MODE OF POTTING, AND MATEEIALS. 



6 



is essential to the careful grower, so that he may, as far as 

 his means permit, place them in circumstances similar to 

 those in which they make their natural growth ; and it is, 

 perhaps, to inattention on this point that the want of suc- 

 cess in the culture of some of the orchidaceous plants, hy 

 even the most successful of our cultivators, is to be attri- 

 buted. 



Mode of Totting , and the Materials to he used. 



When the season of rest is over, many kinds will re- 

 quire repotting : but I have not confined my practice to 

 that time only ; no season can be determined on absolutely 

 as the proper one for this operation. The months of 

 February and March are the best times to pot some of 

 them, that is, after the resting season. Those that do not 

 need potting should be top-dressed with good fibrous peat, 

 removing the old soil from the top without breaking the 

 root of the plants. This also affords the means of getting 

 rid of many insects which harbour in the old soil. The 

 pots should be thoroughly cleansed from the mould, moss^ 

 and dirt, too often seen covering those in which Orchids 

 ai^e growing. Previously to potting the plants, they should 

 not receive any water for four or five days. Some, how- 

 ever, should be potted at a period somewhat later, viz. just 

 as they begin to grow. All the species of the genera 

 Phajus, Calanthea, Dendrobium, Stanhope, Cyrtojoodiim, 

 Brassia, Miltonia, Sohralia, Bletia, Oncidium, and many 

 others, require this treatment. Lcslias, Cattleyas, Sacco- 

 lahiums, Aerides, Vandas, and similar plants, should be 

 potted just before the commencement of their growing 

 season. The chief point to be attended to in all potting 

 is that the pots may be well drained ; the best material for 

 drainage is potsherds or charcoal. Before potting, be par- 

 ticular to have the pots perfectly clean inside and out, and 



