Revue Horticole, Anne 1913 Begonia semperflorens varieties: There are many varieties that lend themselves admirably to various tonalities compositions throughout the summer season. In order to avoid too much enumeration, we will only mention the elite varieties that are very recommendable. Vernon - purple foliage, intense red flowers. Blanc - B. s. compact dwarf, white, pink and fiery red. Nain Compact Bijou [Jewel compact dwarf] - forming a small ball covered with flowers of a beautiful bright red for the formation of beautiful borders. Magnifica - dark red foliage and intense scarlet red flowers, the most beautiful effect in full sun. Gracilis Gloire of Louveciennes - Abundant flowers, soft pink, contrasting with the brilliant green of the foliage. Lumineux [Bright] - bright red scarlet flowers. Varieties with white flowers, red rose and salmon red, beautiful new colors of an eff and particular. Primadonna - has big pink flower. New variety has larger flowers than in other colors. Erfordia red - one of the most beautiful Begonias for massive. Erfordia grandifiora superba - improved. Good vigor, this variety forms compact tufts 30 centimeters high, with shiny dark green foliage on which stand out the bright pink flowers, very large, carried well above the plant by numerous stems. Red Lubeca - bronze foliage, very floriferous plant with large brilliant carmine red flowers, compact vigorous growth, resists well in the sun. Wurtembergia - vigorous plant, 35 cm. tall, dark green foliage. The flowers, well detached above the foliage, are very large and richly colored with crimson carmine red, hue on which contrast many gold-yellow stamens. Abundant and sustained flowering, superb plant for the ornamentation of the massifs. All the above varieties are most decorative for the summer decoration of the gardens, thanks to their hardiness, their prolonged flowering, the brilliant colors contrasting elegantly on their brilliant foliage, varying from light green to dark metallic green or to brownish red. The Begonia semperflorens are sown from February-March on warm layers in terrines of sandy heather, well drained, avoiding any excess of moisture. We transplant in terrines, placed on layers; when the plants are strong enough, they are transplanted on a layer in the ground, of light consistency, sandy. By this process, well established plants, set up at the beginning of June, will bloom abundantly until frost, half shade or full sun, in light humus soil. - Numa Schneider.
