MODE OF POTTING AND MATERIALS TO BE USED. 5 



Mode of Potting and the Materials to be used. 



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 this operation. The months of February and 

 March are the best times to pot some of them, that is, after 

 the resting season. Those that do not require potting should 

 be top-dressed with good fibrous peat, removing the old soil 

 from the top without breaking the roots 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 cover- 

 ing 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 ofPhajus, Calanthe, Dendrolium, /Stanhopea, Cyrtopo- 

 dium, Brassia, Miltonia, Sobralia, Bletia, Oncidium, and many 

 others, require this treatment. Lcelias, Cattleyas, Saccola- 

 biums, 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 too much pot room. 

 Some plants require shifting once a year, while it may not 

 be necessary to shift others 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 re-pot it, not giving it much water till it begins to make 



