February 12, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
377 
PLANTING- OUT CAMELLIAS. 
Those who have only grown these plants in pots 
and tubs have but a poor conception of the ease with 
which they are managed, and the luxuriance with which 
they grow when planted out in a well-prepared border. 
In pots they are subject to checks from a variety of 
causes, which often end fatally in the plants dropping 
their buds or assuming a sickly, unhealthy appearance; 
but when planted out risks are reduced to a minimum, 
and unhealthy plants are the exception, not the rule> 
I do not wish to convey the idea that Camellias cannot 
be grown well in pots and tubs, for there is ample 
evidence to the contrary, but they do better when 
planted out than when cultivated under such conditions. 
In preparing to plant them out, a border 2 ft. 6 ins. 
in depth should be provided for them, including the 
as to give to the house a furnished appearance ; in 
many instances this must be done. The plants would 
grow well—even luxuriantly—in such a mass of soil ; 
but in a few years they become crowded, and unless 
they are re-arranged they ruin and destroy one another 
—that is, if shapely specimens are required. No doubt, 
they would grow well in a mass, the same as a lot of 
Portugal Laurels ; but such crowding is not desirable, 
for plants cramped together are neither ornamental nor 
beautiful. Camellias are not the best of things to lift 
after they have been allowed to ramble for some years 
in a whole border without some form of restriction. 
Lifting is attended, under these circumstances, with 
great risk and uncertainty. 
This state of things can be avoided by building a 
single row of bricks some distance from the ball of 
likely to crowd one another. It is better to err on the 
side of giving too little than too much root room at 
first, for this can be increased at any time if necessary, 
or feeding resorted to. The smaller and more compact 
the balls can be kept, the easier can they be trans¬ 
planted when more space is required. 
If we suppose that the whole of the plants are planted 
out, it will be readily observed how much easier they 
will be to transplant, either to give more space when 
needed in the same house, or to remove them to other 
positions. When such provision has been made, and 
the plants require more room, all that is needed is to 
lift out those plants that will not be required again to 
furnish the house, then dig a trench round the bricks, 
remove them, then bind the ball firmly together with 
sacking, or something similar, and then pull them 
Worthington G. Smith, F.L.S. 
drainage ; if the base is of clay it should be concreted, 
but if of a gravel or sandstone formation no such 
provision need be made ; in any case a drain should be 
provided to carry away superfluous water. On the 
base, about 1 ft. in depth of broken bricks or other 
similar material should be provided for drainage. Some 
care must be taken in this matter ; the larger pieces 
should be placed at the bottom, with a good layer of 
smaller ones on the surface, which will prevent the 
soil from mixing with the drainage, and thus rendering 
it useless in a few years. 
In preparing borders for these plants, many mistakes 
are made, and one of the first is filling the whole space 
with prepared soil for the plants to grow in. It is 
necessary to remove the whole of the existing soil, so 
that efficient drainage can be provided ; but to fill up 
the space again with fresh soil, and then to plant out, 
is one of the greatest blunders that can possibly be 
conceived. It is often necessary, in structures that are 
to be entirely devoted to Camellias, to plant at first, so 
each plant, so that when planted Out its roots will be 
enclosed within a circle. This is like giving them a 
large shift in a pot, and the building may be done 
before planting, except in the case of plants in large 
tubs, when it is best done afterwards. In this case 
the plant could be turned out of its tub, two or three 
sods, grass side downwards, laid over the drainage, and 
over these sufficient soil to raise the plant to its 
desired height. The wall could then be built on the 
top of the drainage, and the space between the ball and 
the wall filled in firmly with soil. Plants of only 
small or moderate size can as easily be planted out 
after the circular wall has been built as would be the 
case in transfering them into a larger pot. Where 
practicable the wall should be built before planting, 
and the mortar alhnved to dry first. Too much space 
should not be given them at first. In this matter no 
hard and fast line can be laid down, but each individual 
must be guided by the distance between the plants, 
and the length of time they will be before they are 
into the position required by the aid of a rope at the 
base. They can be got on to a square board made for 
the purpose, or on to a plank ; in fact, any of the con¬ 
trivances employed for the removal of choice shrubs 
will do very well. After they are in position, the brick 
wall, as before, can be placed round them again. 
But I must retrace my steps, for the border was left 
just as planting had been completed. The space 
between these circular beds, if such we may call them, 
can be filled up with the best of the soil that was 
removed in the first instance. The surface can be 
planted with a few moderately hardy Ferns, such as 
Pteris serrulata and others, with Selaginella Kraussiana 
(denticulata of gardens) amongst them ; which will 
quickly form an attractive green carpeting for the 
surface, and be much more ornamental than the bare 
soil. 
The soil surrounding the Camellias may consist of a 
mixture of peat and loam in equal proportions, with 
sand added ; but they will do equally well, if not 
