The Garden Under Glass

218 THE GARDEN UNDER GLASS have but a few weeks’ stay. Thus for eucharis, palms, clivias, and such subjects as do not need annual potting, good drainage is essential, while for spiræas and other forcing stuff which will be over in a few weeks, a large crock at the bottom will be sufficient. Indeed, in potting up geraniums in the spring for planting out in the summer only a few leaves are thrown in to keep the soil from falling out of the hole. For orchids the pots are filled one-third of the way up with crocks, or some growers prefer to use the dead roots of ferns got when picking over the peat. How to Pot a Plant We will now presume that a plant has to be shifted from a 3-inch to a 6-inch pot. The compost has been prepared, the pots are crocked and everything is ready. The plant may be knocked out of its small pot by holding it in the right hånd and tapping the rim of the pot on the edge of the bench, when the pot may be lifted clear of the ball of soil. Having extracted the crocks with as little disturb-ance of the roots as possible, the loose soil at the top should be rubbed off. Some soil should then be put into the large pot and made firm with the rammer. Place the plant in an upright position in the centre of the pot, and work more soil around it. This also should be rammed firmly, and more put in, until the surface reaches to within half-an-inch of the top of the pot. This space will be necessary for watering. The surface of the old ball of soil will, in perfect potting, be covered by about half-an-inch. It is wrong to ram the soil above the old ball, or the roots will in all probability be destroyed. A good shift for a well-rooted plant is given when there is a space of one inch between the old ball of soil and the side of the pot. Bulbs such as narcissi, tulips and hyacinths are covered so that only