8 4 THE BOOK OF THE GREENHOUSE 



Begonias. Begonias of the Rex type are easily grown 

 in pots of loam, peat and sand. They offer no diffi- 

 culties of culture, provided they get a fairly high tem- 

 perature, shade, and a liberal water supply during the 

 summer. The best method of propagation is the curious 

 one of raising several young plants from a single leaf. 

 It is carried out by filling a well-drained pan with com- 

 post as for potting, sprinkling over this a further layer 

 of sand, and then cutting a fully developed leaf with an 

 inch or two of stem attached, imbedding the stem in the 

 soil so that the leaf may lie flat on the surface, then 

 scoring across the larger ribs of the leaf in various 

 places. Sprinkle over each cut sufficient sand to 

 weigh it flat down on to the soil, put into a warm 

 house, and in the course of a few weeks young plants 

 will have sprung from each severed mid-rib j these may 

 be detached and potted singly after they have formed a 

 few roots. Perhaps a simpler method of propagation is 

 to take off the points of growing shoots with two or 

 three inches of stem, putting each singly in a small pot. 

 Only just sufficient water to prevent extreme flagging 

 should be given until the cuttings have taken root. 



Cordylines and Dracaenas. For gardening purposes 

 these may be classed together, the culture of the green- 

 house species being identical. They make handsome 

 plants in rather small pots and are indeed very useful 

 for many purposes. Good loam, with peat or leaf mould 

 and sand, is a suitable compost. Propagation is carried 

 out in various ways. The tops may be converted into 

 cuttings, but these require a hot and close place in 

 which to take root quickly, and the better way is to 

 take off a ring of bark just below the lowest leaves, or 

 to make, with a sharp knife upward, sloping incisions on 

 opposite sides of the stem, binding the latter with a big 

 bunch of moss, and keeping this moistened until roots 

 form, then separating the head below the moss and 



