DKCEMBKB 29, 1921 



The Florists* Review 



23 



nias is simple. Leaves put in sand about 

 the first week in November should be 

 ready for 2-inch pots about the begin- 

 ning of January. They will root nicely 

 in an open cutting bench and require a 

 night temperature of 65 degrees. Shade 

 them right along, either with newspa- 

 pers or by shading the glass. After the 

 leaves are put in, soak them well with 

 water and, when the surface sand seems 

 perfectly dry, another supply should be 

 ^iven. No overhead sprinkling is re- 

 quired. 



In potting up the leaves, a compost 

 of leaf soil, sand and just a little loam 

 should be used. This done, take the 

 plants back to the house whence they 

 came and plunge the pots to their rims 

 in sand or cocoanut fiber. This prevents 

 drying out too quickly. In a few weeks 

 they will begin to throw up growths 

 from the base of the leaf, when they 

 can be taken out of the plunge material 

 and stood directly on the bench. After 

 a few leaves have developed and the 

 pots are well filled with roots, the plants 

 can be transferred to 3-inch pots. The 

 compost now can be made a little 

 heavier by adding more loam, and so on 

 with each successive potting, until they 

 go into their flowering pots, when the 

 compost should consist of two parts of 

 good fibrous loam, one part leaf soil, 

 some dried cow manure, some Clay's fer- 

 tilizer and a liberal sprinkling of good, 

 sharp sand. After the final potting is 

 completed, which is usually about the 

 end of July, the plants should be well 

 developed and making rapid growth. It 

 is most important that these plants be 

 kept perfectly clean and they must 

 never be allowed to suffer from mite, 

 mildew, etc. Mite is the begonia's worst 

 enemy. It can, however, be checked and 

 prevented quite easily by using a mix- 

 ture of soap spray and sulphur. A 3-inch 

 pot of soap and a handful of sulphur to 

 a pail of water will suffice. Dipping 

 affected plants is far preferable to 

 spraying. This should be done fre- 

 quently. In the early stages of growth, 

 dipping will not only keep the mite at 

 bay, but will also ward off mildew. 



Careful Watering Essential. 



The large-flowered winter-blooming 

 begonias will grow nicely along with 

 Lorraine and Melior, under similar treat- 

 ment. Careful watering is another es- 

 sential to the well-being of the plants, 

 and it is preferable to do it with the 

 watering pot, rather than with the hose. 

 Overhead spraying is harmful and 

 should never be practiced. 



Shading is necessary all through the 

 spring and summer months, and either 

 striped shading may be used on the 

 glass or slat shades. The latter are 

 preferable, as during, spells of dull, 

 cloudy weather, the plants can be read- 

 ily exposed to full light, thus preventing 

 weak, soft growths. 



When the plants have filled their flow- 

 ering pots with roots, the feeding should 

 commence. Weak liquid manure water, 

 alternated with Clay's fertilizer, a 

 liberal teaspoonful of the latter to an 

 8-quart can, will prove beneficial at this 

 stage. 



When the plants are done flowering, 

 the points ought to be trimmed off and 

 the plants stood under a bench in a house 

 having a night temperature of about 50 

 degrees. During this period little water 

 will be required — ^just enough to prevent 

 the plants from shriveling. By the latter 

 part of March or early in April, the 



Begonia Melior. 



plants can be taken into a temperature 

 of 60 to 65 degrees and be started up. 



Some varieties, Optima, for instance, 

 will throw a fine lot of cuttings by May, 

 and these, if placed in the cutting bench, 

 will root quickly. Others, whose habit 

 it is to fall clean away from the plant, 

 if sh&ken out and potted up, will make 

 splendid plants by the following Novem- 

 ber. W. N. C. 



SOME AMEBICAN BEGONIAS. 



Excellent Winter Varieties. 



The four principal types of begonias 

 are fibrous-rooted, tuberous-rooted, semi- 

 tuberous-rooted and Rex, or fancy- 

 leaved. I shall confine my few remarks 

 to the winter-flowering portion of the 

 first-named section. Orchids have been 

 a good deal boomed in Boston, Mass., of 

 late, but excellent though they are, they 

 will never approach begonias in favor. 

 The advent of Gloire de Lorraine caused 

 a great sensation. If Lemoine had never 

 given us any other plant than this, he 

 would have done a whole lot for floricul- 

 ture. Lorraine is handsome and still 

 finds some favor, but it is not a good 

 shipper and will not keep in the average 

 house as will Glory of Cincinnati, Melior 

 or Mrs. Peterson. The last-named is the 

 finest keeper of all. I have had it in a 



A digest of the talk by Eric H. Wetterlow, bu- 

 perlntendent for Mrs. I^icster Ijcland, Manchester, 

 Mass., delivered at the meeting of the Garden- 

 ers' and Florists' Club of Boston, December 20, 

 1921. 



house the whole winter in good condi- 

 tion. Under similar treatment, Cincin- 

 nati or Melior would last three weeks- 

 and Lorraine one week. 



Booting the Cuttings. 



Old stock plants of these begonias are 

 not good to carry over, except Mrs. 

 Peterson. I have had plants of this kind 

 3 years old which received a silver medal 

 from the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society. Leaf cuttings are far the best 

 for all these winter-flowering begonias 

 and now is an excellent time to put them 

 in. Some time ago I was never able to 

 root begonias successfully in clear sand. 

 Perhaps I could not secure the right 

 grade of sand. I overcame this by 

 placing a layer of cocoanut fiber at the 

 bottom of the propagating bench and 

 mixing coarse sand through it; half an 

 inch of clear sand was laid over this. I 

 have never had any trouble in rooting 

 leaves or cuttings successfully in this 

 medium. I do not favor cutting leaves. 

 It is far better simply to break them off. 

 Given agoodwatering.they would usually 

 be well rooted in three weeks in a 

 temperature of 60 to 65 degrees. The 

 copoanut fiber retains the moisture and 

 usoally a single watering sufiiccs until 

 tKe cuttings are ready to pot. Some- 

 times I have left leaf cuttings in until 

 they lifted with a ball of roots and then 

 placed them in 4-inch pots. Cuttings put 

 in as I suggest possess more vigor and 

 break much better than those placed in 

 clear sand. 



I like to give the plants, when potted. 



