1426 



POTTING 



POTTING 



1943. A plant may be turned out 

 of its pot to ascertain if it 

 needs a "shift." 



down and steadying it; this settles the soil considerably 

 in the pot. Next take the stick described above and 

 run it around the inside edge of the pot twice or so to 

 pack the soil, add more soil to fill up, finish by pressing 

 evenly and firmly the entire surface witli the thumbs, 

 allowing half an inch of 

 space between the surface 

 of the soil and the upper 

 edge of the pots to hold 

 water. What has been 

 said about new and clean 

 pots applies with even 

 greater force to large pots. 

 The potting of orchids is 

 a radically different opera- 

 tion from the potting of 

 purely terrestrial plants, 

 about which the preceding 

 has been written. Take 

 Cattleyas as an example. 

 Being epiphytes, they do 

 not require soil in which 

 to grow. Put them in 

 as small pots as possible. 

 The material for potting 

 best suited to these and 

 most orchids is fibrous 

 peat and live sphagnum 

 moss in equal proportions, 

 adding a small portion of 

 broken charcoal. If fresh- 

 ly imported pieces are to 



be potted, cut away all the old, dead roots, pseudobulbs 

 and leaves. If the formation of the piece is uneven it 

 should be cut in two, so as to combine the parts thus 

 separated into a more symmetrical whole, with the 

 growths pointing to the center. Have the pot thoroughly 

 clean, fill it about half with clean "crocks" and small 

 pieces of charcoal, adjust the piece in the center of the 

 pot, distributing evenly any roots which remain; but 

 first spread a layer of moss over the "crocks," then press 

 the preparation of peat and moss evenly and moderately 

 firm around the piece and in the interstices between the 

 roots, finishing up high around the center; insert some 

 small-sized stakes at the proper places to support the 

 piece, tie the growth to them, and the job is finished. 

 Fig. 1941 will show better than words can describe how 

 the plant should look after it is potted. 



Repotting, when necessary, is almost identical in its 

 details with potting itself. The spring is the best 

 time to do it, even with species which flower in the fall. 

 Carefully remove all the old crocks and other material, 

 so as not to injure the roots, a pointed stick being the 

 best implement for the purpose. Then replace as care- 

 fully with new material in a clean pot. The undersigned 

 dwells upon cleanliness 

 repeatedly, for herein lies 

 the great essential in suc- 

 cessful plant - growing. 

 Potting orchids in bas- 

 kets, which sounds para- 

 doxical, is identical with 

 potting them in pots as 

 far as the essential de- 

 tails of manipulation are 

 concerned. The potting 

 of bulbs is discussed un- 

 der Bulb. 



"Shifting" is the tech- 

 nical term used in the 

 florist's trade when plants 

 are transferred to larger 

 pots. See Fig. 1942. When 

 the plant exhausts the soil 

 in the small pot it must 

 be put in a larger one to 

 maintain growth. The 

 trained eye detects at a 

 glance by the appearance 



of the plant when it requires a "shift." Those lacking 

 such training can discover it by turning the plant out of 

 the pot and examining the roots. (See Fig. 1943.) If 

 the outside of the ball of soil on the lower portion is 



1944. Repotting a sickly plant. 



The "shoulder" is rubbed 

 off as at b, replaced by fresh 

 soil and the whole ball of 

 earth reduced in size. (Only 

 a fraction of the plant's 

 height is shown.) 



well netted with roots as in Fig. 1943, and particularly 

 if most of them have lost the fresh creamy white color 

 of healthy "working" roots, then the plant must be at 

 once shifted, or it will soon reach that stage which is 

 the bane of the careless plant- grower; viz., "pot- 

 bound." 



"Knocking out" is the technical term used by florists 

 to describe the turning of a plant out of a pot. The best 

 way to do this is to take the pot in the right hand, 

 invert it in passing it to the left, as the plant should be 

 placed between the index and middle fingers of the left 

 hand, give the pot a smart tap on its rim on the edge 

 of the bench and the ball of soil is separated from the 

 pot; place the plant in a flat ready for the purpose, and 

 repeat. One tap is all that is necessary in ninety-nine 

 cases out of a hundred. It is bad practice to get into the 

 habit of giving a series of taps, as it makes slow work. 

 We are considering now the first shift, i. e., from a 

 2-inch to a 3-inch pot. 



The plants having been knocked out, the next opera- 

 tion is to "shoulder" them. This consists of removing 

 the shoulder or edge of the ball of soil with the thumb 

 and forefinger down to where the roots begin. Fig. 1944. 

 The object of this is obvious, to remove leached-out soil 

 and supply a fresh, nutritious portion in its place, so as 

 to get the greatest possible advantage from shifting. 

 Everything being made ready, the operator proceeds by 

 putting a portion of soil in the bottom of the pot suffi- 

 cient to raise the ball of soil flush with the edge of the 

 pot. As this is being done, reach for the plant with the 

 left hand and put it in the center of the pot; simultane- 

 ously take a handful of soil in the right hand and fill 

 the pot, then grasp the pot between the index and 

 middle fingers of each hand, place the thumbs on each 

 side of the plant at right angles with the body, lift the 

 pot about a half-inch 

 and set it back on the 

 bench with a smart rap, 

 pressing with the 

 thumbs at the same 

 time; change the 

 thumbs to right angles 

 with their former posi-i 

 tion and press again, 

 then change so as to 

 press where they have 

 not touched already ; 

 three pressures of the 

 thumbs and the rap on 

 the bench, and the op- 

 eration is done. A 

 smart operator with 19 4 5> Good and bad po tting. 

 two boys will shift 5,- The cutting should be placed in the 

 000 plants in 10 hours. center. 



This amount of work is 



made possible only by eliminating all unnecessary mo- 

 tions and making them synchronous with each hand in 

 reaching for soil, pot and plant as described. One hand 

 should not be idle while the other is employed. See 

 Figs. 1945-9 for good and bad examples of potting. 



Be careful in shifting not to set the plants too deep. 

 The tendency of roots is downward, and only enough of 

 the stem to steady the plant in the pot should be in the 

 soil. Plants set too deeply in the pots are easily over- 

 watered, because so much soil is not within the influ- 

 ence of root action. A few plants which root from the 

 crown, like lilies, should be set deeper than such plants 

 as roses, geraniums, fuchsias, palms and all plants 

 whose root action is mainly downward. 



Do not give too great a shift at one time; that is, do 

 not attempt to shift from a 2-inch pot to a 5- or 6-inch. 

 As a rule, an inch at a time is best, especially for com- 

 mercial purposes, where plants are grown to be shipped 

 some distance. In private places soft-wooded plants 

 may be shifted in spring from 2- to 4-inch pots and 

 from 4- to 6-inch, as the question of shipping does not 

 enter. But it would not be safe even with these to do 

 the same in late fall when growth is slower and the days 

 are growing shorter. Hard-wooded plants, such as 

 palms, azaleas, etc., and even roses should never be 

 shifted more than an inch at a time; in fact, it is better 

 not to shift them later than September in any case. 

 The spring is the best time to do it. 



