East of Scotland Begonia Society

Past president Andy, one on our most active and well known members, goes in to hospital on Sunday 11th May to have a triple bypass on Monday 12th. We wish him good luck and a speedy recovery.

Monday 2nd June. Andy is now taking fifteen minute walks and is progressing steadily. Cutting taking is no problem as there is no heavy lifting. Linda has all the bedding out done and as Andy says she is "Cracking the Whip" to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Meetings of the Society are held on the third Sunday of each month (February to May) and are open to anyone interested in the cultivation of begonias.

Our first meeting of the year will take place on Sunday 17th February at our usual venue, namely Dunfermline High School at 1pm.

17th February	Ian Donaldson gave us a very revolutionary and illuminating talk with images on a subject he has been studying for only about eighteen months. In this time he has gained more knowledge on the growth behaviour of begonias than most growers acquire in a lifetime. After explaining his theories about growth he went on to show us how to take leaf cuttings and grow on the small tubers resulting from this method. This was a first class presentation also being the first he has given on begonias. Many thanks Ian Close to £250 was raised from the sale of Tubers.

16th March	Betty Kennedy First of all Betty talked about some of the founder members of the Scottish Begonia Society then went on to show us slides of them and their award winning blooms. We all found the journey down memory lane fascinating, while a few of our older members helped put names to some of the faces. It was an excellent meeting and it could not have been better presented. Well done Betty.

20th April	There were very few plants at the sale as most tubers had been sold in February. However after a demonstration by Andy Paterson of taking cuttings there was a sale of seedlings that Samuel Kennedy had kindly raised and brought along for us. The hybridisers were Dick McWhinnie, Guy Easton and Harry Archibald so this year we can look forward to having a fair number of entries in the seedling class at our show. We then had a question and answer session with a panel of "experts" in the hot seat

18th May	Jim Allan It was the turn of Jim Allan to talk us through his methods and growing techniques. Jim explained that his main concerns are with the correct compost and watering of the plants and careful handling when potting up. Jim explained that points are lost when for instance the pots are not clean, bruised petals and broken leaves can be the cause of a good plant being reduced to a poor plant in the eye of the judge. The proper staking at an early stage, setting the buds and using bloom supports all enhance the final plant. He also showed us the result and damage of poor hygiene in the greenhouse. His slides of the Mite, Mildew and vine weevil damage made us all sit up and take note Jim was thanked most heartily by all present and asked to come again soon and entertain us with his great patter and friendly manner.

14th September	Presentation Luncheon in King Malcolm Hotel

16th November	Annual General Meeting

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