THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS
INSTRUCTIONS ON PARTICULAR KINDS - Continued
Begonias are familiar tender bedding and house plants. Next to the
geranium, begonias are probably the most popular for house culture of
the entire plant list. The ease of culture, great variety of kinds,
profusion of bloom or richness of foliage, together with their
adaptability to shade, make them very desirable.
Begonias may be divided into three sections: the fibrous-rooted class,
which contains the winter-flowering, branching kinds; the rex forms, or
beefsteak geraniums, having large ornamental leaves; the
tuberous-rooted, those that bloom through the summer, the tuber resting
in the winter.
The fibrous-rooted kinds may be propagated by seed or cuttings, the
latter being the usual method. Cuttings of half-ripened wood root
easily, making a rapid growth, the plants flowering in a few months.
The rex type, having no branches, is propagated from the leaves. The
large mature leaves are used. The leaf may be cut into sections, having
at the base a union of two ribs. These pieces of leaves may be inserted
in the sand as any other cutting. Or a whole leaf may be used, cutting
through the ribs at intervals and laying the leaf flat on the
propagating bench or other warm, moist place. In a short time young
plants having roots of their own will form. These may be potted when
large enough to handle, and will soon make good plants (Fig 125).
Rex begonias usually grow little during winter, and they should
therefore be kept fairly dry and no effort made to push them. Be sure
that the pots are well drained, so that the soil does not become sour.
New plants--those a year or so old--are usually most satisfactory. Keep
them away from direct sunlight. An insidious disease of rex begonia
leaves has recently made its appearance. The best treatment yet known is
to propagate fresh plants, throwing away the old stock and the dirt in
which it is grown.
The tuberous-rooted begonias make excellent bedding plants for those
who learn their simple but imperative requirements. They are also good
pot subjects for summer.
The amateur would better not attempt to grow the tuberous begonias from
seed. He should purchase good two-year tubers. These should be able to
run for two or three years before they are so old or so much spent that
they give unsatisfactory results.
In the North, the tubers are started indoors, for bedding, in February
or early March in a rather warm temperature. They will fill a five-inch
pot before they are ready to be turned out into the ground. They should
not be planted out till the weather is thoroughly settled, for they will
not stand frost or unfavorable climatic conditions.
The plants should be given a soil that holds moisture, but is yet well
drained. They will not do well in water-logged ground. They should have
partial shade; near the north side of a building is a good place for
them. Too much watering makes them soft and they tend to break down.
Keep the foliage dry, particularly in sunny weather; the watering should
be done from underneath.
After blooming, lift the bulbs, dry them off, and keep over winter in a
cool place. They may be packed in shallow boxes in dry earth or sand.
Florists sometimes divide the tubers just after growth starts in the
spring, so that a good eye may be got with each plant; but the amateur
would better use the entire tuber, unless he desires to increase or
multiply some particular plant.
If the house gardener desires to raise tuberous begonias from seed, he
must be prepared to exercise much patience. The seeds, like those of all
begonias, are very small, and should be sown with great care. Start the
seeds in late winter. Simply sprinkle them on the surface of the soil,
which should be a mixture of leafmold and sand, with the addition of a
small quantity of fibrous loam. Watering should be done by setting the
pot or box in which the seeds are sown in water, allowing the moisture
to ascend through the soil. When the soil has become completely
saturated, set the box in a shady situation, covering it with glass or
some other object until the tiny seedlings appear. Never allow the soil
to become dry. The seedlings should be transplanted, as soon as they can
be handled, into boxes or pots containing the same mixture of soil,
setting each plant down to the seed-leaf. They will need three or four
transplantings before they reach the blooming stage, and at each one
after the first, the proportion of fibrous loam may be increased until
the soil is composed of one-third each of loam, sand, and leafmold. The
addition of a little well-rotted manure may be made at the last
transplanting.
Cactus.--Various kinds of cactus are often seen in small
collections of house plants, to which they add interest and oddity,
being different from other plants.
Most cacti are easy to grow, requiring little care and enduring the heat
and dryness of a living room much better than most other plants. Their
requirements are ample drainage and open soil. Cactus growers usually
make a soil by mixing pulverized plaster or lime refuse with garden
loam, using about two-thirds of the loam. The very fine parts, or dust,
of the plaster, are blown out, else the soil is likely to cement. They
may be rested at any season by simply setting them away in a dry place
for two or three months, and bringing them into heat and light when they
are wanted. As new growth advances they should have water occasionally,
and when in bloom, they should be watered freely. Withhold water
gradually after blooming until they are to be rested.
Some of the most common species in cultivation are the phyllocactus
species, often called the night-blooming cereus. These are not the true
night-blooming cereuses, which have angular or cylindrical stems,
covered with bristles, while these have flat, leaf-like branches; the
flowers of these, however, are very much like the cereus, opening at
evening and closing before morning, and as the phyllocacti may be grown
with greater ease, blooming on smaller and younger plants, they are to
be recommended.
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