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DnCBMBEU 29, 1921 



The Rorists^ Review 



21 



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BLOOMING BIG BEGONIAS 



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WINTER-FLOWERING BEGONIAS, 



Of the English Type. 



In order to get a clearer understand- 

 ing of the subject of winter-flowering 

 begonias, it may be necessary to know 

 a little of their history. 



Begonia socotrana, from which the 

 large - flowered, winter - blooming be- 

 gonias have been evolved, was intro- 

 duced in 1860 from the island of Socotra, 

 in the Red sea, by Professor Isaac 

 Bailey Balfour, of Edinburgh, Scotland. 

 .John Heal, of James Veitch & Sons, 

 Chelsea, England, recognized the possi- 

 bilities of this species for hybridizing 

 and to him belongs the honor of raising 

 the first hybrids of the winter-flowering 

 begonia, which was the result of cross- 

 ing B. socotrana with several large- 

 flowered, tuberous-rooted varieties. 



The first of these varieties to receive 

 recognition from the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society of England was the 

 John Heal, exhibited by James Veitch 

 & Sons in 1885. Little was heard of 

 them again until 1902, when James 

 Veitch & Sons exhibited a group of 

 these plants and about this time listed 

 twelve varieties in their catalogue. 



In later years the work of hybridiza- 

 tion was taken up by Clibran's, Altrin- 

 cham, England, who now have more 

 than fifty varieties listed in their cata- 

 logue. 



Propagation. 



They can be readily propagated at 

 any time during their flowering season 

 by leaf or growth cuttings. In August 

 or September a leaf will root in about 

 two weeks, but this is not a desirable 

 time, as the plants at this season are 

 developing their flowering material, and 

 the first growths from such cuttings are 

 in form of lateral or flowering growths, 

 after which the plant becomes dormant 

 and will not start new growth until 

 spring, whereas leaves rooted in No- 

 vember or December, when the plants 

 are in full bloom, have spent all their 

 flowering material and, although they 

 are slower to propagate, their growth is 

 continuous and they will have a good 

 start for the next season. It is from 

 such cuttings we get our finest plants. 



For propagation we have small pans 

 filled with clean, sharp sand, packed 

 firmly. In these we place the desired 

 number of cuttings, water well and then 

 plunge the pans in the propagating bed. 

 They are neither watered nor damped 

 again until rooted. Avoid a close case 

 or anything which will cause excessive 

 moisture. A close house wfth a tempera- 

 ture of 60 degrees and a bottom heat of 

 65 to 70 degrees suits them best. Keep 

 the sand in the bed damp among the 

 pans. When they require watering, 

 which is seldom, the pans are removed 

 from the bed and placed in a shallow 

 pan of water for a few minutes or until 

 the sand shows moisture on the surface. 



In about thirty days the rooted cut- 

 tings are ready for potting, which must 



A digest of the tnlk on "Wlnter-PlowprlnB 

 "egonloB of the English Type," delivered by 

 •lames Marlborough before the Qardeners' and 

 Horlsts' Club of Boston. Mass.. December 20. 



Much admired in England, the type 

 of begonias which are the subject of the 

 remarks of James Marlborough and Peter 

 Arnott on this and the following page 

 have been little grown in this country. 

 Some florists have them and a larger num- 

 ber of private growers. The two growers 

 who present information here are per- 

 haps unexcelled in the production of the 

 plants, Mr. Marlborough having secured 

 gold medals for them at the Boston shows 

 and having shown plants of Emily 

 Clibran four to five feet across, 1 year old 

 from leaf cuttings, carrying hundreds of 

 flowers. It is believed that this is the 

 first full presentation of instructions for 

 their culture that luis been given to 

 American florists. 



not be neglected. Put them in thumb 

 pots, using a sandy leaf soil for the 

 first potting, keeping the crown near the 

 surface. 



Early Care, 



This young stock will need little at- 

 tention for some time. Like Gloire de 



Lorraine, they are slow and will not 

 make much growth until spring, but 

 should be kept in comfortable quarters 

 and overhead damping should be 

 avoided as much as possible. As spring 

 approaches and the young plants show 

 signs of action, they are potted in 

 larger pots, using a light, sandy mixture 

 of loam and leaf -mold in equal parts; 

 to this add one-fifth part of well rotted 

 cow manure for the final potting. After 

 the plants are well established in their 

 flowering pots, a light feeding once a 

 week with liquid manure will help them. 

 Shading should always be light, but 

 the plants must have no direct sun- 

 shine. Do not syringe the plants or 

 w^ater them overhead, but keep the 

 house moist. Fumigate once a week, 

 using a somewhat stronger dose than for 

 other plants, so as to prevent insect at- 

 tacks, of which the mite is the worst. 

 This latter can be detected by the rusty, 

 corrugated appearance of the stem or 

 leaf and is fatal if allowed to get a good 

 start. 

 The most critical time in the cultiva- 



One of the Large-Flowered Etaglish Begonias, Emily Clibran. 



