n^^' 



Decbmbbb 19, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



i3 



A House of Begonia Gloire de Lorraine at the Royal Gardess^ Sandringhamt Englan d* 



sand, afterwards merely covering them 

 and keeping them well supplied with 

 water. 



f.alTa«, 



The pots are now well filled with roots 

 and the plants will be improved by oc- 

 casional waterings of barnyard manure 

 diluted. Callas like an abundance of 

 water; in fact, they can hardly be over- 

 supplied if drainage is good. Ply the 

 hose among them every bright day; 

 mealy bug will soon establish itself on 

 the foliage otherwise. 



BEGONIA GLOIRE DE LORRAINE. 



Its History. 



Among the many species of winter 

 flowering plants in cultivation at the 

 present time, we can find none more beau- 

 tiful or more useful than this charming 

 begonia. For winter use, for the florist 

 and private gardener alike, it could hard- 

 ly be dispensed with. 



Introduced in 1892 by Lemoine, of 

 Paris, it is the result of a cross between 

 Begonia Dregei and B. Socotrana, and 

 is in itself a lasting memorial to the 

 enterprise and horticultural skill of this 

 noted firm. "When first introduced it at 

 once caught the public fancy, and each 

 succeeding year has seen its popularity 

 going up by leaps and bounds, until at 

 the present day it is grown in enormous 

 quantities in almost every country in the 

 world. In London, Paris, Berlin or St. 

 Petersburg, let us go where we will, it 

 is regarded by all as indispensable. 



Its Usefulness. 



In America it finds a ready sale, and 

 I am sure there are few private gar- 

 deners who do not know its worth for 

 house and table decoration. Invariably 

 in the early months of the year, plants of 

 any decorative value are exceedingly 

 scarce, and it is here that Lorraines prove 

 their value. They possess all the points 

 of a good house plant, good color and 

 graceful habit, last well, and, most im- 

 portant of all, are a prime favorite with 

 the ladies. 



Its Culture. 



These plants are of comparatively easy 

 culture. They succeed best when grown 

 in frames during the summer months, 

 and with a little ordinary care and at- 

 tention will give good returns from De- 

 cember until well on in February. We 

 usually start to put in cuttings about 

 the second week in January. To some 

 people this may appear a trifle early to 

 start propagating. I find, however, that 

 if good, large specimens are required for 

 early winter work, it is best to get a 

 batch of cuttings in as early as possible, 

 and this date is none too early. Suc- 

 cessive batches may be rooted until well 

 on in the summer. By rooting cuttings 

 at frequent intervals, we are enabled to 

 have plants by Christmas, in sizes ranging 

 from an 8-inch pot down to small stuff 

 in threes. I have always found small 

 plants exceedingly useful for decorative 

 work, such as table decoration, the edges 

 of groups, etc. They may be handled 

 with impunity. 



Striking the Cuttings. 



To strike the cuttings successfully re- 

 quires a good bottom heat. A propagat- 

 ing case with hot water or steam pipes 

 running underneath suits them admir- 

 ably, and if the cuttings are inserted in 

 nice, clean sand, and kept moderately 

 moist, every one should root well. When 

 the cuttings are well rooted, pot them 

 off into twos, and place them close 

 to the glass in a house where the 

 temperature runs from 60 to 65 de- 

 grees, taking care that they are always 

 kept well shaded. Syringing may be 

 done on all favorable occasions. 



The Final Potting. 



During the first week in June the 

 main batch of plants should be in a 

 condition to receive their final potting. 

 For this shift a good mixture to use is 

 a soil composed of two parts loam, one 

 part good, flaky leaf soil, a small quan- 

 tity of old mushroom manure, and plenty 

 of good, coarse sand. When potting, on 

 no account use a rammer, or the result 

 will be disastrous. Light potting is one 

 of the secrets of the successful begonia 

 grower. Another great point to remem- 

 ber is to avoid crowding. Give your 

 plants plenty of room at all times to 

 develop, and keep in mind the old say- 

 ing that "one plant grown well is equal 

 to half a dozen inferior specimens." 



Judicious Feeding. 



About August Lorraines begin to make 

 very rapid growth, and it is best about 

 this time to assist them as much as pos- 



