DKCt^lBKU 2it. IDlil 



The Horists^ Review 



21 



IlI.VJt|I.UlII.UIII.U«IIiJHII.U«lI.^R 



BLOOMING BIG BEGONIAS 



\VINTER-FLOWERING BEGONIAS. 



Of the English Type. 



Tn order to {(ct ;i clearer niHlerstaiul- 

 h'^ of the Hubjec't of wiiit(>r-tlo\veriii}^ 

 K'fjonias, it may be necessary to know 

 •; little of their history. 



Hegoniii socotrana, from wliicli the 

 arge • llowcred, winter - liloomiiijr Ik? 

 ■,'oniaH have been evolved, was intro- 

 ■luced in 18fi0 from the islaiul of Socotra, 

 in tlie Ked sua"; by I'rofessor Isaac 

 liailey Balfour, of iMliiiburjrh, Scotland, 

 .lolin Ileal, of James V'eitch & Sons, 

 Chelsea, Enfjland, recognized the i)OHsi- 

 bilities of this species for hybridizing 

 ;md to liim belongs the honor of raising 

 !lie first hybrids of the winter-flowering 

 licgonia, which was the result of cross- 

 ing U. socotrana with several large- 

 llowered, tuberous-rooted varieties. 



The first of these varieties to receive 

 recognition from the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society of England was the 

 John Ileal, exhibited by James Veitch 

 & Sons in 1885. Little was lieard of 

 them again until 1902, when James 

 \'eitch & 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 Clibraii 's, Altrin- 

 «ham, England, who now have more 

 than fifty varieties listed in thi-ir cata- 

 logue. 



Propagation. 



They can bo readily propagated at 

 any time during their flowering season 

 hy leaf or growth cuttings. In August 

 or September a leaf will root in ai)ont 

 two weeks, but this is not a desirable 

 time, as the plants at this se.asoii are 

 developing tlieir flowering material, and 

 the first growths from such cuttings are 

 in form of lateral or flowering growths, 

 after which tlie plant becomes dormant 

 and will not start new growth until 

 spring, whereas le.-ives rooted in No- 

 vember or December, when the jdants 

 ■ ire in full bloom, have spent all tlieir 

 'lowering material and, although they 

 are slower to jiropagate, their growth is 

 <-ontinuous and they will have a good 

 start for the next season. It is from 

 such cuttings we get our finest jilants. 



For jiropagation we have small pans 

 filled with clean, sharp sand, i>acked 

 firmly. In tliese we place the desired 

 nunibi'r of cuttings, water well and then 

 plunge the pans in the jiropagating bed. 

 fhey are neither watered nor ilamped 

 again until rooted. Avoid a close case 

 or anything which will cause excessive 

 moisture. A close house wRli a temjiera- 

 ture of (;o degrees and a bottom lie.-it of 

 *>") to 7(1 degrees suits them best. Keep 

 the sand in the bed damp among the 

 I'ans. Wh(>n they re(|uire .watering, 

 ■'^'hich is seldom, the jians are r(>moved 

 from the bed and placed in a shallow 

 |ian of water for a few minutes or until 

 'he sand shows nupisture on the surface. 



In about thirty days the rooted cut- 

 tings are ready for potting, which must 



A (1i!;est of the tnlk on "Wiiitcr-FlowiTinR 

 •■fKonlnn of tho Entrllsli Tvim!," (ii-livcrcil hy 

 •'arncs Marll)oroin.'ti Ijcfcirc lln- (liinli'iicrK' niiil 

 HoristN- Cliit, of Jfosloii, Muss. I>wi'riil)iT 'JO 



Much admired in F.Hfihind, the tijiir 

 of h( (10 II ids iiJiirh are the siihjict of the 

 remarl.s of James Mniihoroiifilt and J'eti r 

 Ariiolt on litis and the foUouiiifi pa<ie 

 liiive hccn little f/rown in tliis countrji. 

 Some florists have them and a larger mem- 

 her of private //rowers. The two firoiVers 

 irlio present information here arc per 

 haps nnexeeUed in the proditetlon of the 

 plants, Mr. Marllioroufili htirlnii seenred 

 ijiild medals for them at the Ilostnn slioirs 

 and liavlni] shown plants of Kinllii 

 Clihran four 1o five feet aeross, 7 year old 

 from leaf cuttings, carri/lng hundreds of 

 flowers. It is believed that this is Ihe 

 first full pres( ntatlqn of instructions for 

 tlieir culture that has Ixen gin n to 

 .American florists. 



not be neglected. Put them in thumb 

 pots, using a sandy leaf soil for the 

 lirst ]iottiiig, keeping the crown near the 

 surface. 



Early Care. 



This young stock will need little at 

 tention for some time. Like (iloire de 



Lori'.'i itic, tliev .are slow and will not 

 make much growth until spring, but 

 shouM lie kept in comfortable quarters 

 and overhead (lami)ing should bo 

 avoided ;is iiiiiili as possible. Ah spring 

 apjpro.iclies and the young plants show 

 signs (if action, they are potted in 

 larger pots, using a light, sandy mixture 

 of loam and leaf mold in eijiial [larts; 

 to this add one llfth jiart of well rotted 

 I'ou manure for the final [lotting. After 

 the jtl.'tnts are well established in their 

 flowering ]iots, a light feeding once a 

 week with li(|ui<l manure will lielp them. 



Sh.'iding should .ilways be light, but 

 tlie |p|.nils iiiii>t have no direct sun- 

 shine. I >(i not syringe the jtlants or 

 Avalcr tliini (i\crliead, but kee{) the 

 house moist. I'umigate once a week, 

 iisiiiy ;i somewhat stronger dose than for 

 other jilants, so ;is to prevent insect at- 

 tacks, of which the mite is the worst. 

 This lattii- cm lie detected liy the rusty, 

 I'on-ugated .'iiiiiearance of the stem or 

 leaf .'iiid is t'atal if allowed to get a good 

 start. 



The must iritical time in the cultiva- 



Onc of the Largc-Flowcred English Begonias, Emily Clibran. 



