Cela copied the notes that were drawn in the dirt into her notebook.
Quote:
1) Dig a hole deep enough that you could set your pot in it and the top soil of the pot would be level with the groundish.
2) Water the soil a bit but not enough that it becomes like mud.
3) If the pot you have is made out of pliable, flexible material, massage the pot so the roots get loosened a bit. [This will apply only to the cheap-o flutterby pots.]
4) Carefully, gripping the plant at the base of its stem, remove the plant from its pot. MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL ITS ROOTS!
5) Gently set it inside the hole in the ground, guesstimating to make sure there's enough room for the roots. Make sure it doesn't sink (otherwise you'll need to add more dirt to the hole before you plant it).
6) Retaining a hold on the plant being transplanted, massage its roots some more until they are loose and spread out in the hole you made. Don't rip or tear at the roots though; gentle is thee word.
7) Use your shovel (or your hands, mouth, neighbor's shoe, whatever) to gently fill in the space over the roots/around the base of the plant with the soil you displaced when you first dug the hole.
8) Pat the dirt up around the base of the plant and then make a ring, like a moat, so it has space for the water to seep in. And remember, you don't want any exposed roots.
9) WATER the PLANT.
10) Repeat steps 1-9 with your puffapod, preferably planting it right next to your own flutterby bush. Remember to space them 2-3 feet apart!
She moved over to the furrow, shovel in hand and started to dig a bit to adjust the depth to fit her flutterby pot. She checked it was right by putting the pot in there before taking it out and watering, just enough to moisten without muuddying. She massaged the felxible pot and giggled as the flutterby tickled her face in return. Once she was sure that the roots had been massaged loose, Cela checked the instructions again and gripped the flutterby at the base and slowly and carefully drew it out of its pot, crooning to it all the while.
She had guesstimated pretty darn well, and when she placed it in the hole it turned out that she didn't need to raise the soil level at all. Cela began to massage the roots loose being gentle and especially careful of the rootball. Once she was satisfied with that, Cela kept a grip on the plant and began to push the displaced soil back in the hole with her hands. When it was half full and she could let go of the plant, she continued refilling it with the shovel.
She patted the soil up, checked the roots weren't exposed and made a little moat with her fingers. Cela put her shovel aside and picked up a watering can and watered the flutterby.
Nowwww for the puffapod plant. Cela began the process again, about 2 and a half feet away from her flutterby, this time she had to be a little more careful with the roots and freeing it from the terra cotta pot. She hummed happily and stopped to give the flower a nuzzle as she massaged its roots free before sticking it in the hole she had made. Patting up the dirt, Cela made another little moat and watered the puffapod flower too.
All done, Cela sat herself down between the two plants, occassionally reaching out both hands to gently touch them.