472 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 26, 1898. 
||ints for ||mateurs. 
THE ANNUAL POTTING. 
Last week we discussed the necessity of an annual 
clear out, and spoke of the broad general rules that 
must govern the work. This week we may go a 
little more into detail, and point out some of the 
special needs of the more important plants or classes 
of plants that find a place in the majority of collec¬ 
tions. We must first of all, however, say a word or 
two about the condition of the soil. It should not 
be too wet when it is used. Too wet soil is a fruit¬ 
ful source of evil, especially if the bulk of it is loam, 
which has not too much fibre in it. Such soil is 
inclined to cake into a clay-like mass under moderate 
pressure, and the result is that plants whose root 
systems are not so vigorous as could be desired at 
the time of potting are scarcely given a fair chance 
to improve themselves in this respect. A good guide 
as to the condition of the soil is that a small quantity 
of it squeezed together in the hand should be 
sufficiently adhesive for the particles to cling to¬ 
gether, but on being thrown back again on the 
bench should be friable enough to crumble. Soil in 
this condition will never " cake,” except under 
exceptionally heavy ramming, to such an extent as 
to give the roots a bad time of it. 
Pots. —All pots used should be clean, both inside 
and outside, and dry, not only for appearance sake, 
but for the good of the plants that are to be placed 
in them. If new pots have been obtained, these 
should be soaked for a few hours in water, and 
allowed to dry before it is attempted to put plants 
in them. To do so, before the pots had undergone 
this soaking, would have been very prejudicial to 
the roots, for new pots are of a harsh, thirsty, and 
unkindly nature. In ordering or choosing new pots, 
by-the-way, we may caution the amateur against the 
glazed pots which local dealers are so fond of 
pushing off upon amateur gardeners. Professional 
gardeners have a great dislike to these glazed pots, 
for the plants never do really well in them. 
Palms.—Of all the plants which are grown in 
greenhouse, stove, and conservatories, warm and 
cool, Palms hold the highest rank. Year by year, 
they increase in favour and in numbers in the 
collections of those who love plants. As much of 
their value lies in their suitability for decorating 
rooms and passages in the dwelling house, when 
required, it is obvious that it is advisable to keep 
them in as small pots as possible. If proper atten¬ 
tion is given, it is quite easy to have good sized 
plants with a considerable sweep of fronds in com¬ 
paratively small pots. Under such conditions pot¬ 
ting every year can be done without in many cases, 
and when a shift is given it should only be a small 
one, i.e., there should be just enough room in the new 
pot to work in a little soil between the pot and the 
old ball. Everybody must have noticed that many 
Palms, more particularly the Phoenixes, have a 
habit of throwing out a lot of roots at the base of the 
stem, and at the bottom of the pot; in other words, 
the root system is predisposed to vertical instead of 
lateral expansion. The effect of this is to raise the 
plants out of the soil so that a large cluster of roots 
at the base of the stem is bare. Now, if we take 
the ordinary make of pot, we shall find that if we 
employ one deep enough to allow such a plant to be 
sunk sufficiently low to cover these exposed roots, 
the diameter of the pot is much too great, and the 
whole thing too big and very clumsy. To meet the 
case, therefore, a special kind of pot should be pro¬ 
cured, having the depth very much greater in pro¬ 
portion to the width than the ordinary make. 
In potting Palms, the staple of the compost should 
consist of good loam, the more fibrous the better. 
The best material will be furnished by loam that has 
been stacked for a few months, with alternate layers 
of fresh cow manure. If some of this can be 
obtained, it will be found invaluable for pot plants. 
All the addition it needs is a sprinkling of coarse 
river and silver sand, with perhaps a piece or two of 
fibrous peat worked in to lighten it a little if the 
loam itself is not very fibrous—if it is, the peat is 
not required. 
For the guidance of those who have never 
attempted to pot a Palm (those of my readers who 
are comparatively experienced will kindly pass over 
this part if it bores them) we will go through in 
detail the operation. 
Let us take such a plant as we have mentioned 
above, say a Phoenix rupicola, which has not been 
potted for several years, and which has been lifted 
out of the soil by the vertical extension of the root 
system. If it is a big plant, we shall probably find 
some difficulty in getting it out of the old pot. The 
first step in doing so must be to cut off the roots 
that have grown through the drainage holes in the 
pot. If the plant even then refuses to come out, the 
old pot must be broken. At the bottom of the ball 
we shall find a mass of thick fleshy roots. These it 
will not be wise to disturb to any extent, for all the 
liveliest roots are here, and the plant will suffer 
enough from the check of shifting, no matter how 
carefully it is performed, without breaking and 
injuring these roots. By means of a stout-pointed 
stick the ends of these roots may be loosened. Then 
turning attention to the upper part of the ball, we 
may remove all the soil that we conveniently can ; 
any dead roots that are observed may be taken 
away at the same time. The preparation of the 
plant is now complete. 
Now for the new pot. A large flat crock should 
be laid over the central hole of the pot, and others 
against the side holes, if there be any. Other 
smaller crocks may be laid carefully round to the 
depth of about an inch. It is not necessary to put 
in a lot of crocks, for in the first place there is not 
room for them, and in the second they are not needed 
as the network of roots at the bottom of the old ball 
will act as efficient drainage. Upon the crocks 
should be placed a layer of the roughest and most 
fibrous part of the compost, and then if there is 
room, which can be ascertained by trial, a little of 
the body of the compost may follow. Ram this 
firmly with the modern rammer we have previously 
referred to. Next place the plant in its new quarters 
in such a way that the stem is as nearly as possible 
in the centre of the pot. Once this has been 
achieved, the next process is to fill in the vacant 
space between the old ball and the side of the pot, 
and this part of the operation will require the utmost 
care and some patience, otherwise there will be 
hollow places with no soil, and the roots in the 
vicinity, having nothing to feed on, will perish. To 
perform the filling up properly, only a little compost 
should be put in at a time, working this down firmly 
all round with a thin lath in much the same way as 
an engineer packs the joint in a pipe. Continue the 
work until the top is reached, when the surface may 
be levelled down, and a little sharp sand sprinkled 
over to give it a finish. 
