CHAPTER V 

 Potting for the Winter 



As the frosts approach will come the question of how to 

 save the tender plants which are fit for house blooming. 

 There will be geraniums, balsam, and other plants, either old 

 friends or new ones raised from cuttings, which must be 

 potted before the frosts weaken them. Or there will be such 

 plants as stock, raised from seed during the summer for just 

 this purpose. 



Most of these should go into deep pots of the ordinary 

 kind, which should be carefully selected for them. The size 

 of the pot should not be so great as the spread of the leaves is 

 expected to be when once the plant is growing well. But 

 no rule can be given for this, except to say that the pot may 

 easily be too large. The beginner is likely to be over-generous. 

 Having chosen the pot, proceed as follows. 



First the plant and its soil should be well watered as 

 deep as the roots go. 



Then scrub the pot thoroughly. It should be clean and 

 moist. 



Next, the pot should be drained. Put in the bottom 

 broken earthenware, or stones, to the depth of perhaps an 

 inch for a six-inch pot. For smaller pots merely cover the 

 opening, sifting in a little sand or gravel. 



The earth used may well be the soil in which the plant is 

 growing. I should prefer, however, to mix some that is rich 

 for the bottom and sides of the pot. For this purpose, mix 

 d 33 



