316 W. Chew St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
you can ascertain definitely whether the soil which 
you use for your Begonias is acid and high in 
nitrate content. 
When a well rooted cutting is removed from the 
propagating bed into a 1!4" or 2" pot, straight 
leaf mold usually gives very satisfactory results. 
When the plant is ready for a shift to a 2^", the 
soil formula previously given is used. Starting 
with the 3" pot, liquid fertilizer can be used. 
From 3 V 2 " and on up sandy garden loam can be 
mixed in, taking the place of the sand to a large 
extent or entirely. But do not increase the size of 
the pot more than one-half inch each time until 
you get to four inch. In transplanting, endeavor 
to make sure there is no air space between the 
old soil and the side of the pot—this can be ac¬ 
complished with the use of a thin stick (8 to 10 
inch plant stake makes a good tool.) Use this 
to press the soil down toward the bottom of the 
pot, keeping the stick close to the sides of the pot 
so that the root system of the plant is not dis¬ 
turbed or broken. The time for transplanting is 
when a good network of roots show on the soil 
when tapped out of the pot. A rule which has 
given good results here is “Crowd your roots for 
foliage and bloom.’’ 
PROPAGATION 
Cuttings 
All Begonias can be propagated from cuttings. 
Tuberous rooted varieties seem to be more diffi¬ 
cult than others; more skill being required. 
Evansiana gives weak sickly looking plants as a 
result of propagation from cuttings. 
Cuttings or slips may be made at any season of 
the year, but best results are obtained if the cut¬ 
ting is taken when the growth of the original 
plant is active. Spring and summer seem to give 
best results. Many of the corm varieties start 
easily in the fall, during October, November and 
December. All of the corm varieties and Rex’s 
will root from the leaves. It takes more patience 
and is a longer process, but a much bushier plant 
is the result. Some amateurs root the leaves in 
water, placing the stem of the leaf (leaving the 
leaf on) in a glass of water in a well ventilated 
place, not too cool. As long as the leaf and stem 
do not decompose, you can expect that it will root, 
but it will take several weeks. The method used 
in propagating from leaves is to lay the leaf flat 
on the top of a pot filled with sand or leaf mold. 
You can reduce the size of the leaf considerably 
and thereby conserve space by cutting it back to 
where the veins of the leaf are fairly heavy. 
Then pin these ribs down into the soil or sand 
with hairpins or light weight bobby pins. Moisten 
well, allowing the soil to take up the moisture 
from the bottom and cover the pot with a piece 
of glass. Place over a radiator that does not get 
too warm and keep from strong light. Be sure 
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