CHAPTER XXXH 



BEGONIAS AND GLOXINIAS 



IN the great galaxy of bedding plants which help to make our 

 gardens gay in the height of summer there are few that can 

 compare, either for gorgeousness, ability to withstand the 

 vagaries of the British climate, or ease of culture, with the tuberous 

 begonia. Thanks to the efforts of the professional hybridists, it 

 has been brought to a pitch of perfection undreamt of twenty 

 years ago when it first began to be popular. 



The begonia is a succulent plant, and is therefore not hardy. 

 It is consequently necessary hi the case of tubers that have done 

 duty in the decoration of outdoor flower beds to lift them annually 

 and to preserve them against damage by frost. There need be 

 little difficulty in ascertaining the appropriate time for lifting the 

 begonia from its summer flowering bed. The plant itself will 

 give ample warning. At the first touch of frost, and especially 

 in dry soils, the foliage will shrink, the stems will collapse, and the 

 flowers will fall. The plants should then, without delay, be lifted 

 carefully from the soil, using for this purpose a fork or a trowel, 

 and taking great care that the corm is undamaged during the 

 operation. 



As much soil as is possible should be removed during the pro- 

 cess of lifting the tubers from the soil, but it is not necessary at 

 this stage to remove it all. The tubers can be placed on a green- 

 house shelf or in any suitable corner to dry, and after a few days 

 they will be ready for the thorough cleansing which is advisable 

 before they are stored away for the winter. 



The storage place should be both dry and frost-proof. If the 

 tubers are embedded in fibre in small boxes they will have an ideal 

 winter home. Here they can be left undisturbed until March, 

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