pruning 

 is practiced. 



There are very few shrubs that may 

 be severely cut in winter. The hardy 

 hydrangea, altha;a, and some smaller 

 shrubs, like the hypericum, form their 

 flower buds on the young growths made 

 in the summer of the same year they 

 bloom, but nearly all other shrubs make 

 their flower buds on the young growth 

 made the season previous to their 

 expanding. 



The proper system of pruning is one 

 that will induce an abundance of young 

 wood, and this can only be accomplished 

 by the trimming out of much of the 

 two-year-old growth — that which has 

 already flowered — cutting out the old 

 shoots close to the ground, so that the 

 new growth will push out from the root 

 of the plant. If the bush makes too 

 strong and rank a growth, a moderate 

 amount of pruning in winter will not 

 lessen the bloom to any extent, especi- 

 ally as the extreme ends of the young 

 wood do not flower. 



Summer pruning of flowering shrubs 

 is practiced by some gardeners with 

 success, after the plants have done 

 blooming, but in this case it must be 

 done with great care, as the cutting 

 away of much wood when in full leaf 

 tends to weaken the plant, while the 

 object to be gained is to foster a strong 

 and vigorous growth. It is an excellent 

 time, however, for a moderate pruning. 

 — Thomas Meehan, in New Eng. 

 Florist. 



RE-POTTING HOUSE PLANTS. 



THE best way to determine whether 

 or not a plant needs re-potting is 

 to carefully remove it, holding the 

 hand over the surface and hitting the 

 edge of the crock a light blow by bring- 

 ing it down upon a table. Examine 

 the roots, and if they are matted about 

 the sides and bottom of the ball, the 

 plant evidently requires fresh potting. 

 Then carefully reduce the ball of earth 

 to about a third of its original bulk ; 

 single out the matted roots and trim 

 away all that are moldy and decayed. 

 Probably the same pot may then be 

 large enough, but if it requires a larger 

 one it should be about two inches 

 broader for a middle-sized plant, three 



or four for a large plant. If the roots 

 are not matted, but the pots are filled 

 with fibers, keep the ball entire, and 

 carefully plant it in a larger pot. At 

 the top of a large pot, an inch, and of a 

 small one, half an inch, should be left 

 for reception of water, without danger 

 of overflow. A little gravel, charcoal or 

 pieces of broken pots should always be 

 placed at the bottom for drainage. A 

 plant newly potted must never be ex- 

 posed to a strong sun. It should be 

 watered and placed in the shade im- 

 mediately and there remain till it is 

 rooted, which may be known by its 

 starting to grow. — Farm and Home. 



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