TUBEROUS BEGONIA GROWING HINTS 
SEEDS 
Seed may be sown from December 
until March but the best results are 
obtained from those sown in February. 
Seed are sown in well-drained flats 
containing an inch and a half of well 
decayed leaf mold. The seeds are 
watered with a light spray, covered 
with glass, and darkened with paper 
until germination. In a temperature of 
60 tc 70 degrees germination will take 
eight to ten days. As soon as the seed 
shows small white specks, the paper 
should be removed. Two or three days 
later small plants will show. The glass 
should be removed and the plants 
kept moist. 
To avoid the growth of weed and 
fungus it is advisable to sterilize the 
soil with steam or soil fumigants be- 
fore planting and to water with ster- 
ilized water until the third leaf shows 
on the small plants. The plants may 
then be watered with fresh water for 
fifteen to twenty days before trans- 
planting. 
TRANSPLANTING 
A good mixture for transplanting 
contains two parts of well decayed leaf 
mold to one part of top soil with a 
light application of well decayed 
manure. At first the seedlings are 
planted one inch apart and when they 
become crowded they are transplanted 
again. In five to six weeks they will 
be ready for potting or planting in 
the garden. 
In GARDEN PLANTING, one should 
not “over do” the soil preparation. 
Such practices as digging trenches 
and filling them with loose leaf mold, 
should be avoided. The most desirable 
soil is fairly loose but yet has suf- 
ficient body and nutrients to allow the 
plant to develop. A sandy soil requires 
the application of. humus, whereas 
heavy soils require sand and _ leaf 
mold, 
Begonias can not stand direct sun- 
light during the day (in most areas), 
therefore. it is well to choose planting 
sites that afford the early morning 
sunlight or the late evening sunlight. 
The more sunlight the plant can re- 
ceive without burning, the more flow- 
ers may be obtained and the larger 
the blooms. The begonias should be 
planted in order that the point of the 
leaves face the observer. This is 
known as facing the plant and it is 
important if one is to see the bloom 
well. 
After planting, the begonias require 
a minimum of watering during the 
early stages of growth. 
PINCHING 
To attain large flowers on the stand- 
ard or upright type, all shoots should 
be removed except one. This is 
accomplished by breaking off, at any- 
time, the growth that develops from 
the tuber. If you desire to make cut- 
tings, allow the growth to develop 
two to three inches high on the extra 
shoots then cut off at the tuber, with 
a sharp knife, and then by planting 
in sand they will form their own tuber 
in the fall. 
On the hanging basket variety, 
started from tubers, all the sprouts 
should be kept and the crown pinched 
from the first main sprout when they 
attain four or five inches of growth. 
This induces the development of the 
lateral growth and the growth of new 
sprouts. Lateral sprouts should not be 
pinched, they may be pinched before 
potting or soon after potting. Do not 
pinch the plants of the seedling hang- 
ing basket type the first year as this 
does not allow time for flower pro- 
duction and does not allow the tuber 
to develop properly. 
For a full basket of seedlings, it is 
best to put from two to four plants: in 
each basket depending on the size of 
the container. 
