56 The Flower Garden 



for a few days until they have become established, 

 which they will indicate by spreading out their leaves 

 and making ready to grow. This method of planting 

 should be followed in moving plants from one part of 

 the garden to another, in resetting clumps of peren- 

 nials, in bedding out house-plants and those received 

 by mail. Where these last have had part or all of the 

 soil removed it will greatly benefit them to set them 

 in pots until these are filled with roots. 



It is desirable that young plants should be kept 

 growing vigorously all the time, and frequent shift- 

 ing is necessary. Whenever the earth becomes full 

 of roots, or the ball of earth is covered with a network 

 of roots, the plant should be shifted into a pot a size 

 larger. 



"Shifting" means changing the plant to a pot a 

 size larger without disturbing the ball of earth, while 

 "repotting" properly means an entire renewal of the 

 soil, the same sized crock being sometimes used. 

 Shifting may be done at any time, even though the 

 plant be in full bloom, while repotting should be done 

 when the plant is dormant, as it is likely to cause the 

 buds to blast and the foliage to droop. Plants less 

 than a year old are better shifted than repotted 

 especially such as have neither bloomed nor shown 

 any decided tendency to rest. After blooming and 

 resting, if they are in as large a pot as you care to 

 handle, they may be repotted in fresh soil, care being 

 taken not to injure the roots, while dead roots should 



