POTTING 



POTTING 



1425 



operation of potting as practiced in commercial florists' 

 establishments is as follows: The soil having been pre- 

 pared, the workman places the empty pots at his left hand, 

 the cuttings in front of him, and an empty "flat" to re- 

 ceive the potted plants at his right. With a simultaneous 

 movement he takes an empty pot in his left hand and a 

 handful of soil in his right, lie "sets " the pot in front 

 of him, fills it with soil, and while doing so reaches for 

 the cutting, retaining a small portion of soil in his 

 hand. With the index finger of the right hand he 

 makes a hole in the center of the pot of soil, inserts 

 the cutting, drops the portion of soil which he retained 

 in his right hand into the hole, takes the pot between 

 the index and middle fingers of both hands to steady it 



1939. Potting a cutting. 



The moment when the thumbs come into play. 



and obtain leverage, places his thumbs on each side of 

 the cutting and parallel with his body (Fig. 1939), the 

 right on the side away from his body, the left on the 

 other side, and presses evenly and firmly; then shifts 

 his thumbs so that they are at right angles with his 

 body and presses again; transfers the potted plant with 

 his right hand to the "flat," placing it with a little force 

 to level the loose soil on top, reaching for another 

 empty pot with his left hand as he does this, and re- 

 peats the movements. It is marvelous how rapidly 

 these motions are made by expert workmen, and the 

 work can be done as well rapidly as slowly when the 

 cuttings are in the proper condition as to root-develop- 

 ment already described. There was a time when 5,000 

 per day of 10 hours was considered the maximum, and 

 it is still good work for the average workman. James 

 Markey, an employe of the late Peter Henderson, re- 

 peatedly potted 10,000 verbena cuttings with two boys 

 to assist in taking away the plants as potted, supplying 

 him with empty pots and cuttings, the requisite quan- 

 tity of soil having been previously placed on the bench. 

 The writer was his only assistant when he made his 

 first great effort at "breaking the record," when he suc- 

 ceeded in potting 7,500 in 10 hours. Upon one occasion 

 he potted 11,500 verbena cuttings in a day of 10 hours, 

 which is the highest number ever reached. 

 At a potting contest held in Madison Square 

 Garden in New York city in 1892, George 

 Martin potted 1,37.3 cuttings in one hour, 

 the material used being arborvitae cuttings 

 without roots. 



The " standard " pots ( Fig. 1937) , cannot be 

 handled as rapidly as those without rims, 

 for the reason that the lower edges of the 

 rim are sharp and rough and make the fin- 

 gers of the workman sore. Consequently 

 the pots without rims are to be preferred. 

 The essentials in good potting are to put the 

 cutting in the center of the pot and at the 

 proper depth, to firm the soil thoroughly and 

 evenly, and to leave one-fourth of an inch, 

 or a little less, between the top of the soil and 

 the upper edge of the pot to receive water. 

 Included in potting is the care of the 

 plants immediately after being potted and 

 until they have taken root in the pots. First 

 in importance is the "setting" of the plants 

 on the bench; care should he taken that 

 they are "set" perfectly level so that they 

 will hold water. They should be watered 

 thoroughly and shaded as soon as they are 

 set. The best method of shading when large quanti- 

 ties are potted is by the use of lath shutters. These 

 are made bv nailing common laths on three paral- 

 lel pieces of "furring strip, allowing one inch space be- 

 tween the laths. They may be made any length, 



1940. 

 Implement 

 for firming 

 the soil in 

 large pots. 



three feet being a very convenient size. Inverted pots 

 of a sufficient height to clear the young plants make 

 very handy supports for these shutters. During late 

 spring and summer it will be necessary to supplement 

 this method of shading by covering the shutters with 

 paper or muslin, the 

 muslin being preferred. 

 Sew the muslin in 10- 

 yard lengths, giving 

 pieces 2 yards wide. 

 Sprinkle the muslin co- 

 piously at intervals as it 

 becomes dry. This care 

 must be kept up for 3-6 

 days according to con- 

 ditions; the shutters 

 should be put over the 

 plants early in the morn- 

 ing, first watering the 

 plants ; an hour or so 

 later the muslin should 

 be put on provided the 

 sun is shining brightly. 

 After the second day the 

 period for covering the 

 plants should be short- 

 ened by putting shutters 

 and muslin on later and 

 taking them off earlier 

 until the plants are suf- 

 ficiently established to 



get along without them. An important detail is to have 

 about half an inch of sand on the bench to retain mois- 

 ture and allow for the proper "setting" of the plants. 

 Another very important detail, in case new pots are 

 used, is to thoroughly saturate them with water before 

 filling, allowing sufficient time for the water to evaporate 

 from the surface before using. It is bad practice to 

 work with wet pots, and worse still with wet soil. A 

 good test of the proper amount of moisture in soil for 

 potting is when it molds in the hand only under strong 

 pressure. Another essential, in case old pots are used, 

 is to see that they are clean inside at all events; they 

 should be clean outside as well, but if any old soil is 

 found adhering to the inside of the pot it should be 

 cleaned out and thrown away. 



Potting large plants from the open ground, such as 

 carnations, roses, geraniums, shrubs, etc., is an entirely 

 different operation from the foregoing. These all re- 

 quire pots 5 inches in diameter and over, and sufficient 

 pressure cannot be given with the thumbs to properly 

 firm the soil. It is necessary, therefore, to use a stick 



1941. Potting an orchid. 



The pot is exit in two to show the 



proper conditions inside. 



1942. "Shifting "an establish d plarA into a larger pot. 



about an inch wide, and sharpened down to one-fourth 

 of an inch at the end. ( Fig. 1940. ) The handle should 

 be round, and in a large place where much heavy pot- 

 ting and shifting are done it pays to have some of these 

 sticks in regular tool stock. After the plant is placed 

 in the pot and the latter filled with soil, take the stem 

 of the plant at the surface between the index fingers 

 and thumbs, the other fingers extended down the sides 

 of the pot, lift the pot about an inch and set it back 

 with a smart shock, at the same time pressing the plant 