Small plants and young seedlings in various stages 
come in very handily for a variety of decorative 
purposes, and some very rretty plants may be grown 
in large thumb pots, and from that size on to large 
sixties. It will be found advisable in these cases 
also to use the relatively deep, narrow pots for them. 
They can be obtained in all sizes. The young plants 
will not need to be potted quite so firmly as the old 
ones, but still the soil should be made fairly firm so 
as to put a check on gross growth. 
Aspidistras.—Like the Palms, these may be grown 
for a number of years in the same pot, but there 
comes a time when a shift is necessary in the best 
interests of the plant, and the present is the most 
suitable time in the whole year to give it. Any 
large plants that are observed to have deteriorated 
in the size and substance of the leaf will be improved 
by a change to more roomy quarters. Propagation 
by division, too, may be best carried on at this 
season of the year. When it is desired to divide a 
plant into a number of pieces, a good deal of the soil 
should first of all be carefully shaken from the ball, 
and then by means of a sharp knife the division may 
be made. The pieces should be potted up singly 
into as small pots as will comfortably contain them, 
and placed in a warm house to give them a start. 
Aspidistras will do well enough in a cool house or 
room, and, indeed, in the more southern counties, 
they are nearly hardy, but after the check given by 
division a little coddling will enable them to pick up 
and make plants much more quickly than would 
otherwise be the case. The soil should consist of 
two-thirds of good loam and one part of leaf-soil, 
with plenty of sand and a few nodules of charcoal to 
keep it all sweet. The charcoal is an important 
item for Aspidistras, as, indeed, it is for all plants 
that require plenty of water, and that are likely to 
stay for a considerable time in the same pots. The 
drainage, too, should be liberal, and it is better toerron 
the side of giving too much rather than too little.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“ Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Starting Gloxinias.— Reader : You need not pot up 
the backward Gloxinias for the present if you do not 
wish it. Keep them well supplied with water and 
place them on a shelf near the glass. Those tubers 
that have made shoots an inch in length should be 
potted up at once. 
Peas in Pots.—I have raised a lot of Chelsea Gem 
Pea in pots. Please tell me when it will be safe to 
plant them out, and also the best position in the 
garden for them. I have a vacant part of a border 
facing to the south. Would this do ? Please tell me 
also what room to allow between the rows.— L. L. 
Norman. 
You may plant out the Peas without delay, the 
sooner the better, in fact, unless the weather brings 
us something unexpected in a heavy fall of snow. 
The south border will do capitally. As Chelsea Gem 
is a dwarf and compact grower, 15 in. will be ample 
space to allow between the rows. You will have to 
provide coverings so that they may easily be spread 
over the Peas if frost comes, which is more than 
likely. 
Tuberous Begonias.— Thos.Rood: Prick the young 
seedlings out into shallow pans or boxes filled with 
light soil. The practice of elevating the surface of 
the soil above the rim of the pots in the way your 
friend does is amusing to him, perhaps, but other¬ 
wise of no value. 
Tomatos.— C. L. James : You are late with the 
Tomato seed, for it should have been sown in 
January. Sow it at once in a brisk heat, and hurry 
up the plants. 
Campanula Medium calycanthema.— C. R. 
Cheyne : The 7-in. and 8-in. pots will be quite large 
enough to flower the plants in. You may commence 
to feed when the flower spikes commence to make 
their appearance. It will be better to withhold 
stimulant until then. 
Hyacinths Failing to Bloom.— C. E. N.: There 
has been a very general complaint about Hyacinths 
this year. The fungus which you speak of as beiDg 
present in the undeveloped spikes may be the cause 
of the mischief, the bulbs having contracted the 
disease during their growth last year. It will be well 
to throw away the old bulbs at once as they will be 
of no service after this, and will only spread the 
infection. In any case they will not throw any more 
flowers after the central spike has gone off. 
Erica hyemalist—I bought three plants of this 
Erica in flower this winter. The flowers are, of 
course, all dead now. How must I treat the plants ? 
I suppose they want trimming.— N. Nolan. 
Yes, the plants will certainly want pruning. Cut 
them back nearly to the old wood. This will make 
them rather unsightly looking objects for a time, but 
they will soon grow out of that if you treat them 
well. They will require to be kept rather close in a 
gentle heat for a while after the pruning, in order to 
stimulate growth. You must not be surprised if you 
fail with them, however, for Ericas are ticklish 
things to manage, and this is a very critical season 
of the year. 
Acacia cordata is the name of the plant you 
speak of, C. T .: It makes a good pot plant for the 
greenhouse, and usually flowers very freely. It is a 
somewhat slow grower, and it takes a few years to 
make a decent specimen. 
Chionodoxas — G. T .: You may shift the Chiono- 
doxas if you like after flowering is over and the foliage 
has died down, but leave them alone unless you feel 
obliged to shift them. You *may see the results 
of this in the way that clumps flower in 
the same place year after year. Their flowers are 
always finer and better than those produced by the 
plants that are constantly being shifted. 
Passiflora Constance Elliot.— Union : You may 
certainly grow this pretty Passion flower in a pot or 
