December 9, 1916 



H R T I (' U L T U R E 



763 



Winter Flowering Begonias 



By the introduc- 

 tion into Great 



Britain of Begonia 



Soeotrana, from the 



Island of Socotra 



in 1880 by Profes- 

 sor Bailey Balfour 



of Edinburgh, Scot- 

 land, and also by 



the results obtained 



by John Heal for 



the firm of James 



Yeitch & Sons, in 



crossing B. Soco- 



trana with tuberous 



varieties, we now 



have a class of be- 

 gonias that are well 



worth growing for 



winter decoration 



in the conservatory. 



The first variety 



raised by John Heal 



was Autumn Rose 



from a cross be- 

 tween B. Socotrana 



and the American 



variety insignis 



which flowered in 



1882 but not being 



d i s t r i buted was 



eventually lost. The 



next attempt by 



Mr. Heal jjroved 



more successful in 



the production of a 

 variety named after 



himself, viz., John 



Heal, from a cross between B. Soc<itrana (female) and 

 B. Viscomtess Douerade. According to what is written 

 of the variety John Heal, only one seed germinated, and 

 the whole stock of it is the produce of a single plant dis 

 tributed in 1885. Next in succession came B. Adoni; 

 in 1887, followed by B. Agatlia in 1903. B. Agatha was 

 the produce of a cross between B. Socotrana and a gar- 

 den variety, B. Moonlight. B. Moonlight was raised 

 about 50 years ago by the late Colonel Tower Clarke of 

 Daventry, Eng., who was also the raiser of the well- 

 known B. Weltonensis from a cross between B. Pearci 

 and B. Dregei (one of the ])arents of B. Gloire de Lor- 

 raine). Begonia de Lorraine was introduced in 1891 

 by Lemoine of Nancy, France, and grew rapidly into 

 favor on both sides of the Atlantic, it being tlie produce 

 of a cross between B. Socotrana and B. Dregei. Other 

 varieties of Gloire de Lorraine are Turnford Hall, a 

 white sport introduced by T. Rochford & Sons, Eng.. 

 Amabilis, Glory of Cincinnati, Rochfordii, Lonsdale 

 Light Pink, and Mrs. J. 11. Peterson. The latter is a 

 beautiful variety with dark bronze green foliage and red- 

 dish pink flowers. B. Melior is another lieautiful variety 

 from a cross between B. Lonsdale Light Pink and B. 

 Socotrana which I believe was rai.sed by J. H. Peterson 

 of Cincinnati. The flowers of this latter variety are 

 large and of a delicate rose color, ilessrs. Clibrans oi' 

 Altrincham, England, have also lately introduced some 

 beautiful varieties of the John Heal tyjie — Altrincluuu 

 Pink, Splendour, Pink Perfection, Scarlet Beauty and 

 various others. John Real's recent introductions are 



Bkimjma Mk.s. Heal. 



Success, Mrs. Heal, l^iatior, .lulius, Sylva, Winter 

 Cheer, Optima, Ejjerius, Syros, Her Majesty and a few 

 others. Like the B. Gloire de Lorraine fafnily, the John 

 Heal type can be readily propagated from the leaf, taken 

 fi-oni the plant witii a heel attaciied and inserted in 2- 

 inch pots filled with sharji sand, and placed in a propa- 

 gating frame with a temjierature ranging from 65 to 

 70 degrees at night, care being taken not to let water 

 condense on the leaves. Propagated also by taking off 

 side growths and young shoots from the tubers in ilarch 

 after they have attained a height of 2 to ."? inches and 

 inserted in 2-inch pots filled with sharp sand, .they 

 will loot in from ten to fourteen days. 



As soon as the cuttings are rooted, they should be 

 taken out of the sand and potted up into 2^-inch jwts, 

 in a nice free open compost consisting of loam, leaf mold 

 and a little sand to keep it open. Potting should be 

 medium firm, and great care in watering is required if 

 one wishes to succeed in growing the John Heal type of 

 Begonia, also care in ventilation, shading from strong 

 sunshine, and fumigating regularly to keep down the 

 mite, and a regular temperature of 60 degrees at night, 

 weather permitting, . throughout the growing season. 

 They are also .subject to mildew in some locations, but 

 this can be overcome by spraying witli Finigine, applied 

 with a very fine sprayer, and a careful oj)erator of same. 

 When they are well rooted in the 2J-inch pots, they will 

 require a shift into 4-ineh |)ots. using a com|X)st as 

 recommended before, hut in a rougher state. For the 



