| Description | The Garden, v .44, (1893) B Erfordia: This is a hybrid between B. Schmidti and B. semperflorens ‘Vernon’. The growth and the graceful habit are similar to those of the former species, while the coloring of the leaves resembles that of B. semperflorens Vernon. The flowers, of a lovely rosy carmine, are freely produced in loose clusters and form a beautiful contrast to the dark foliage. The plants attain a height of about 12 inches to 15 inches, and are literally covered with flowers during the whole season without suffering in the least from cool and damp weather. It is useful for the flower garden and is also a good winter-blooming variety. The figure and the description of the plant were kindly sent us by Messrs. Haage and Schmidt, of Erfurt.; Die Gartenwelt, Jahr 2, 1897 B. semperflorens: The cultivated and improved varieties of the Begonia semperflorens Link et Otto, originating from Brazil, have everywhere conquered a place in the garden thanks to their good qualities, which they have been able to use for many purposes, and now belong, as it were, to their iron constitution. They offer the gardener a splendid, easy-to-procure material for flowerbeds, can be used favorably in their dwarf shapes on carpet beds, are useful as potted plants for decoration purposes and, what cannot be said of many of our summer bloomers, are also valuable as market plants. Today we have a whole collection of beautiful varieties, all characterized by willing and abundant flowering, but of which we must attach different value to the overall effect they produce as group plants. Anyone who saw the ground floor of the Frankfurt Palmengarten this past summer will remember the brilliant effect achieved with Begonia semperflorens cultivars ‘Erfordia’ and ‘Vernon’. In the following, therefore, I shall limit myself to listing only those varieties which have proved to be excellent and deserve to be called summa cum laude. It is possible to distinguish two groups of Semperflorens-Begonia according to their specific abilities: seed-bearing and seed-failing. To the former, who are best suited to mass culture, I also count the beautiful 'Erfordia', although it brings seeds only sparingly and is necessary for obtaining the same selection of the best and best, and culture of plants under glass with free access to the air. Other Beg. Semperfl. coming close to the beauty of 'Erfordia' are the Pfitzer's breeds 'Perle v. Stuttgart' and 'Vernon compacta', both improvements of the old preserved ‘Vernon’ begonia. The lack of a good, pure white flowering Semperflorens Begonia is remedied with the variety 'Helene Bofinger'. 'Bertha Bofinger', is a new carmine blooming new kind of ornamental growth. 'Zulu Konig' is a very recent breed, which I do not yet know from my own point of view, but this new begonia was highly praised by experts who had exhibited in Hamburg last summer. A simple but successful cultural procedure, which is also used in the gardening of the garden architects Gebr. Siesmayer, is the following: Sow early (as early as the second half of January) and not too thin, in shallow clay pits on prepared peat mire, For this purpose the peat cut into small pieces is cooked, and after it has been stored for a few days in a warm room, mixed with fine, sharp sands and ground, which is best served with a medium sieve. The cooking of the peat is required to prevent the appearance of mold and other parasites, also necessary to give the very dry and rough raw material the appropriate texture for propagation purposes. The property of the peat to retain a given degree of moisture for a very long time, and its porosity, not attained by any species of earth, ensures uniform germination, rapid development, and perfect rooting of the seedlings. Three weeks after sowing, the young Begonia semperflorens seedlings are clogged on a pique box; not one by one, but always three or five little plants together, with small peat bales adhering to each other, at a distance from each other, which makes a repeated stuffing in the house, which would take a great deal of time with large masses, superfluous. In two-week-old culture in the warm house and three to four-week in the temperate house, at + 10 to 12 degrees C, the begonias have reached the desired size for planting on, and now the division is made shortly. The Begonia semperflorens of the other, no seed-producing group also show magnificent forms, of which I especially highlight the Begonia semperflorens ‘Elegans’, the Indefatigable, who will never miss her beautiful flowers at any time of the year; 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. |
