Somewhat heavy loam y are best for potting pine apples, for melons and strawberries, fruit trees in pots, &c., and may be used with the addition of manures only; but for ornamental plants a loam of a somewhat freer texture is preferable and more pleasant to work.
When, however, a hard-wooded plant has to be repotted, the case is different; it may stand without further potting for one year or two years or more, and therefore much more care is necessary.
The potting must be done very firmly, using turfy loam with which a little mortar rubble has been mixed.
The importance of the root-fibres, or " feeding roots " justifies the care which is taken by every good gardener to secure their fullest development, and to prevent as far as possible any injury to them in digging, potting and transplanting, such operations being therefore least prejudicial at seasons when the plant is in a state of comparative rest.
This mode of potting does well for bulbs, such as hyacinths, which are either thrown away or planted out when the bloom is over.
