26 



THE TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 



salmons, up to scarlets and deep crimsons. The foliage 

 is fine, and presents good variety ; the habits of growth 

 are good, and there is comparative freedom from insects. 

 We do not grow them so extensively as they are grown 

 abroad, probably because they are little known, because 

 they do not succeed as bedding-out plants in our hot, 

 sunny, summer months, and because there are some 

 difficulties in propagation, and in handling during their 

 period of rest. 



They seem to be best fitted for greenhouse decoration 

 during summer and early autumn, and for growing in 

 pots in the house and on the piazza at these seasons. If 

 they are to be used as bedding plants, a rather shady 

 and well protected situation is advisable, and plenty of 

 water must be given. 



The cultivation is not very difficult. Use well drained 

 pots, in size proportioned to the size of the tuber, The 

 soil should be light andcontain good gritty sand and plenty 

 of well-rotted leaf-mould ; the manure also should be 

 well-rotted. Pot firmly, and leave room for copious water- 

 ing. Start into growth during February and March, 

 for a succession. The temperature in which they are 

 grown should be 50^-60° F., and if the pots are plunged 

 in moss in bottom heat, so much the better. Water 

 sparingly at first, but after growth begins in earnest, 

 never let them get at all ,dry. Shift as the growth 

 demands, and after each shift keep close and a little 

 warmer for a day or two. Liquid manure may be used 

 carefully on well-rooted and established plants. When, 

 at the end of the season, the leaves turn yellow and the 

 plants show that growth is complete, withhold water 

 gradually, and pot them in winter quarters. Keep them 

 in the pots, which should be placed on their sides under 

 the benches where there is little drip. Place them so 

 that those ripening first can be picked out for starting 

 early the next season. 



I advise propagation by seed. Like pansies, cyclamen, 

 cineraria and herbaceous calceolaria, the good strains 

 from reliable growers are so well fixed that a large pro- 

 portion of the seedlings will give plants of good habits, 

 showing a wide range of color and foliage, and produc- 

 ing large flowers. Bud propagation is not necessary 

 except in special cases, such as for saving seed and for 

 exhibition. Seeds sown in February and March, if well 

 grown, give blooming plants the following September. 

 Sow the seed thinly, in well-drained pans or boxes, 

 which may be plunged in bottom heat ; 60° F. is a good 

 temperature. The soil should be light and contain 

 plenty of sand. Leaf-mould is recommended, but it 

 should be fine and old. Bring the soil up almost level 

 with the rim and make it pretty firm. Use no soil to 

 cover; a light watering will be enough, but a pane of 

 glass should be kept on the pan until the seedlings are 

 well established. Pinch off when large enough to 

 handle, and continue this careful treatment until the 

 plants are large. 



There is always some difficulty in growing plants from 

 seed when the seed is small, and they are slow growers ; 

 the trouble comes from damping off. Last year I tried 



sowing in chopped sphagnum with meagre success. 

 Next spring I shall try pure cow-dung from the pastures, 

 as old as possible, dry and fine. We succeeded admirably 

 this summer, using this for cinerarias, calceolarias, etc. 



The tuberous begonias can easily be propagated by 

 cuttings, but the result is often a plant which does not 

 make buds, and so cannot grow the second season. 

 This is not uncommon in plants like dahlia and Salvia 

 patens. When the cut is made at the base of the nods 

 just under the leaf, and not planted too deeply, a peren- 

 nial plant is produced, if this bud is a growing and not a 

 blooming bud. If several shoots start from the base, 

 they can be slipped off and used for cuttings with the 

 same result. These facts may account partly for the 

 trouble in carrying the plants through the winter. I 

 have never tried leaf cuttings ; but a whole leaf, bud, 

 and small portion of the stem will succeed. — B. M. Wat- 

 son, Jr., Bitssey Institution. 



Tuberous-Rooted Begonias. — In Europe, at the 

 present day, the tuberous-rooted begonia is receiving 

 a large share of the attention of skillful cultivators, and 

 no plant better repays the cultivator who devotes his 

 time to hybridization than does this one. 



The colors of its flowers, both double and single, are 

 of the most vivid scarlet, beautiful pink, and pure white, 

 the flowers often measuring two inches or more in 

 diameter. The individual flowers of the double varie- 

 ties are often as large as the carnation and more bril- 

 liant in their color. 



Begonias are splendid plants for conservatory decora- 

 tion during the summer months, the plants being liter- 

 ally covered with blossom the entire season. It will be 

 necessary to shade the greenhouses from the direct rays 

 of the sun. 



If planted in June in a sheltered place in the open 

 ground where the plants do not get the direct rays of 

 the sun, they make a most beautiful show, their bright 

 colored flowers attracting universal attention. As yet 

 they have not been largely planted in this country, but 

 in Europe they are extensively grown. 



These begonias can be raised from seed sown in Jan- 

 uary or February, on a light soil, such as is used to sow 

 fern-seed on. The seed and young plants will want care- 

 ful watching, for in the close atmosphere necessary for 

 germination, fungus is likely to appear and destroy the 

 plants as they first come up. 



As soon as they can be handled the young plants 

 should be transplanted into shallow boxes of light soil 

 that will drain rapidly ; shift into small pots as the 

 seedlings require. 



By September, the plants can be laid on their sides 

 under the bench of the greenhouses in a dry place, un- 

 til the bulb starts to grow, which will be in February 

 or March. Shake off the old soil and repot. The plant 

 should be in flower by June, and will remain in flower 

 until October, when the bulb can again be dried off. 

 The bulb will last a number of years. — James Dean, 

 Bay Kidge, N. Y. 



The Culture of Tuberous Begonias. — There are 



