74 



POPULAR GARDENING-. 



January, 



A Mexican Offering to the Flower 



Garden:— Tridax Bicolor. 

 We reproduce from the London Gardeners' 

 Chronicle an engraving of the Mexican 

 annual, Tridax bicolor, now attracting the 

 attention of the florists of Europe. Although 

 known to botanists for many years, it is a 

 novelty in the flower garden. It inhabits the 

 stony hills near Chihuahua, is of annual 

 duration and dwarf habit, with yellow and 

 red or pink flower-heads; but the rays of 

 color appear to vary from pink to purple. 

 Seeds of Tridax bicolor were collected in 

 1885 by English explorers, and some of this 

 passed into the hands of Mr. W.Thompson, 

 the well known florist and author, of 

 Ipswich, England. Mr. Thompson fur- 

 nishes the following information concera- 

 ing its character and cultivation: 



The plant has been treated as a half-hardy 

 plant, but wOl probably succeed with the 

 treatment afforded hardy annuals if not 

 sown too early. It forms a much branched 

 tuft, from 12 to 15 inches in height and as 

 much in breadth, each stem and branchlet 

 being terminated by a flower-head fi-om 1}4 

 to nearly 3 inches across, with a yellow disc, 

 and a ray of from fifteen to eighteen rather 

 broad three-toothed florets of a pleasing 

 rose color. The involucral scales and 

 flowerheads in a partially developed stage 

 are of a deep crimson hue. The foliage is 

 somewhat triangular in form at the base 

 of the plant, where the leaves are about 3 

 inches in length and half as much in 

 breadth; they are strongly nerved, and 

 have their margins widely toothed; the 

 upper leaves become gradually narrower 

 and smaller, and are mostly quite entire. 

 The plant would seem to have a robust 

 constitution, and blooms profusely from 

 July until quite the close of summer. The 

 specimens sent are taken from plants par- 

 tially exhausted by seeding, but still cov- 

 ered with undeveloped buds, which will 

 prolong its season until winter arrives. 



The typical plant.as described by Dr. Asa 

 Gray in Planhe Fcndleriancc, has white 

 rays, but the present variety is referred to 

 by the venerable botanist. The genus is 

 closely allied to the older Galinsoga, of 

 which G. trilobata, was formerly cultivated. 

 We are not aware that Tridax bicolor has 

 yet found a place in the seed catalogues. 



stantly all the year round. Begonia mani- 

 cata, whitish pink, December through Jan- 

 uary; B. Weltoniensis, pale rose, neat, and 

 according to conditions of cultivation can 

 be had in bloom any time of the year. 



While these "flowering'' Begonias are 

 generous bloomers, we use them very little 

 among cut flowers. Large bunches of 

 themselves are pretty, but they drop very 

 readily. For home use they are all right, 





Begonias-Their Classes and Their 

 Culture. 



W. FALCONER, GLEN COVE, N. T. 



These plants naturally abound in Central 

 America, Southern Asia and South Africa, 

 and although many species extend up the 

 mountains to the regions of light frosts and 

 snows, no knovvoi species is hardy in our 

 Northern States. We sometimes read about 

 the hardiness of some of the tuberous- 

 rooted sorts, but my experience with them 

 and others is that we have no hardy Be- 

 gonia of any kind. 



Some Begonias are of gigantic propor- 

 tions, others diminutive; some are very orna- 

 mental, others (and there are lots of them in 

 cultivation) poor enough. Florists cultivate 

 a limited number of standard sorts, but in 

 private greenhouses we often And Begonias 

 not grown by florists. As a rule, however, 

 the florists keep the most desirable kinds. 



Winter Flowering Begonias.— Among 

 the best of these are the upright bushy 

 sorts we grow in such quantity for winter 

 flowers. Begonia insignis, pink, Novem- 

 ber and December, is the best; then comes 

 B. Saundersoni, with its red waxy flower 

 buds all the year round, but mostly in win- 

 ter; B. fuchsioides, scarlet, winter and 

 spring; B. erecta multiflora, pink, Decem- 

 ber to February; B. odorata, white, Decem- 

 ber to April; B. coccinea (rubra), scarlet, 

 showy, very vigorous, and in bloom con- 



tridax bicolor from mexico, considerably 

 reduced; flowers rosy lilac 



but for shipping, unsatisfactory. But as 

 decorative plants for the window or con- 

 servatory they are capital. I grow the pre- 

 ceding kinds in quantity in greenhouses 

 where they are much shaded by large plants 

 and vines. No, these are not the best con- 

 ditions for them; they prefer an open, light 

 place, but most all other " flowering " 

 plants do the same, and I find that Begonias 

 submit to shady treatment better than 

 would the other plants, hence I impose on 

 their good nature. 



