No_3_March_and_April__1950 — Page 41

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS IN POTS

By R. E. Dean, Gardens Department

Ornamental Trees, Botanic Gardens Hong Kong

In the gardens of China, Italy and Spain, the cultiva- tion of plants in pots has always played an important role. The established usage of this form of gardening has been due primarily to the limited size of the compounds, and the fact that much less water is required to keep the plants alive during periods of drought. As restrictions on the use of water for domestic and gardening purposes are annually imposed in Hong Kong, it behoves all of us to be sparing and to make the fullest use of supplies when they are limited. Besides certain plants grow best in pots, and very few of them are so fastidious as to object to used bath-water or greaseless kitchen water.

In selecting pots it is most satisfactory to keep all the containers in harmonious shapes and colours. Pots come in many shapes but the ones most commonly used are the upright English type for the deep rooting plants as most shrubs and the Chinese kind for annuals and ferns etc.

A great variety of annuals, perennials and shrubs can be grown successfully in pots. Shrubs, it is true, have to be kept small enough to thrive in a pot by pruning the coarse vigorous roots before potting and by careful pruning of the branches best done soon after the flowering period. To look well, plants must have a shape that is suitable to be lifted off the ground, and the adaptability to grow well in a confined space. They should not be rambly and thin, but should be compact and preferably leafy, with either conspicuous flower or decorative foliage.

Any one can have a pot garden composed of annuals and shrubs. Certain combinations have become almost hackneyed, but are charming nevertheless-white Mar- guerites with red or pink Pelargoniums; gold Marigolds and Calendulas with purple Petunias. Other plants which do well in pot are Gardenia, Hydrangea, Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Begonia and Citrus for their ornamental fruit or fragrant flowers.

Having chosen the type of pot you prefer they should be soaked in water before use if they are new.

Used pots

should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed inside and out. Before putting the soil into the pot, it is important to place a few pieces of broken pot or flat stone on the bottom to cover the drainage hole. Then cover the drainage material with a few dead leaves or cocoanut fibre up to a quarter of the depth of the pot. Then place the plant to be potted in the larger pot and fill in sufficient soil so as to cover the top of it to within "-1" of the rim of the pot.

While holding the plant in position gradually press the soil down firmly-but not too hard-and then fill in with a little extra soil to 14" below the rim.

Good potting soil is not easy to find here. Ordinary earth from the garden is not good enough alone, but it can be enriched by the addition of some sifted leaf mould, or decayed vegetation (not animal manure) and 靄 sprinkling of charcoal dust. Charcoal is of great help and is most beneficial to the roots. Very fine sifted soil is detrimental as it clogs easily when wetted, and the roots languish and die because of lack of air in the soil.

When potting plants do not remove them to a very much larger pot; a size bigger by 2′′ all round is all that is required. Generally speaking, when the roots of a plant begin to protrude out of the drainage hole, then it needs shifting into a larger one. After a period of time-sooner if the watering is carelessly done-it is necessary to re-pot even though the plant has not outgrown its pot. Some- times, however, surface dressing is resorted to; that is a portion of the top soil is removed and replaced with new soil enriched with some well decayed manure. Only when the plant has become established and the roots grown through the soil to the edges of the pot, should fertilizers be applied and then a little at a time say once a fortnight. Geraniums or rather Pelargoniums improve by being to a certain degree pot bound and then fed with liquid manure to produce good flowers.

Probably the most important operation in the culture of pot plants is the watering of them, and more failures are due to over watering than any other cause. Heavy watering is injurious and no plant should be watered unless it requires it. When a pot requires watering a hollow sound will be emitted if it is tapped with the knuckles or a small piece of wood. When a pot has been left to dry out, it is best to stand it up to its rim in a bowl of water and leave to soak. Every advantage should be taken of a steady rain to clean the foliage of dust by being stood outside for awhile.

Watering is best done in the morning and evening, and when the nights are cold then in the mornings only.

The appearance of many plants (those grown for foliage effect especially) are often marred by deposits of dust in the dry season. A light syringing with clean water is beneficial but occasionally the leaves need to be wiped gently with a piece of sponge or rag dipped in soapy water or a solution of “Abolinium” obtainable on the local market. Palms should be treated in the manner every 2-3 months to keep away scale and other insects and to impart a healthy gloss to the leaves.

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