Die Gartenwelt, Jahr 9, 1904 Begoniaceae, a family of cultivated foliage plants, offers us a great variety of species and forms, which are extremely valuable for the decoration of the flower groups in the open air and for the flor in the greenhouse. Even the begonias, which delight only by the beautiful drawing of the leaves, are welcome guests in our cultures and are often bred. How would it be possible today to achieve such a variety in group planting if we did not have the many varieties of Begonia semperflorens, some of which are distinguished by beautiful flowering, some at the same time striking foliage, or the shrub-like begonias in varieties such as ‘Corbeille de feu', 'Fulgurant' or the magnificent tuberous begonias, whose versatile color schemes have become indispensable to us? The purpose of these lines, however, is not to go into these begonias suitable for the open country, but to draw attention to some varieties that are valuable and very decorative as winter bloomers. A beautiful variety that you rarely meet is Begonia gigantea elegans. The company F. C. Heinemann in Erfurt sent us before. three years, some plants for trial; Mr. Heinemann had seen and acquired plants of this variety at a small French local exhibition, where they were exhibited by a private gardener and attracted attention by the large umbels and flowers. B. gigantea elegans is said to originate from a cross between B. scharffiana and B. pictaviensis. It resembles the former kind in habit and is very strong and bushy built; Even older plants show this squat growth. Similar begonias were described in the Revue HorticoIe van 1899 under the name B. hybrida 'Liger-Ligneau' and ann. 1897 as B. Wiaudii. B. gigantea elegans is derived from the former, as it is said to be very variable or indentical with either. The leaves are big. the underside is dark red and heavily hairy, the top olive-green covered with whitish, close-fitting hairs; also leaf and bleed stems have this strong hairiness. The stems are very strong, up to 10 mm in diameter and are branched at the top in two main branches, they rise freely over the foliage. The flowers arranged in a cyme are very dense and are of considerable size. In development, the bud resembles a ball and receives a peculiarly captivating appearance that the back of the petals is rather richly studded with bright red hair, which contrasts with the milk-white tone of the petal. The open flower is white with a hint of pink, the two outer leaves of the blood are very large, up to 4 cm long and 3 cm wide, the two inner very narrow and a little short. These adults only reach the male flowers, the females remain small and unsightly. We spoke earlier of Beg. Credneri, a cross between B. scharffiana x metallica; Of this hybrid, we have a low-growing form, the B. Credneri compacta, which at one time was propagated by the Ernst Benary company in Erfurt and deserves mention for its very stocky growth. This is clear from the attached picture, so that a detailed discussion is dispensed with. On this occasion, a rich and vividly beguiling begonia for the temperate house should be pointed out. Begonia incarnata perfecta robusta is an American introduction and was purchased in 1897 by the company W. Pfitzer in Stuttgart. The plant resembles very much the B. coccinea (B. corallina hort.), Differs from it however mainly by the rose-red blooming color, which is pastel for the beautiful green of the leaves. What gives the begonias of this species a special charm is the fact that the seed capsules have the same beautiful color as the flowers, which are considerably larger than in B. incarnata. Begonia ricinifolia wehleana is a plant with powerful dark green irregular lobate leaves that are purple below. Of perfected beauty this variety is at the time of the blood. On a meter-high inflorescence, a large amount of tender rose-colored flowers are arranged in decorated umbels; The blooms are not large, but act through the mass and the pleasing light arrangement. Moreover, the blooms are of a very long duration - our plant blooms for almost three months with two blooms which makes this Begonia a jewel of the first order for the temperate house. Equally attractive in the winter flowering period is the so-called cuff begonia, B. manicata. The leaves have on the nerves below bent back purple scales which are arranged in particular like a cuff on the petiole in several rings. The leaves are bald and glossy dark green above. The numerous appearing flower stalks are about 40 cm high and carry a large amount of rose-red blood blooms, which act on the dark green leaf reason extremely decorative. This species is a highly recommended winter bloomer.