Tuberous-Rooted Begonias.— These are 

 the most desirable race for summer bloom- 

 ing. They afford us all shades of white, 

 yellow, pink and scarlet, and we have 

 many double varieties. They are capital 

 plants for amateurs who have only a win- 

 dow and small garden patch; they may 

 plant them out in summer, lift them in fall 

 and store the tubers in sand or earth in a 

 box or pot, and lay it past in the cellar or 

 cupboard till next May, when again the 

 tubers may be planted in the garden. 



They are easily raised from seed, but as 

 the seeds are flne as dust, and there is only 

 a tiny pinch in each packet, we need to deal 

 very carefully with them. While all the 

 seedlings may grow well and bloom freely, 

 only a very few will be first-class varieties; 

 but the best way to do is to keep on sowing 

 a packet or two of seed every year, selecting 

 or retaining the best varieties, and discard- 

 ing the poorest. Then again save seeds and 

 grow the seedlings from your own choicest 

 plants, and in this way, after two or three 

 years you may succeed in getting up a very 

 good lot of Begonias. And you can also in- 

 crease your stock from cuttings. They 

 bloom from seed the first year. Some folks 



plant them out in open, sunny places with 

 more or less success, but I have always 

 found them to do better in a somewhat 

 shaded place, but not under the drip from 

 large trees, and nowhere better than in a 

 border along the north side of a building. 



We have also many flne named varieties, 

 and if you know what you are getting it 

 may be better to get a few of these extra 

 choice sorts and increase your stock di- 

 rectly fi-om them. Laing's Jubilee Collec- 

 tion is, I believe, the finest dozen double 

 varieties extant. They are: Alba flmbri- 

 ata, fringed, white; Alba Magna, white; 

 Marchioness of Stafford and Lady Lennox, 

 yellow; Alba rosea, rose with white center: 

 Amy Adcock, darker rose with white cen- 

 ter, and Lillie with less white in the middle; 

 Lord Randolph and Lord Loughborough, 

 both scarlet; Little Beauty, rosy red; .Ju- 

 bilee, magenta red; and Marquis of Staf- 

 ford, dark red. 



Begonia Frneblii is a splendid winter- 

 blooming scarlet^flowered, large-leaved tu- 

 berous species, introduced some 16 years 

 ago. and then in great repute, but recently 

 less grown. Mr. Taplin when at South 

 Amboy 13 years ago grew it magnificently. 

 Rex Begonias. Begonia Rex is a native 

 of Assam, and not only one of the finest of 

 its race, but one of the parents of most of 

 the showy sorts that so much resemble it in 

 form and color. In this class we include 

 Marshallii,Griffithii, Queen Victoria, Duch- 

 esse de Brabant, Comte de Lemminghe, 

 Jules Chretien , Nivosa and Splendida ar- 

 gentea. So much have these and other 

 forms been crossed, that from seed we get 

 these and many other varieties. We use 

 them in pots at all seasons for house decor- 

 ation. In summer planted out in sheltered, 

 shady places, they thrive well and color 

 better than they do indoors. In boxes in 

 shady places outside in summer they also 

 are very appropriate. In greenhouses they 

 often are used in company with ferns and 

 moss to clothe the back walls inside warm 

 ferneries. Small plants are also used for 

 mixing among other kinds of plants in 

 fern-cases in the house in mnter. While 

 the beautiful foliage is their main attrac- 

 tion, their waxy or silvery white flowers 

 are quite pretty and fragrant. 



Large-Leaved Begonias. — We have 

 many of these, but only a few in general 

 cultivation. I find B. ricinifolia and B. 

 heracleifolia the most useful. As green- 

 house plants they take up too much room, 

 but by wintering over a few young plants 

 and planting these out-of-doors in summer 

 in a sheltered, moderately moist and shady 

 place, they grow immensely and flower 

 freely too. 



Begonia Semperflorens is an old white- 

 flowered species, till recently almost for- 

 gotten in gardens, but now being resur- 

 rected and "boomed." We have several 

 varieties of it, some with rose colored 

 flowers and others of more vigorous habit 

 than the original species. All are of the 

 easiest cultivation, perpetual blooming, 

 available for outdoor or indoor use, free- 

 growing and free-blooming, and self-sown 

 seedlings scatter themselves hither and 

 thither everywhere about the old plants. 

 But there is something weedy about it. 



Begonia Schmidtii was thrown upon us 

 with great hurrah as a bedding plant some 

 years ago, but my experience with it has 

 been unfavorable. It blooms abundantly, 

 sure enotigh, but its flowers are miserable 

 little things. 



And Begonia Metallica is another 

 plant that I think has been over-lauded. 

 Yes, it grows well and is densely furnished 

 with metallic-like foliage, still I don't see 

 enough in it to get into ecstacies over. 



Propagating. — All Begonias may be in- 

 creased fi-om seeds, and in the case of tree 



