142 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 14, 189<T. 
mixed with it makes it both porous and absorbent. Any kind of 
well-washed sand will accomplish this object, and will do provided 
there is no pernicious quality in it. Silver sand, however, is best, 
and even if another kind of sand is used it is still advisable to mix 
some of this with the soil, since it is said that the Heath derives its 
silica from it ; it therefore supplies an article of food. But, in 
addition to sand, I invariably mix with the peat a large quantity of 
broken pots. This I consider most useful, for it makes the soil 
still more porous and absorbent, and there is little chance of the soil 
becoming sour. The soil when ready for potting is about one-half 
peat, the other half equal portions of sand and broken pots. 
Potting. 
This requires a little care and skill, for much of the success 
depends on it ; indeed, so much so that I can scarcely consider a 
plant under control unless I know how it has been potted. In the 
first place the pot should be thoroughly clean, and just dry enough 
to show no moisture on it. If too dry it is apt to absorb the 
moisture from the soil. The plant about to be potted should be 
just nicely moist, neither more nor less so than the soil to be used 
in potting. The pots should be neatly drained, and this does not 
depend on the quantity of drainage, but on its arrangement. I 
generally first put a crock over the hole, convex side upwards. I 
quite agree that it is a good plan to place it convex side downwards 
in order to keep worms out of the pot, but I never like placing 
Heaths where worms have a chance of getting in. Round this I 
place pieces rather smaller, and cover with crocks broken smaller 
still, but not fine, over this a thin layer of peat fiore, then a little 
soil. It is then ready for the plant, which should be placed at the 
proper height, simply taking care not to bury the collar, and to 
leave room for water. I generally use a blunted stick to press the 
soil together, but take care that it is merely rendered solid and not 
hard. 
Watering. 
Supplying water at the right time and in a proper manner I con¬ 
sider essential to the successful culture of Heaths ; but then if the 
plants are potted with the soil and in the manner I have described, 
there is less chance of giving them too much or too little. The 
soil absorbs a certain amount of water, the rest drains away, and 
what the soil retains will never stagnate, for a healthy plant will 
gradually appropriate it ; and if by chance water should be with¬ 
held until the soil becomes dry, its free open nature will soon allow 
it to percolate through. A Heath seldom requires water immedi¬ 
ately after potting, and sometimes it may remain a week or two, 
supposing it to be in the winter, for I follow no rule as regards the 
time of the year in potting ; but when a plant is watered for the 
first time after potting, it should be done thoroughly, so a3 to wet 
the mass of soil through, and this cannot very well be done without 
filling up the pot three or four times. This is invariably my prac¬ 
tice, for I find that if the soil is not properly moisbnei at the first 
watering after potting, it never becomes so afterwards, and plants 
have often died in consequence. After this, when the plants want 
water, filling up once will be sufficient. A practised eye can tell at 
once when a plant wants water ; but few good growers ever trust 
their eyes only, but generally ring the pot and feel the soil in 
addition. At the first watering after potting I generally use a fine 
rose, but afterwards merely pour the water on the soil from the 
spout of the watering-pot. During the summer, and while in 
flower, Heaths require a great deal of water ; but in the winter, 
and while at rest, they may be allowed to become all but dust dry, 
for a Heath may appear very dry, and even flag, when a watering 
will cause it to expand and pick up again ; but when a plant shows 
signs of distress from over-watering, it is mostly in a dying state, 
and will be hard to recover, even if that be possible. There is 
little fear of over-watering provided the soil is free and open, and 
the drainage perfect. 
Summer Treatment. 
About the beginning of May, the more hardy sorts, as gracilis 
and Willmoreana, may be set entirely out of doors, if the soil is 
free, and the drainage good, and they are placed on a good bed of 
ashes, on boards, or bricks, or in any way so that worms cannot get 
into the pots, and they will take no hurt until about Michaelmas if 
they are merely watered as required. But for choicer sorts no 
place can be better than a brick-built pit, having a good slope or 
pitch to prevent the possibility of drip from the glass. Draw the 
lights entirely off on all favourable occasions, putting them on in 
wet weather and on bright sunny days, and adding a slight shade, 
but tilt the lights at the side, and keep neither lights nor shades on 
longer than is necessary to protect from rain or too bright sunshine. 
Heaths are sometimes stood in a shady place without covering. In 
this case they must be turned on their sides, should heavy rains 
occur ; but if left too long in that position they are apt to turn 
the points of the shoots upwards, which puts them out of shape. 
