April 2, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
263 
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Linnean Society at 8 P.H. 
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Good Friday. 
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Easter Sunday. 
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Bank Holiday. 
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ON POTTING PLANTS. 
MONG the first-learnt operations in plant cultiva¬ 
tion crocking pots and potting plants are to a 
young beginner two of the most important. 
As garden boys we were first taught how a pot 
intended to contain a pLnt should be drained, 
and in due time we were allowed to take our 
place at the potting bench, when in our own 
opinion we were fully fledged gardeners. To a 
man whose apprenticeship was spent under a 
good and careful master, by whom all that it was important 
for the beginner to know with regard to potting and such 
elementary work was carefully explained at the outset, a 
chapter on such a subject will be of little value, and he may 
justly remark on seeing this that he and all properly trained 
gardeners have learned long ago all there is to know about 
potting. But, unfortunately, there are not a few men who 
from one cause or another have not been properly grounded 
in the operation of potting, and that it is so every gardener 
finds out often to his cost. Recently at a meeting of a 
gardeners’ society, of which the writer is a member, the 
chapter in Lindley’s “ Theory of Horticulture,” which treats 
on potting, was read and discussed ; and although everyone 
seemed to think he knew how to pot a plant properly, much 
was said that showed how some at least did not rightly com¬ 
prehend the operation, whilst one or two supported views 
which if acted upon could not but result in disastrous conse¬ 
quences. This, therefore, is the excuse for writing a chapter 
upon the subject. 
Some useful advice was given by Mr. Muir at page 232 
on how to drain flower pots ; but one or two flaws occur in 
what he has said—notably where he suggests that an in¬ 
verted pot should be placed over the hole in the bottom of 
large pots. Now we all know that the first object to be 
attained by drainage is a free and constant outlet for the 
water from the soil above, and thus it is that where crocks 
only are used we are always careful to place over the hole at 
the bottom of the pot a large one with the concave side 
downwards. But a small even-rimmed pot placed over the 
hole is practically the same as placing a flat crock or a piece 
of glass over it. This will be apparent to anyone who 
observes how closely the rim of a small pot when inverted 
over a flat surface will touch all round. By breaking a few 
nitches in the rim of the small pot to be used as drainage 
the danger of blocking the hole of the pot drained is obviated. 
In Lindley’s book an excellent plan is mentioned for pre¬ 
venting worms, &e., getting into the pot through the hole 
at the bottom when placed upon the ground. He says, “ To 
remedy this I put at the bottom a piece of perforated zinc so 
as to completely cover the hole. Upon this a large crock is 
placed with the convex side upwards.” For large plants 
which are stood out of doors during a portion of the year this 
zinc trap seems an excellent suggestion. 
The depth of drainage used always varies with the re¬ 
quirements of the plant—Orchids and a few other plants, 
generally epiphytal ones, requiring a larger amount of drain- 
No. 249 .—Vol. X., Third Skries. 
age than others. Bearing in mind that for plants which are 
intended to remain in the same pot for several years the 
more drainage used the less soil room there is, it will be seen 
that a thin layer of crocks if properly placed will be better 
than a thick one. The roots of a plant when growing in a 
pot very soon reach the bottom, where they generally con¬ 
tinue growing round, and seldom—with strong-rooted plants 
never—find their way back into the soil again. Where a 
thick layer of crocks is used it will be seen that the majority 
of the feeding roots have no food supplied them other than 
that contained in the water when passing through the soil 
and crocks. Where crushed bones are used as drainage the 
case is different, as the bones afford more nourishment to the 
roots than ordinary soil would. If a shallow layer of soil is 
preferred it is always advantageous to use shallow pots or 
pans instead of having a deep layer of drainage beneath the 
soil, which has the effect of allowing the water to escape from 
the soil quicker than is good for the plant. So long as stag¬ 
nation is prevented it is better for all terrestrial plants that 
they be so situated as to have the soil about their roots kept 
moist without too frequent waterings, the effect of which is 
to completely decompose the soil or make it sour. For plants 
in very warm houses this precaution is of special importance. 
Shifting plants into pots of larger size is an operation 
requiring some knowledge of the nature of the plants, and 
also depends not a little on the health and size of each. 
Considering first those plants which are slow growers, and 
therefore do not extend their roots very far in a year, such 
as Ericas, Epacrises, Pimeleas, and other hardwooded 
plants, the question arises, Is it better to treat these plants 
on the one-shift system, as recommended by Dr. Lindley, or 
to give them repeated shifts, such as would be no more than 
the roots would take complete possession of in a year ? If it is 
admitted that soil deteriorates rapidly when frequently watered 
or when placed in heat, it must be apparent that to place 
a plant in a large body of soil which could not be occupied 
by the roots for several years is a system not to be recom¬ 
mended. There can be no question of the many advantages 
of the repeated or gradually increasing shift over that of the 
one-shift system—that is for plants which are being grown 
from small into large specimens, and which are slow growers. 
Many plants—such, for instance, as Pelargoniums, Balsams, 
Fuchsias, &c.—will under favourable treatment grow to a 
very large size in a single season. Some of the softwooded 
quick-growing Heaths also considerably increase in size in a 
year : for all such plants a much larger pot is advantageous. 
But we must remember that with very few exceptions the 
plants we grow are wanted to flower every year. Now, it is 
a well-known fact that under ordinary conditions a plant in 
a pot of proper size— i.e., such as its roots would about fill 
in a year—flowers more freely than when planted out, or 
when grown in a larger pot than is required for one season’s 
growth. The pot cramps the roots, causes the wood to 
mature quickly, and so induces the plant to flower. We 
know that the smaller the pot under ordinary conditions the 
greater the disposition to flower, so that by placing our 
plants in pots containing only enough soil to afford them the 
conditions required for the growth and maturation of the 
wood formed in one season, we are ensured a supply of 
flowers which would probably otherwise have failed us. 
From this it will be seen that the safest and best system to 
adopt with regard to repotting and shifting is the annual and 
not the one-shift system, or, in other words, the placing of 
the plant at an early stage of its growth in a pot large 
enough to contain it for the following six or eight years. 
Shifting plants is a different operation from that of 
shaking out and repotting, which is practised only for such 
plants as are deciduous or require a long season of complete 
rest. This operation is usually performed after the plants 
have been rested, cut back, or pruned, and started into 
growth again. As soon as the buds begin to show signs of 
activity is the time to shake out from the roots of the plants 
No. 1905.— Yon. LXXII., Old Series, 
