TUBEROIS BEGONIAS AGAIN. 



23 



thin shade of trees observe how sprawly geraniums get, 

 also how sparsely they bloom, and how badly. What 

 flowsrs thsy have get knocked off every time it rains. 

 Now this does not occur with tuberous-rooted begonias- 

 Although these begonias grow so luxuriantly and 

 blossom so generously out of doors, they seldom ripen 

 seed. If you wish to save seed, about the first of Sep- 

 tember select the very finest-flowered varieties you have, 

 and lift and pot them and bring them indoors, and while 

 you give them plenty of water at the roots keep them 

 dry overhead. They won't wilt at all, but keep on 



together ; they are covered with ordinarily moist sand- 

 These flat boxes are piled up, one above the other, with 

 a three-inch open space between them. If any of these 

 dormant tubers .start to grow in winter they are taken 

 out and potted into rather small pots or placed in a 

 cool greenhouse, where, notwithstanding their seeming 

 hurry, they seldom make much progress before April. 

 About the end of March or first of April, however, they 

 are all boxed or potted off and allowed to grow at will 

 till the middle of May, when they are planted out of 

 doors and afterwards treated as if they were seedlings 



A Seedling Tuberous Begonia, Grown by Thomas Griffin, Westbury, L. I., N. Y. 



blooming, making very beautiful plants, and ripening 

 lots of seed. This will give you a fine start next spring. 



When frost comes and kills the tops as it does those of 

 dahlias (without in the least degree injuring the tubers), 

 cut off the stems near the ground, and lift and bring 

 the tubers indoors. Winter them in a cool and moder- 

 ately dry place, where frost cannot reach them or a 

 high temperature induce them to start prematurely into 

 fresh growth or kill them by dry rot. Between 40° and 

 50° is a safe temperature. I winter them in flats, in 

 which they are put one deep, heads up, and quite close 



In the matter of outdoor cultivation, here are a few 

 points worth noting : Always start begonias into growth 

 before planting them out, so as to be able to get those 

 of the same kind, size and habit together ; planted mis- 

 cellaneously they are apt to come up unequally. Do not 

 plant dormant tubers in the flower-garden, for so late in 

 the season some of them may be slow to start and thus 

 render the beds patchy and ill-appearing. Begonias 

 are not cactuses — they must have moisture at the root. 

 A mulching of light chaffy material, as cut-straw, co- 

 coanut-fiber or spent-mushroom manure, spread over 



