POTTING MALMAISONS 51 



was in its original quarters. Firm potting is necessary, 

 but not any ramming with a rammer, as is sometimes 

 practised. When the potting is completed, the soil should 

 be half an inch below the rim of the pot. Each plant 

 should then be secured to a neat, green-painted stake, 

 and placed on a bed of ashes or small coal, in a cold 

 frame or some such structure. Beyond careful water- 

 ing and judicious airing, nothing further is required, 

 but shading the plants when bright sunshine prevails. 

 Assuming that the plants are potted early in September, 

 they will be ready for a further shift at about the end of 

 October. The pots for use on this occasion should be 

 6 inches in diameter, and very firm potting must be carried 

 out. The compost for use at this and subsequent pottings 

 should be similar to that recommended already, except 

 that, in the larger-sized pots, it should be left slightly 

 rougher in character. As spring approaches, the plants 

 commence to make roots, and young growths may be 

 observed pushing up from the axils of the leaves near the 

 base of each plant. When these shoots are sufficiently 

 large to handle, they should be thinned out to about 8, 

 10, or 12, according to the strength of the plant. These, 

 in their turn, as the season advances, will require to be 

 supported each with a stick, arranging them so that each 

 shoot will have ample room and proper exposure to the 

 sunlight, keeping in mind the fact that the more robust 

 the plant, the better it will flower. 



The flower spike will appear with numerous buds upon 

 it, but only one can develop into a really good flower, 

 therefore all the lower buds should be removed as they 

 appear. To ensure the flower having a perfectly symmetrical 



