TUBEROUS BEGONIAS AGAIN. 



WHAT PRACTICAL GROWERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THEIR CHARACTER, CULTURE AND VALUE IN AMERICA. 

 [See also The American Garden for January and February, 1891, for much valuable matter on 

 this interesting class of plants.— Ed.] 



E MEAN by tuberous-rooted be- 

 gonias those whose roots are 

 bulb-like tubers like the roots of 

 gloxinias. Sweet potatoes, Ma- 

 deira vines and dahlias have tu- 

 berous roots. Begonias that 

 have tuberous roots have decid- 

 ed periods of rest and growth, 

 and are herbaceous — that is, when their growth is 

 ended they die down as completely as does a cala- 

 dium or common garden lily. In this they differ 

 completely from the rex, odorata or manicata be- 

 gonias, which are evergreen. And they are the most 

 accommodating and easiest to grow of all begonias. 



Begonia Boliviensis was introduced from South Amer- 

 ica about 35 years ago, and R. Veitchii from Peru about 

 25 years since, and these species have given rise to the 

 flood of varieties now so popular in our gardens. 

 True, other tuberous-rooted species have been used in 

 the amalgamation, for instance, B. Davisii, for bril- 

 liant coloring and compact habit, B. Pearcei for its leaf- 

 markings and yellow flowers, and so on, till now species, 

 hybrids, crosses and varieties have all been interbred so 

 much that the identity of the original species is almost 

 lost among them. 



For convenience' sake tuberous-rooted begonias may 

 be divided into two sets, namely, summer and winter- 

 blooming. The summer-flowering sorts are the ones 

 now becoming so popular — the progeny above referred 

 to ; the winter bloomers are mostly B. Fra-heli and its 

 varieties from Ecuador. 



There is a current idea that some species of begonias 

 are hardy here in our gardens ; my experience, however, 

 is to the contrary. I have never found any begonia 

 hardy on Long Island, and certainly not in Boston, 

 where I cultivated many species. Begonia Evansinna, or 

 B. discolor, by which name also it is widely known, from 

 China and Japan, is an old-fashioned species in our gar- 

 dens, and the hardiest of the genus, so far as I know. 

 Under a mulching or in a warm, sheltered place, as at 

 the foot of a wall on its south-facing side, it has lived 

 year after year with me, but in the ordinary sense of 

 hardy plants, as a lily-of-the-valley is hardy, it is not 

 hardy. Not only does it bear tubers under ground, but 

 at the joints of its branches and leaf-axils all up its 

 stems little tubers or bulblets are produced in much the 

 same fashion as are the bulblets on the cinnamon vine 

 [Dioscorea batatas). Persons that have not this old 



favorite begonia should get it by all means, and plant 

 it out in the garden in summer, where it will grow 

 thriftily and bloom beautifully and continuously. 



We propagate the tuberous-rooted begonias from 

 seed. The seedlings may not be the counterpart of the 

 seed-parent, but they are apt to turn in that direction so 

 far as color, form and habit go. In Europe the finer 

 varieties are named as we name geraniums or dahlias, 

 and to insure the identical purity of the young plants, 

 these have to be raised from cuttings of their parents, 

 which is a tedious process and never likely to be widely 

 adopted here. In fact, with us, in case of these begonias 

 it is the same as with gloxinias or perennial larkspurs — 

 we can get such splendid varieties from seed of a good 

 strain that we cannot be bothered with names for indi- 

 viduals. But we may keep them apart in colors, say 

 white, rose, yellow or orange, as the case may be. 



The seed is very fine, but possessed of great vitality, 

 and, with any kind of fair treatment, sure to grow. 

 The interval between the time of germination, however, 

 and when the seedlings are three or four weeks old, is 

 the critical period, on account of their liability then to 

 damp-off. Sown indoors, say in a warm window, frame 

 or greenhouse in spring, and kept evenly moist and 

 shaded from the sunshine, and pricked off singly into 

 other pots or flats as soon as they are big enough to 

 handle, they should make nice plants two or three 

 inches high by the middle or end of May, when they 

 will be ready for growing on in pots or for planting out, 

 as desired. In either case plants four months old from 

 seed should begin to bloom, and continue improving in 

 growth and blossom till the end of the season, say Oc- 

 tober or November. 



As outdoor plants in the flower-garden there is a 

 bright future ahead of these tuberous-rooted begonias. 

 They grow well in the shade or open sunshine. They 

 are neat, busby and compact in growth, and brilliant in 

 blossom without being harsh, garish or obtrusive. In- 

 deed, they fill a place unoccupied by any other fine- 

 flowering plant we cultivate in being rain-proof — rains 

 don't knock off or injure their flowers. And they afford 

 us such a variety of color — white, yellow, rose, scarlet 

 and crimson in many shades. Some have drooping and 

 others erect flowers ; some have long narrowish petals ; 

 others round and massive ones, and now double-flow- 

 ered varieties are as abundant as we wish to make them. 

 The single flowers run from three to six inches across, 

 and the doubles from two and one-half to four or five 

 inches. And these double flowers are as solid as a pom- 

 pon zinnia or a hen-and-chickens daisy. Under the 



