Commercial Gardening 



And all this wonderful work has been accomplished practically within the 

 past forty or fifty years. Some thirty years ago varieties called Weltoni- 

 ensis and Saundersi, both with pink flowers, were grown largely for 

 market, but they have long since been superseded by improved strains 

 which are sturdier in habit and more free in blossom. 



For bedding out during the summer months tuberous Begonias are 

 particularly well suited, and as their original parents above-mentioned came 

 from an elevation of 11,000 to 13,000 ft., they are as hardy as the Dahlia. 



They are ornamental in foliage, 

 the large somewhat irregu- 

 larly lobed and coarsely 

 toothed leaves being larger 

 on one side of the midrib 

 than the other, and of a deep 

 glossy green. On the whole 

 they are more easily raised 

 and more quickly grown than 

 the Zonal Pelargonium, and 

 they possess the great ad- 

 vantage that the tubers can 

 be stored away in frost- 

 proof lofts or cellars during 

 the winter months until 

 wanted to start into growth 

 in the spring. 



The simplest method of 

 raising a stock of tuberous 

 Begonias is from seed. This 

 is small and like grains of 

 brown dust. It should be 

 sown in January or February, 

 on the surface of a light sandy 

 compost in a temperature of 

 70 F. by night and 75 to 80 

 F. by day. The little seedlings 



are pricked out when the seed leaves are well developed, with a pointed 

 stick into a similar compost, being spaced out about J in. apart. They are 

 carefully watered and protected from strong sunshine until established, 

 and they grow rapidly in the temperature mentioned. When large enough 

 to handle easily, the young plants are then transferred singly to 3 -in. pots, 

 using a compost of good turfy loam, to which may be added about one- 

 third of leaf mould or well-rotted manure from a hotbed or mushroom 

 bed, and a good dash of coarse sand. A similar temperature may be 

 still maintained, and the plants should be watered carefully and sprinkled 

 overhead daily to encourage rapid growth. By the middle or end of 

 April they will have attained a fair size, and the temperature may then 



Fig. 265. Tuberous Begonia, double 



