Any begonia experts?

Once again my begonia corms have all rotted. Usually I manage to keep one or two, but when I checked them today they had all gone brown inside, solid not slimy. They were in shallow compost which felt slightly damp but was not clumping, in my timber shed which is unheated. Should I have kept them frost free? When can I start off some more?

 

Thanks Marley, I really wanted to keep them this year as I had some beautiful 2 colour doubles, picotee edging, which grew huge and looked just like paeonies. I didn't put them in the green house as I thought they might get too damp, but I shall know better next year!

 

Did you take them out of the pots, I always knock them out and remove all the compost, then make sure they are dry and frost free, in a paper bag in the greenhouse.
Even so, sometimes I have lost a few to this kind of dry rot you mention.
Also they shouldn't be too warm, I think below 10 deg is about right.
I have a theory that this kind of rot is probably caused but the plants being dried out too quickly at the end of the season, and being rushed into dormancy. But I'm probably wrong. :rolleyes:

 

Hi, Yes, I did take them out of their pots and knocked off most of the compost, then put them in a seed tray with some dry compost. However, when I brought them in, it was the end of september and as they were only just beginnig to stop flowering and looking a bit sad, I took off all the green growth and it was all a bit sudden. You both say just let them die down, so I shall do that next year too. I have heard paper bags mentioned before, is it because they allw some ventilation as well as abit of protection? Thanks :rolleyes:

 

Another way I have stored them is piled into an empty ( no compost) hanging basket, and just hung up in the shade under the bench in the greenhouse.
I let them dry off from mid sept. about a month later I clean off most of the compost, and remove the leaves and the growing point. Then I leave them alone and the old stems drop away naturally from the tubers, usually sometime in Nov. But I bet there are lots of other ways of doing it, just think that last break at the tuber end should be natural.

 

Sorry to hear you lost your Begonias Liz, I donââ?¬â?¢t think you will be on your own though. This winter has been particularly cold and damp in fact itââ?¬â?¢s the coldest here for years. My unheated greenhouse with overwintering plants is given a wide berth. I shall take the above advice and add more insulation next Winter and perhaps a little heat. Unless you are really certain a plant is dead, deceased, without a trace of life, as in brown and soggy, it may be worth waiting to see if anything ââ?¬Ë?shootsââ?¬â?¢ I have been pleasantly supprised once or twice, but not lately.