Cultivar
B. ‘W. Sparshott’
Identity
- Genus
- Begonia
- Name
- B. ‘W. Sparshott’
- Originator
- Davis
- Date of Origin
- 1902
- Place
- Yeovil
- Country
- England, UK
- Region
- Europe
- Plant Type
- Tuberous
- Publication Reference
- RHS
- Article References
- The Gardner’s Chronicle, ser. 3, v. 28 (1900)
Plant
- Description
- The Gardner’s Chronicle, ser. 3, v. 28 (1900) What is to be the future of the tuberous Begonia? was the question I put to Mr. B. R. Davis, of the Yeovil Nurseries, as we walked through houses that were filled with glorious double and single flowered Begonias. Mr. Davis calls himself a "Begonia specialist," in the sense that it is a flower he has labored earnestly for many years to improve. Here, in this quiet town, he has persevered, working towards the realization of high ideals of quality, flowering the plants, fertilizing their flowers, sowing the seeds, and planting out seedlings to flower in every part of his nursery. Under glass we see large specimens of two and three year old, luxuriant and robust, producing large and symmetrical double blossoms, and single varieties of perfect shape, with stout and finely-rounded petals, in which the side petals have in time become so enlarged that they rival those which surmount the flower and form its base; and we wonder, Can the march of improvement go farther? and what is to be the outcome of that which can be seen to-day? Outside in the open there is to be noticed line after line of beds of seedlings, a series of floral parallelograms, unfolding their blossoms so that something of their possibilities may be seen and noted. These seedlings are raised from carefully fertilized seed; the chances of good results are very hopeful. Mr. Davis has been a cultivator of the Begonia for a period of twenty-one years. After filling for a time a responsible position in the nurseries of the late Mr. John Scott, he became the proprietor of the Yeovil Nurseries in 1871, and soon after Begonia Pearcei came into his hands, and he began to work up a stock of it. Then, a little later on, some tubers of new varieties from the earliest introduced forms were bought, and he at once commenced to cross these with B. Pearcei, and from these obtained improved varieties. B. boliviensis and B. Froebeli were also used as parents in both directions; and so, contemporaneously with what the late John Laing was doing at Forest Hill, and Henry Cannell at Woolwich, worthy work was being done at Yeovil, and a good foundation laid. Mr. Davis could see there were great possibilities in the flower, and threw himself into the work of improvement with considerable energy. His first seedlings were mainly of crimson and scarlet shades, but as varying tints put in an appearance, they were utilized for cross-breeding as soon as good double flowered forms were procurable. These were at once pressed into service, and the development of the double -flowered Begonia at Yeovil went forward with rapid strides; but it can be justly said that Mr. Davis has aimed at the highest quality. Anyone visiting the Yeovil Nurseries at this season can see house after house in which double flowered Begonias appear to be of the finest character, the centers full, symmetrical, and solid, not "pockety," as the old florists used to term their Hollyhocks, but a mass of central florets, forming a dense cushion. As a matter of course, increasing sizes come with improvement, but distinct tints of color, or combinations of color, allied to the most perfect symmetry, compel admiration on every hand. There are pure whites and clear yellows, blush and pink, rose and carmine shades, rich scarlets and crimsons, some of the latter shading to maroon. There are charming Picotee-edged varieties among the singles, some have broader petal margins, but double and single are alike superb. Rose tints are seen deepening into magenta, yellow to apricot, orange, and a suspicion of bronze, amber, and salmon tints are numerus. Some of the crimsons, both double and single, are brilliant in the extreme. Violet, mauve, purple, and blue shades are as yet unrevealed; they are hoped for, though they may not lie within the range of possibilities of the flower. Novelty of tint is dear to the heart of the Begonia raiser. Buonarotti wrote: " Never did sculptor's dream unfold a form which marble doth not hold in its white block. " And if, as they say, "chalk through patience becomes a ruby stone," it may be that blue in the Begonia is not a floral impossibility. Mr. Davis is certainly developing one peculiarity in the Begonia, namely, the crested petal, which is shown by the issuing from near the base of the segments of a feathery or crested protuberance, which on some of the varieties is singularly hand- some. It first appeared in a rudimentary form four years ago; it was encouraged to develop, and with the present results. We are so accustomed to the clear, smooth petal in the Begonia that this added colored matter is certainly novel and striking. It seems to have appeared simultaneously with Mr. Davis, and with a continental grower. It was noticed to vary; it changed in form and increased in bulk, and now there can be seen large single blossoms, each segment of which is overlaid with the crested growth. He states that he saw in Ghent last year, three or four plants having this crested character on their corollas, which had originated two years before. Each succeeding year has produced a further development, and the petals of some of the double varieties begin to display the crested character, but in a less pronounced form. He still continues to name certain of his Begonias, both double and single, and this means that they have to be propagated. Propagation by cuttings is a tedious process, and is not always satisfactory; the easiest method is by division; the tubers are started into growth on the surface of some soil, and when the young shoots are two inches or so in height, the tuber is cut into two, three, or four pieces, these again are placed on the surface of the soil, and when the cut has dried somewhat, the divided portions are potted. Seeds are sown in January or February, and successive sowings are made at intervals of two or three weeks to equalize labor. The seedlings are reared in shallow trays: they are as soon as large enough pricked out into shallow boxes, one hundred in a box : and when these are strong enough they are planted out in the open to flower, generally early in June. The plants which are grown on in pots appear to do best with three shifts. Mr. Davis states that a Begonia revels in a free soil, and should not be suffered to become pot-bound. A development in the Begonia trade of late is to that of the sales of dry roots. Mr. Davis gets out his Begonia catalogue by the first week in January. Orders then come in, and great quantities of dried roots are dispatched through the post, and to many parts of the world. The tubers are well dried before being sent to any distance; an excellent system of packing is followed. The dispatch of dried tubers goes on until June. In April, tubers which have been started into growth, are dispatched; and at the bedding season many plants are supplied. Certain distinct colors are grown in quantity for bedding purposes, and they are in considerable demand. That the Begonia flowers will go on increasing in size seems certain; and some are already saying the flowers are becoming too large, but all improvements made in flowers are accompanied by an increase of size, and this appeals to be an inevitable result. Presently there will in all probability come a season of revolt against size, and then perhaps a new departure will be made with some small-flowered types. Nature appears to have placed limits to development in some flowers, and when the utmost limit is reached in the case of this flower, some lateral line of advance may be disclosed. In any case, there is the probability that the tuberous-rooted Begonia will remain a popular plant for many years to come. - R. D. MAMMOTH BEGONIAS. — Most remarkable double flowers of tuberous rooted Begonias are kindly sent us by the Rev. E. Lascelles, Newton St. The first of these is an intensely bright scarlet, rather flat flower named W. Sparshot. It measures 6 ½ inches across, and weighs 1 ½ oz.
Lineage
Parents
No parentage recorded.
Descendants
No recorded descendants.
Culture
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