1884.] 
NEW TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 
49 
NEW TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 
[Plate 607.] 
f NE of the most remarkable features of 
modern gardening is the rapid develop¬ 
ment—improvement as we florists think 
—of certain special flowers, which seem 
at once not only to yield themselves up to the 
service of mankind, but also to achieve popu¬ 
larity. This development or improvement 
is not confined to one feature, but is alike 
evident as regards size, form, and variety 
of colouring, three very essential points in 
estimating the degree of perfection in flowers. 
The tuberous-rooted Begonias furnish a notable 
illustration of this fact; so do the Cyclamens, 
and we might add the Cinerarias, each of 
which, especially the two former, has under¬ 
gone very rapid changes within the last five or 
six years, the changes effected being at the 
same time unquestionable improvements. 
One great emporium for these Tuberous 
Begonias is at Messrs. Laing & Co.’s Stan- 
stead Park Nui’sery, Forest Hill, Here they 
are grown by hundreds of thousands, the finer 
kinds being selected and named for special 
cultivation as specimen plants, and the others 
where of suitable character being reserved for 
bedding purposes. As pot plants for decora¬ 
tive purposes none are more brilliant and 
effective than this class of Begonias, which are 
also exceedingly telling where shown in large 
groups at exhibitions. As bedding plants in 
favourable positions they also do well, and 
bear up bravely against summer storms, which 
do them far less injury than they do to a bed 
of Pelargoniums. The varieties represented in 
the accompanying plate are the following :— 
Fig. 1- Orange Giant. 
Fig. 2. Stanstead Surprise. 
Fig. 3. Countess of Rosslyn. 
Fig. 4. Lady Brooke. 
Fig. 5. Golden Gem. 
Mr. Laing has very kindly communicated as 
below the heads of the mode of cultivation 
which is adopted at Stanstead Park, and which 
is so successful that when exhibited their 
plants never fail to win a substantial reward :— 
“ The rapid advance cf the Begonia in popularity 
is the result simply of its high merit as a decorative 
plant for the conservatory and the open garden. It 
is nearly hardy, and under some favourable condi¬ 
tions a considerable proportion of the varieties may 
be pronounced quite hardy; but it happens that to 
treat it as a thoroughly hardy plant ensures to the 
cultivator no special advantage, and is attended with 
some degree of risk. 
“ Begonias possess this great advantage over many 
other decorative and bedding plants, that while the 
bulbs are dormant from the end of October to March, 
they require but little care and occupy no space that 
is of use. For example, we keep during the winter 
about 100,000 tubers in a greenhouse 40 ft. by 10 ft., 
and they occupy only about two-thirds of the space 
the house is capable of affording. After lifting the 
roots from the ground or shaking them out of the 
pots, they can be stowed away in any corner of a 
greenhouse or of a room where frost is not allowed 
to enter, and not in the vicinity of hot pipes or fire 
heit; they should be covered with cocoanut fibre or 
sand, which prevents their getting too dry, in a 
basket, box, or pot, and protected from drip if under a 
greenhouse stage. They will show signs of starting 
into growth in March or April, when they should be 
patted in a light fibrous mixture of loam and leaf 
mould with a little coarse sand added. Toey should 
not be forced, but allowed to ‘ come away ’ gradually, 
and shifted into larger po^s in May. In June those 
required for Conservatory decoration require another 
shift, whereas those retained for bedding out require 
sheltering in frames until the season is fit for 
planting. The tubers make the finest growth and 
bloom when not specially pushed into activity, but 
left to start of their own accord. In this case they 
make a stronger and shorter growth, and the flowers 
show from the very base of the plant near the ground, 
and are backed up by a rich and healthy leafage. 
“ To manage these plants in a nearly natural way, 
it is sufficient to put the tubers into boxes filled 
with leaf-mould or sandy loam, and place these 
boxes on a dung bed in a frame, giving very little 
water, but taking care that the earth is moist enough 
to encourage trie growth of roots. If much water 
is given until they are growing freely, mischief may 
follow, but they like water when they have made 
some degree of progress. It is a very simple matter 
to harden them off for planting, and for the latter 
operation the 1st of June is ab ut the right dAe in 
the climate of London. Trie ama’eur who has no 
greenhouse or dung bed may nevertheless cultivate 
these plants with real advamage and enjoyment, for 
they may be wintered anywhere safe fr >m frost, and 
may be started into growth under a common hand- 
light or in a box frame, and when planted out will 
take care of themselves. 
“For early flowering and for the production of 
specimens for exhibition, it is advisable to employ 
artificial heat in order to lengthen the season. The 
stove answers perfectly in a general way, but any 
source of bottom heat with a moist healthy atmos¬ 
phere will suffice to bring the tubers into a healthy 
growth. Instantly upon the leaves appearing they 
mu^t be kept near the glass to prevent drawing and 
weak growth, and the watering must be carefully 
managed to ensure a sufficiency without excess. In 
the produciion of large basket specimens, it is neces¬ 
sary to begin early; and, as a matter of course, arti¬ 
ficial heat must be resorted to in order to start and, 
n)aintain the growth until the season is sufficiently 
advanced to render it no longer necessary. Basket 
specimens are the least of all prejudiced by a forcing 
treatment, as a long-jointed growth is in their case 
permissible. 
“Specimens intended for exhibition will neces¬ 
sarily require careful management. They must be 
started in heat, but kept near the glass and have 
as much light and air as will be consistent with un¬ 
checked progress, the object being to secure not only 
D 
