berous-rooted Begonia is a very shallow-rooted 
plant and any disturbing of the soil surface is 
bound te break or injure a good many of the 
samali feeding roots of which some will appear at 
the surface. So don’t cultivate; just weed. 
BUD DROP 
As the season advances and we run into hot, 
dry weather, oftimes buds form but drop off be- 
fore they have opened and this is due almost en- 
tirely to the lack of humidity in the air. This 
can be overcome to a great extent by spraying 
the blooms and foliage with a fine misty spray 
once or twice a day, raising the humidity around 
the plant. Don’t spray enough for much water 
to reaoh the soil. This ig the main reason why 
the Tuberous-rooted Begonia does not make a 
good house-plant—the atmosphere is altogether too 
dry in the averaze home. 
BLOOM 
The Tuberous-rooted Begonia blooms appear in 
clusters of two or three to the stem, the larger 
center one being the male bloom and the one or 
two side ones being the female. The female 
blooms very rarely have more than five petals, 
regardless of variety. and are a great deal small- 
er. They are not essential because both male 
and female blooms lack honey and odor, and do 
not attract the bees, which. in turn. do _ not 
carry pollen, and so it is very rarely that the fe- 
male bloom develops seed under these conditions. 
Therefore, to get the best and biggest bloom, 
remove the small female bloom as soon as pos- 
sible. In other words, disbud as you would roses 
or chrysanthemums, This will increase size and 
lasting qualities greatly. 
CUT FLOWERS 
If Begonias are to be used as cut-flowers, pick 
early in the morning. leaving at least -inch of 
stem on plant. which wili mature and fall off, 
leaving no open wound. Spray the blooms light- 
ty with water as they absorb more  wmoisture 
through the petals than through the stem, then 
place in refrigerator for a period of 2 to 3 hours 
to help them harden up. 
USES 
When needed they may be removed and used 
for table decorations, bridal bouquets, corsages, 
etc., holding up much longer than any other 
flower at this time of year. If they have wilted 
some during the day’s wear, spray them again 
with water and place in ice-box to revive. It is 
possible to use same corsage two or three times. 
BLOOMING PERIOD 
The Tuberous-reoted Begonia will bloom from 
planting -time until frost cuts it down in the fall, 
increasing in size and in number of blooms as 
the season advances. 
MATURING 
Normally, the plants mature about the middle 
of November, but in most localities we have frost 
much before that time and therefore the bulbs 
are not mature, making it very difficult to carry 
them through the winter, so people have begun, 
in many cases, to consider them as annuals, trying 
to carry over all the bulbs possible, but realizing 
they are not apt to have much success. * 

SINGLE CRESTED TYPES 
This variety, as the picture portrays, has a cox- 
comb-like growth on each petal, giving the iu- 
berous rooted begonia family a crested type. It 
is especially effective for corsage work because of 
its oddity and distinctiveness. 
Available in the following colors and sizes: 
Red. yellow, rose, white, pink, salmon, copper. 
Dry bulbs or tubers 114-in. to 2-in. No. 1 size. 
Seedling plants 3-inch pots. 
Bulb-grown plants 5-inch pots. 

DOUBLE PICTA TYPE 
One of the older types of the double tuberous root- 
ed begonia, this variety still comes from the old 
country and is consequently not quite as large 
a bloom as the other double types, but has 
very brilliant markings, the base color being bright 
red with white spots all over it. 
Dry bulbs or tubers 11%-in. to 2-in. No. 1 size. 
Bulb-grown plants 5-inch pots. 
