BEGONIA, TUBEROUSROOTED

Few flowers have a greater claim on the attention of horticulturists

than the Tuberous-rooted Begonia, either for the ease with which it can

be grown, or for the many valuable purposes to which the plant may be

applied. It can be flowered at any time from February until October, and

is available for all kinds of indoor decoration, and also for growing in

the open ground during the summer months.



Instead of allowing the plants to be rudely dried off, it is worth a

little trouble to reduce them slowly to the dormant state by gradually

withholding water. They should still be retained in pots, which may be

stored under a thick layer of ashes or dry peat in any cellar, frame, or

shed where the thermometer stands pretty uniformly at about 50 deg.. The

store should also be dry, for damp is quite as injurious to these roots

as cold. Generally speaking, it may be said that any store which is safe

for Dahlias will also preserve Tuberous-rooted Begonias.



After the winter's rest the bulbs are invariably saucer-shaped, and in

the event of their being watered before growth has commenced, sufficient

water will remain in the hollow to destroy the bulb. This peculiarity

makes it dangerous to start the plant before activity is evident. In

January or February, as the bulbs show signs of life, pot them almost on

the surface of a rich loamy soil, and employ the smallest pots possible.

Nurse them with a little care in a warm place for about ten days, and

they should then be very gradually hardened. A regular system of potting

on will be necessary until the final size is reached; and at each

operation the plants should be inserted rather deeper than before. If

re-potting is deferred too long, the foliage will turn yellow--a sure

sign that the plant is starving. No flowers should be allowed in the

early stages of growth, and this rule is imperative if fine specimens

are wanted; but when the plants are transferred just as the pots are

full of roots, there will be little disposition to bloom prematurely.

While growing, the Tuberous Begonia delights in a humid atmosphere, but

this should be avoided after flowering has commenced. When sticks are

inserted for tying out the flowers, the bulbs must not be wounded.



The erect-growing varieties are valuable for low conservatory stages,

and they form splendid groups in corners of drawing-rooms. The drooping

kinds are seen to advantage on brackets, shelves, and in suspended

baskets; and the short-jointed plants of the drooping class are

specially adapted for rockeries and beds. They must not be put into the

open until the danger of a nipping east wind is past. The early part of

June is generally about the right time.



In the autumn it is usual to lift and pot the plants, although in mild

districts, and in a light soil, they may safely be left out all the

winter under the shelter of a heap of ashes or decayed manure. In beds

this plan is scarcely worth adoption, because it leaves the ground bare

for several months; but where Begonias are grown in the reserve border

to furnish a supply of flowers for cutting, it may be a considerable

advantage to leave them until the following year.



A word is necessary as to soil. The Begonia is a gross feeder, and to

develop its fine qualities there must be a liberal employment of manure.

As a matter of fact, it is scarcely possible to make the soil too rich

for this flower.