Begonia question

Hi everyone, this is the first time I've ever grown begonias it's my wife's first plant she buys for her hanging baskets, I'm just wondering if they are where they should be growth wise for the time year?

 

Hi,

Look fine and normal to me

Just that the warm weather last week is fooling everyone into thinking spring is here and putting out the tender plants too early - early May is more like it after hardening off.

 

Thanks @ricky101, my wife never does her baskets until May is done so will be hardening off around then.

 

@mazambo yours make mine look sad...

Looking forward to seeing them later in the season. Maybe by then mine might have caught up and we can compare

This is my first time growing them from seed too .

 

Sorry @CanadianLori should have mentioned I'm growing them from tubers, also have grown from seed and yes mine are sad too.

 

Begonias are one of the most versatile of plants. Please if I may. OK! We as interested persons in gardening and growing things. May I? in brief, ( with me that means another mauscript). Members of the House/Forum. chuckle. ORDER. ORDER. I did warn you.
Begonias are a must in any garden. From the bedding sempervirens to the hanging basket types. The former are perhaps the easiest to deal with. In my GH. I have covered the bench/staging with a compost mixture. Retaining a few plants of Begonia sempervirens, these have remained in situ, thus flowering, setting seed and self sowing. Apart from this. I ofren save plants and take cuttings, mostly these will overwinter.
Now to the big boys. Begonia Rex. This is the one that has extra large multicoloured leaves. These really give us a chance. Propogation. Select a well formed leaf, it can be still attached to the parent plant or not. Wheight it down gently upon moist compost in a seed trat or similar. Now usuing a fine knife/razor cut the veins of the leaf and peg down. Soon at the point of the cuts, new baby plants will develop. Continue to cultivate and pot on etc etc.

Other types. Vegetive cuttings are always a must. These can be taken from a growing shoot. Cut below a leaf joint, dip in a hormone rooting powder and insert into a pot of compost. Cutings can also be taken from th new shoots at the corm using the same as with dahliahs, cut below a joint leaving a stub to reproduce.

 

The big blowsy begonias are not to my liking however when grown well they can look sensational
The only begonias I grow are the small flowered types...they make mounds that also trail, self cleaning and prolifically floriferous

 

They look fine Mazambo. Like Verdun I only grow the trailing and small bell flower types. Keep them lightly watered at first, they can suffer from stem rot. And only put them out when May warms up.

 

I've been searching for an answer to what may seem a stupid question, the begonias I grew from seed this year are doing ok, do they become tubers or are they one offs for this year only?

 

Hi,

There are two main types of Begonias, the tuber ones, which yours look like, and the fibrous rooted ones like the little bedding Semperflorens.

Are the tuberous ones worth storing ? for cheap bedding types they are often treated as annuals.

If you have some real favorite ones then this link shows how to care for them.

When the tubers start to sprout well in spring you can often take cuttings to increase your stock of that plant.

Storing begonia tubers over winter – Richard Jackson's Garden

 

They look like tuberous ones to me.
Pick the best and save them for next year, the plants will be bigger and stronger from tubers.

 

@ricky101 and @pete thanks that's really helpful.

 

I’m sorry to hijack this thread but I have no idea how to start a new post.
I rescued a ?Begonia from death row in my local garden centre and it has been stunning all summer. What now though? Can I hang it in my garage to overwinter or is it an annual type?
You advice would be much appreciate

 

Hi,

Yours is most likely the Tuberous type so you may be able to save it over winter.
However depending on conditions it may rot off , so its always a bit of a risk.
See this RHS link on how to store them.
Begonias: outdoors / RHS

If you are somewhere mild or have some greenhouse heat etc, you might be able to cut a lot of the top growth back and keep it growing over winter ?

In our colder situation, for the odd plant or two, generally find it better so get new tubers each spring.

 

You can move it to somewhere dry and slowly let the stems drop off, might take a few weeks, then store frost free until around April when you can take out the tuber and repot it into fresh compost.