206 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



shoots strike in brisk heat in about four days, and 

 in the spring the plants so raised should not be 

 pinched or disturbed till the tops are large enough 

 to make into other cuttings. Transfer the young 

 plants to boxes or pans of good soil, in preference 

 to placing singly in small pots, disposing them 3 

 or 4 inches apart. Let them be hardened for 

 bedding out late in May or early in Juno. Old 

 plants are extremely floriferous, and cannot be 

 depended upon to give cuttings in abundance in 

 August or early in September; but if a few 

 plants are grown in rich garden soil, and pre- 

 vented flowering, they will afford cuttings freely. 

 For rooting at that season in close, warm frames, 

 the plants should be kept growing steadily in a 

 warm greenhouse all through the winter, and they 

 will yield cuttings plentifully for spring propaga- 

 tion, in the manner above described. 



Antirrhinum majus (Common Snapdragon). — 

 Naturalised in England. What are known as 

 bedding varieties are from 12 to 15 inches in 

 height, and remarkably free and continuous in 

 flowering : colours white, crimson, and yellow. 

 The Tom Thumb section, height 9 inches, colours 

 various, are also serviceable. Antirrhinums 

 thrive and flower freely in both dry and wet 

 seasons. Although all can be raised readily, and 

 come fairly true from seed, the surest way of 

 having them uniform in growth and colour is to 

 propagate by cuttings of short, flowerless shoots, 

 inserting them 2 inches apart in a bed of sandy 

 soil, surfaced with pure sand in a frame, in Sep- 

 tember or early October, giving a gentle watering. 

 They must be kept close, and shaded from bright 

 sunshine, to keep the leaves fresh, and expedite 

 rooting. When this is effected, admit air freely 

 on mild days, with a view to keeping the plants 

 sturdy and hardy. Protect them from severe 

 frosts, and in March harden, and transplant to 

 temporary beds of rich, loamy soil, and protect 

 with mats, then fine plants will be ready for the 

 beds in May. A few dozen cuttings may be rooted 

 in handlights, and the plants prepared for the 

 beds and borders in boxes of good soil. Cut the 

 early or central spikes for decoration, and a wealth 

 of side flower spikes will quickly follow. Allow- 

 ing the plants to form seed pods militates against 

 continuous flowering. Sturdy plants in borders 

 survive moderately severe frosts, and flower pro- 

 fusely in May. 



Begonias (fibrous). — Several fibrous-rooted varieties 

 of these are admirably adapted for summer bed- 

 ding, and ought not to be wholly passed over in 



favour of the more showy tuberous-rooted kinds. 

 Some of the best of the former are Princess 

 Beatrice, 6 inches, white tinged with pink ; 

 floribunda rosea, dwarf rose ; semperflorens, 

 white ; atropurpurea, rich red, purplish foliage ; 

 Crimson Gem, red, bronze foliage, all growing 

 to a height of 9 to 15 inches ; and weltoniensis, 

 rosy pink, 9 inches. B. Carrieri is taller, this 

 and weltoniensis being increased by cuttings of 

 flowerless shoots, inserted in sandy soil, in brisk 

 but not very moist heat in the spring, the others 

 also by cuttings as well as by divisions and seeds. 

 The plants can be prepared in either boxes or 

 small pots of rich light soil, keeping them steadily 

 growing in gentle warmth till the first or second 

 week in May, then harden off in time to plant 

 out during the first fortnight in June. The kinds 

 named are suitable either for edging large-sized 

 beds or occupying the centres of smaller ones, 

 forming a charming groundwork for small standard 



Fig. 99. Propagating Tubeeotts Begonias. 



a, Divided tuber in spring ; b, cutting in summer. 



and pyramid fuchsias, abutilons, or other elegant 

 "dot" plants. Lift all that maybe wanted for 

 stock purposes before they are damaged by frost, 

 those plants flowering well in warm greenhouses 

 or conservatories. 

 Begonias (tuberous). — Tuberous begonias, including 

 the showy B. Worthiana, can be increased by 

 division of the tubers, after growth has com- 

 menced in the spring, also by cuttings in summer, 

 as shown in Fig. 99. Start the tubers in boxes of 

 loam and leaf soil in gentle heat, and after root 

 and top growth have commenced split them up, 

 coat the wound with sand and return the divi- 

 sions to the boxes to recover from the check. 

 As a rule spring cuttings are too succulent, but if 

 the firm, flowerless side shoots are taken off and 

 made into cuttings during the summer, these will 

 root freely and form serviceable tubers before 

 dying down. The earliest may be inserted in open 

 sunny borders, similarly to zonale pelargoniums, 

 and are as easy to strike. In August and later 



