BEGONIA, TUBEROUS-ROOTED 283 



BEGONIA, TUBEROUS-ROOTED 



FEW flowers have a greater claim on the attention of amateurs than 

 the Tuberous-rooted Begonia, either for the ease with which it can be 

 grown, or for the many valuable purposes to which the plant may be 

 applied. It can be flowered at any time from February until October, 

 and is available for all kinds of indoor decoration, and also for 

 growing in the open ground during the summer months. 



Instead of allowing the plants to be rudely dried off, it is worth 

 a little trouble to reduce them slowly to the dormant state by 

 gradually withholding water. They should still be retained in pots, 

 which may be stored under a thick layer of cocoa-nut fibre in any 

 cellar, frame, or shed where the thermometer stands pretty uniformly 

 at about 50. The store should also be dry, for damp is as injurious 

 to these roots as cold. Roughly speaking, it may be said that any 

 store which is safe for Dahlias will also preserve Tuberous-rooted 

 Begonias. 



After the winter's rest the bulbs are invariably cup-shaped, and 

 in the event of their being watered before growth has commenced, 

 sufficient water will remain in the hollow to destroy the bulb. This 

 peculiarity renders it essential not to start the plant before activity 

 is evident. In January or February, as the bulbs show signs of life, 

 pot them almost on the surface of a rich loamy soil, and employ the 

 smallest pots possible. Nurse them with a little care in a warm place 

 for about ten days, and they should then be very gradually hardened. 

 A regular system of potting on will be necessary until the final size 

 is reached ; and at each operation the plants should be inserted 

 rather more deeply than before. If re-potting is deferred too long, 

 the foliage will turn yellow a sure sign that the plant is starving. 

 No flowers should be allowed in the early stages of growth, and this 

 rule is imperative if fine specimens are wanted ; but when the plants 

 are transferred just as the pots are full of roots, there will be little 

 disposition to bloom prematurely. While growing, the Tuberous 

 Begonia delights in a humid atmosphere, but this should be avoided 

 after flowering has commenced. When sticks are inserted for tying 

 out the flowers, the bulbs must not be wounded. 



The erect-growing varieties are valuable for low conservatory 

 stages, and they form splendid groups in corners of drawing-rooms. 

 The drooping kinds are seen to advantage on brackets, shelves, and 

 in suspended baskets ; and the short -jointed plants of the drooping 



