22 



The Rorists* Review 



Decembbb 29. 1921 



tion of these plants is midsummer. They 

 do not stand hot weather. Too high a 

 temperature is shown by slow growth 

 and a mottling of the leaves; in some 

 varieties the upper surface of the leaves 

 takes on an oily appearance. To avoid 

 this, keep the house as cool as possible 

 by putting on more shade, with top and 

 bottom air both night and day. 



Many varieties are of a compact habit 

 and need no stopping during the flower- 

 ing season, vVhile others, like Mrs. Heal, 

 Beauty of Hale and Mrs. T. H. Cook, 

 will make better plants if stopped once 

 when the growths are four to six inches 

 long. 



Best Varieties. 



The flowers are sterile, which accounts 

 for their long duration. With ordinary 

 care, a plant will last in bloom from six 

 to eight weeks and with the following 

 varieties one may have plants in full 

 bloom from October 1 until the middle 

 of January. 



Early varieties arc: Ideala, Emily 

 Clibran, Mrs. Heal, Sunrise, Eclipse, 

 Empress, Dazzler and Her Magesty. 



Midseason varieties are: Altrincham 

 Pink, Optima, Fireflame, Exquisite, 

 Orange King, Pink Perfection, Cli- 

 bran 's Pink and Britannia. 



Late varieties are: Eosalind, Beauty 

 of Hale, Clibran 's Bed, Miss Clibran, 

 Mrs. Clibran, Display, Picotee, Lucy 

 Clibrarf*and Fascination. 



Among these the most useful for cut 

 flowers are: Exquisite, Orange King, 

 Lucy Clibran and Beauty of Hale. Their 

 fine trusses of large, loose flowers on 

 long stems, make them suitable for 

 table decorations. 



Carrying Over Old Plants. 



After flowering, plants to be carried 

 over are placed where they will get 

 some light and a temperature of 55 de- 

 grees; they should be kept moderately 

 dry until about the middle of March, 

 when most of the old stems will have 

 fallen off and new growths will appear 

 on the crown. As many of them have 

 small tubers, care must be taken not to 



cut the old stems back too near the 

 crown; better let them fall off. 



As the new growth starts, take the 

 plants away from the old soil and start 

 thoni in flats or a sand bed in the same 

 way that you would the summer-bloom- 

 ing tuberous-rooted begonias. "When the 

 new growths are about three inches in 

 length they may bo taken off as cut- 

 tings. After you are better acquainted 

 with these begonias, you will place no 

 more value on the old plants than on 

 old plants of the Lorraine and your 

 plants will be carried over in the same 

 manner. There are some exceptions, as 

 Optima and Fireflame do not readily 

 form leaf cuttings and are better propa- 

 gated by spring cuttings from the old 

 tubers. 



In conclusion, I would say there. are 

 few, if any, groups of plants that give 

 greater satisfaction than the winter- 

 flowering begonias of the large-flowered 

 class, coming into bloom, as they do, at 

 a season when variety in potted bloom 

 ing plants is decidedly scarce. 



IN THE ILLUSTRATION. 



Some of the new winter-flowering be- 

 gonias from England have been grown of 

 late by J. B. Masson, wholesale grower, 

 at Bethel, Kan. A pot of the variety 

 Emily Clibran from his greenhouse is 

 shown on the preceding page. 



Mr. Masson 's experience is told here 

 in his own words: " I have grown about 

 fifty plants. I have not sold any yet, 

 but hope to put a limited number on the 

 market next spring if I am successful 

 with the propagation. I got my stock 

 from Clibran 's, Manchester, England, 

 last April, after about six months' dis- 

 cussion over red tape with Uncle Sam, 

 having to put up bond not to sell any 

 of the original plants. All my plants 

 have done exceptionally well, and most 

 of them are equal to the one shown in 

 the photograph, which is in a 6-inch pot. 



* ' The varieties I am growing are 

 Altrincham Pink, Beacon, Charming, 

 Clibran 's Crimson, Eclipse, Emily 

 Clibran, Flambeau, Mrs. T. H. Cook, 



Optima, Pink Beauty, Sunrise and Pink 

 Perfection. The last-named is this 

 year's introduction." 



BEST ENGLISH BEGONIAS. 



Begonia Mrs. Heal« 



Large-Flowered Winter Bloomers. 



In offering a few suggestions on tht 

 culture of winter-flowering begonias 

 from leaves and cuttings, I should like 

 to say a word or two about some of the 

 more distinct varieties and those which, 

 in my estimation, are most easily grown. 



Every begonia grower knows, or 

 should know, Mrs. Heal, and no one who 

 grows these begonias should be without 

 a few plants of this variety. In the 

 deep cerise pink shades, Mrs. Heal 

 stands alone. I admit it will not com- 

 bine well with some of the others, but, 

 when arranged by itself in a setting of 

 greenery, it is at once a sight of daz- 

 zling splendor. This variety can be 

 grown easily from stem leaves put in 

 sand about the first week in November. 



Optima, too, with its warm glow of 

 deep salmon color, should be' included in 

 every greenhouse collection. This be- 

 gonia, like Mrs. Heal, propagates easily 

 from stem leaves and, if old plants are 

 kept over, they will throw an abundance 

 of cuttings in April. 



Exquisite, true to name, I consider the 

 best variety of all, with gorgeous flow- 

 ers of pink and white, measuring three 

 to four inches in diameter. My expe- 

 rience with this variety is that it will 

 not make a plant from a stem leaf. It 

 makes a mass of roots and then decay 

 sets in at the base of the stem. It will, 

 however, come fairly well from a split 

 leaf. With a good, sharp knife cut the 

 stem clean away from the leaf; then cut 

 the latter in two or three parts; insert 

 these in sand to the depth of about one- 

 half inch and make the soil moderately 

 firm. Care must be taken not to bruise 

 the leaf. 



Moonbeam, another favorite, requires 

 a little more shade than the others and 

 comes readily from a stem leaf. I have 

 not yet been able to make specimens of 

 this begonia, but it is extremely free- 

 flowering, and plants in even 6-inch pots, 

 if massed together, present a fascina-. 

 tion of rare beauty, with their soft, 

 orange, coppery-colored flowers. 



Miss Clibran, pale rose pink, with 

 large, double, camellia-shaped floWers; 

 Altrincham Pink, of old rose color, and 

 Pink Perfection, shell pink, are all beau- 

 tiful. When these are grouped with 

 Acacia platyptera, blue and white bro- 

 wallias and ferns, a charming effect is 

 produced. 



Other varieties worthy of mention 

 are: Fireflame, the finest of all red va- 

 rieties. The flowers are flame-colored. 

 This variety has been in flower with us 

 for more than seven weeks. It may be 

 propagated readily from stem leaves. 

 Emily Clibran, double-flowered, pale 

 salmon pink, makes a grand speci- 

 men plant and is one of the first to come 

 into bloom. Eosalind, deep rose, will 

 also make beautiful specimens in 8-inch 

 or 9-inch pots. This is a late bloomer 

 and makes a valuable addition to any 

 collection. All the foregoing do well 

 from split leaves. 



Culture Is Simple. 



The culture of winter-flowering bego- 



A digest of the talk by Peter Arnott. bu- 

 perlntendent for E. O. Webster, delivered 

 before the Gardeners' and Florists' Club of 

 Boston. December 20, 1921. 



