HARD-WOODED PLANTS 21 



them will bear a certain amount of rough treatment and 

 neglect, they can only be well grown when all their 

 wants are carefully attended to. The majority have 

 small hair-like roots which, though numerous, have no 

 great capacity for storing moisture, hence some of the 

 difficulties of their culture for, if over-watered, the roots 

 cannot assimilate the surplus quickly and the soil under 

 its influence turns sour, while, on the other hand, if 

 allowed to become dry, the tiny tips of the roots wither 

 and are not easily or quickly replaced indeed, plants 

 of some species never recover from the effects of being 

 allowed to get thoroughly dry. Most of the plants in 

 this section like a peaty soil, the majority succeeding 

 well in a mixture of two-thirds fibrous peat, one-third 

 fibrous loam and sufficient silver sand to make the 

 mixture feel thoroughly gritty when handled. It is 

 not necessary to repot every year, indeed with care 

 in management several years may elapse between the 

 pottings, but when it has to be done, either through 

 a noticeable want of vigour in the older plants or from 

 a desire to grow younger ones on into fine specimens as 

 soon as may be, special care is needed in carrying out 

 the work in all details. Clean pots must be used ; if 

 the insides be left dirty the new roots will stick fast 

 and be wrenched off at the next potting. The new 

 pots should not greatly exceed in size those from which 

 the plants are to be transferred. No new pot should 

 be used until it has been soaked in water for a few 

 hours and allowed to get dry again. 



Drainage should be thorough : this does not imply an 

 excessive use of crocks, but rather that those used 

 should be well placed in the pots and covered with a 

 little of the toughest fibre that can be selected from the 

 soil heap and freed from all fine particles. Previously 

 to being turned out of the old pot, the plant to be 

 operated on should be watered just long enough to 