In my younger days I have been called up in the middle of the 
night to turn down a lot of specimen Heaths, and other plants. 
This is no joke ; and although I would rather do it now than allow 
favourite plants to become injured or killed, still I would rather 
evade the necessity of doing so, or of giving others the trouble, by 
putting the plants in a place where they would be safe from injury 
from drenching rains. In places where there are plenty of hands 
to run and shut up pits, frames, &c., or turn down plants, there is. 
less chance of accident ; but in most places this is not the case, and. 
it becomes necessary to avoid such running about, which breaks 
into the day’s work more than lookers-on would suppose. And if 
plants are to be kept under cover, it must be where they can have, 
fresh air night and day, and not be overhung by other plants. 
Winter Treatment. 
When housed about Michaelmas, supposing the plants to have 
been freely exposed, care should be taken to give them all the fresh, 
air that can be admitted to them, for under no circumstances will 
they thrive and do well in a close or confined atmosphere. Keep 
them cool, and rather dry than otherwise, and never attempt to 
hurry them into growth. I should have said that after about the. 
middle of August, the more sun the plants have the better, as this 
will harden the wood and induce them to flower better. In the 
autumn and winter mildew sometimes attacks the Heath, but rarely 
have I had plants troubled with it, as good drainage, a free open 
soil, and plenty of exposure to the air, will prevent it, and if it has 
made its appearance a dusting of sulphur will cure it. Heaths are 
also sometimes infested with scale, but this is only when they 
become pot-bound, or are crowded too much in the wood, or are 
placed too closely together. This pest is difficult to eradicate if it. 
happen to get ahead, but strong soapy water rubbed on with a 
sponge or soft brush will destroy the insects. Some of the softer- 
wooded kinds are sometimes troubled with green fly, which is easily 
destroyed by fumigation. But, generally speaking, Heaths are very 
clean in their growth, and if kept in good condition will give the 
cultivator very little trouble as regards pests of any kind. This I 
consider a great recommendation to their cultivation. 
Training. 
The training of Heaths not only requires both skill and judg¬ 
ment, but it is an art acquired only by practice. A well-grown and. 
well-trained Heath is one of the most beautiful productions of the 
plant department that can well be conceived. To grow and train 
one as it should be requires no mean display of skilful handling. 
There should be few sticks, and those thin and tapering, and painted 
green to match the foliage. The bast matting should be good, and 
used very thin. I greatly dislike using thread, as some make a 
practice of doing. The shoots should be trained-in at regular dis¬ 
tances, at the same time giving the -whole plant a natural and easy 
appearance. But those who know how to train a Heath will not 
want telling, and those who do not will learn more by practice than 
from description. Men who have to use heavy tools can seldom 
train these plants well, and this is often exemplified in the speci¬ 
mens produced in many places, and which exhibit a countless host 
of sticks, and an appearance the opposite of easy or graceful. A 
Heath to look well should have the pot proportioned to the size 
of the plant, and be trained in such a manner that the eye is nob 
attracted by the sticks. 
Propagation. 
The propagation of Heaths is not generally a part of the duties- 
of the girdener, indeed very few can spare the time necessary, or 
have a suitable place in which to strike these plants. Propa¬ 
gators of Heaths and other hardwooded plants must undergo a 
certain training in order to qualify them for the work, and when 
they become competent they generally command good wages. 
Propagating such plants is an art, and, according to the division of 
labour it should be left to those who have studied the art, and cer¬ 
tainly those who are unacquainted with it must not suppose it is 
equivalent to striking cuttings of bedding-out plants. Some kinds 
of Heaths will take from six to nine months from the time of 
inserting the cuttings till these become rooted, and some hard- 
wooded plants will take twelve months, and all this time they 
require daily attention in wiping the glasses and shading. I simply 
mention this, so that those who may be unacquainted with the process 
may be prepared for what they have to do should they make the- 
attempt. I have struck various Heaths more for amusement than 
anything else, and in five years’ time have h?*d plants which I 
consider repaid all the time and attention they required. “ This- 
is a long time to wait,” many will say. True, but then the 
time comes at last, and it must be remembered that there are pro¬ 
pagators now engaged in striking Heaths that in three or four 
years’ time will make small flowering plants. The process I have 
followed is to fill two or three pots of a suitable size about 
