_Editor Mayflower:_
I wonder who first advanced that miserable theory that Begonias should
be watered sparingly, be kept always in the shade and not a drop of
water allowed to touch the leaves. No wonder that Begonias treated in
that way drop their leaves and refuse to grow. I have grown a great many
varieties--I have forgotten how many--and I find that they all like heat
and moisture, and showering or spraying the leaves is a benefit to them
if the sun is not allowed to shine on them while they are wet. While the
rough or hairy leaved varieties will not stand hot sunshine they will do
much better and be more sure to bloom if they stand where the early
morning or late afternoon sun can shine upon them. B. Vernon and two or
three other varieties will stand as much hot sunshine as Portulaca if
given plenty of water at the roots and an overhead showering every day
after the sun is gone, in dry weather. No Begonia will do well here on
the prairie if bedded out, and plunging in pot is worse. I don't like
earthen pots for them any way--the plants do better in wood or tin. I
have a number of pots (?) made from gallon paint kegs; one keg makes
two, which I use for my Tuberous Begonias. I use broken bones for
drainage, a mixture of leaf mold and sand for soil, plant one bulb in a
keg, and after the weather becomes warm I place the kegs on a bench
which stands in an angle of the house, said angle being open to the
north and east and gets the sun till 11 o'clock. I keep the soil moist
and shower the leaves when I think they need it. And those plants do
grow and bloom, the foliage is immense, some of the leaves measuring 8
by 12 or 14 inches, and the blossoms measure from 2 to 4 inches across.
I have counted fifteen such blossoms on one plant at one time. Do they
do much better than that anywhere? Mine are the finest I have ever
seen.--_H. J. W._